Diffusion of Clothing Styles
There are many factors that contribute to the diffusion of clothing, television and internet in popular culture today. For clothing some of the factors attributed to the diffusion of clothing includes,
One’s Occupation:
Lawyer Attire= Solid color suits (black, grey, or blue)
Factory Worker Attire= jeans and factory shirt
Income:
Upper Class citizens usually wear more elegant and sophisticated articles of clothing, as well as name brand.
Middle Class citizens usually wear casual articles of clothing and sometimes name brand.
Low Class citizens usually don’t wear name brand clothing, and are very low quality
Communication
Different types of media allows for the initiation of certain trends, by looking and observing other cultures. It also allows for the diffusion of clothing styles from one region to another.
According Encyclopedia Britannica, the adoption of foreign elements has been a constant theme in the history of dress. The first exotic fabric to reach the West was silk from China, which the Persians introduced to the Greeks and Romans and which has remained popular to the present. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/171379/dress/14059/Exotica)
Jeans
Jeans are said to be a symbol of diffusion of Western popular culture. In the1600’s they acquired a youthful independence as young people begin to adopt jeans, which were usually associated with low class workers. Over the years, jeans have developed into a culture, and they have become so popular that they are able to sell for $10 -$1000. In 1853, a German-Jewish immigrant to the United States, named Levi Strauss founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm, Levi Strauss & Co., began in 1853 in San Francisco, California. The jeans sold for $50-$100. Surprisingly in Thailand and Asia, used Levis jeans are priced at $100-$1000. In the Soviet Union the jeans were an obsession and status symbol, when the Communist government prevented their import, meaning that there was a high demand for them. Today the demand for jeans has decreased with sales going from 7 million to 4 million.
Doc Martens
Doc Martens have been sold across the world for over 50 years, however, today we see they have came back in style. These shoes were invented by Klaus Martens, who was a doctor in the German army during World War II. He believed that the standard issue army boots were too uncomfortable on the injured foot, and decided to improve the design. When he first tried to sell them, he was unsuccessful; however he met up with an old university friend named Dr. Herbert Funck, in Munich in 1947. Funck liked the shoe design, and the two went into business that year in Seeshaupt, Germany. After this, they began selling them, and the shoes were made major sales, particularly to housewives, because the shoes were so comfortable.
Role of Television in Diffusing Popular Culture
n Most popular activity among those living in MDC’s
n Most important mechanism by which knowledge of popular culture is able to be diffused.
The U.S. public first saw television in the 1930 however its diffusion was blocked because of World War II. After World War II however, the sales of television sets increased from 10,000, to 1 million, to 10, million, to 50 million. The U.S, has always had a lead in the number of televisions that that had per person, however at the end of the 20th century there was no difference in tv ownership.
Diffusion of Internet
The internet was introduced to the public a decade after the television, however it was not until the 21st century, where it really began to diffuse.
Governmental Influences
Government has a major influence on what can and cannot be shown on television, and accessed on the internet.
Ex. Cuba’s Government controls much of what its citizens can see, because its government does not want any of the outside sources coming in , to influence society.
