The Fashionista Trope - Why She's So Feared
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
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The fashionista: Vapid and cruel, but oh-so beautifully dressed, they're one of film’s most reviled characters. Set apart by their exceptional sense of style, they inhabit a fragile, fast-paced world where they’re constantly competing with other fashionistas - and they’re only as good as their next outfit. But there’s more to the fashionista than superficiality, meanness, and great style. Here’s our Take on what lies beneath the perfect veneer.
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00:00 How the Fashionista got her claws
02:18 Why are onscreen Fashionistas so villainous?
05:08 Honey
06:15 When clothing defines a character's worth...
09:35 Fashion's power to empower
11:41 Reading between the stitches - Zábava
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Do video on the crazy cat lady trope
Elle Woods may be a fashionable, beautiful sorority girl, but she subverts all of the stereotypes, in being kind, intelligent and loyal.
Yes I loved how all the sorority girls were actually friends and there for each other, they're not snobs or mean girls like how they usually portray them. She even got straight As as a fashion student and passed the LSAT on the first try, despite only studying for a couple of months.
Been watching a lot of Totally Spies lately. Clover is a textbook fashionista, but personality-wise she largely avoids the more negative connotations. When she does fall into them, more often it’s played for laughs or is a genuine expression of what she values.
And the show itself, the fashion and the values agreed very well.
Despite being a tomboy, I really liked fashion growing up. This trope discouraged me from getting into it. I didn't want to be a mean girl. My Little Pony helped me get over that with the character Rarity. She was kind to her friends and made them dresses out of generosity. You should look at My Little Pony FiM sometime. Lauren Faust created it with the message that "there's no wrong way to be a girl."
We stan MLP:FIM
Rarity is best pony!
Dib spotted
I love your comment and your message
I love Rarity for that very reason!
When I dress for myself, I feel happy. I like putting in the effort to achieve a look even if it’s just me going to the supermarket. Also, who doesn’t love analysing subtext through fashion?
Over the last few years when I was cooped up inside the house, I quit dressing up. I just haven’t felt as good about myself since. I think I need to start dressing up and putting in the effort again. I was happier then.
I’m so grateful that Rarity from Friendship is Magic is a fashionista with professional goals and an undeniable heart of gold. Such a liberating portrayal of the trope.
Absolutely agree! I especially love that she embodies the element of generosity as someone who loves fashion.
Rarity is a great example of the subversion of the fashionista trope, and on top of this, that sends a great message to young girls.
The fashionista is usually a confident powerful woman and society tends to demonize that in us!
Something Im actually really surprised was left out of this is the size issue. People who are 'bigger' are never seen as fashionistas, and if they are, it's usually because they're a designer or someone who has clout in the industry. I mean, yes, in recent years we have people like Lizzo or Chrissy Metz who step out confidently with their bodies, but unfortunately, it would seem that you need an impossible standard of fitness (or just plain impossible standard of body fat) in order to even be considered 'fashionable'.
8:24 Elle Woods is an institution and an encyclopaedia of fashion. Also, shoutout to Jennifer Coolidge.
People hating on Elle caus of her "girlish" stand out fashion and she still not caring is what makes it so cool. That's pinnacle of confidence. Also Jennifer Coolidge mommy. 💟
Fran from The Nanny showed us that being fashionable and pretty doesn't mean you can't be the person you want to be and that no one should disrespect you. Just wish the show aged better. Still love it though.
What about it didn't age well?
@@kath9088 Same question
I was definitely one of those who dissed fashion and overall "girliness" because I wanted to be taken seriously in my career. Sadly, it kinda worked for more than a decade because people validate this attitude. I had zero self-expression and a lack of connectivity with myself that slowly started to erode my confidence and some of my sanity, and once I lost the job and the connection with all those people I was left with an empty slate of a person to figure out.
It wasn't worth it. Erasing myself for the approval of others definitely wasn't worth it in the long run, and of course, fashion is far from being the center of my inner world, but it is definitely a pretty good start, and I have never had so much fun in any self discovery endeavor in my life.
Stay strong, you beautiful people!
Let's not forget about Cinna from the Hunger Games, as Katniss' stylist he had the job of dressing her in hopes of attracting sponsors to help her win and he did that while empowering and inspiring her, giving her the 'Girl Who Was On Fire' motif before turning her wedding dress into the Mockingjay even if it meant inciting Snow's wrath and putting a target on himself. He used fashion as a tool for Katniss similar to Edna Mode designing the hero costumes for identity, expression and function especially for the Mockingjay outfit in the third book.
The best media in support of being fashionable is surprisingly Princess diaries. In the first book, the main character, the titular princess, is totally dismissive of fashion and her classmates who are interested in it. However by the end of the series she understands why fashion can be important.
She essentially goes from not caring about what she puts on herself to understanding that fashion is part of how we interact with society and is an important part in expressing who we are.
Of course if you don’t care about what you wear then that’s fine, but not caring about what you wear is fashion choice whether you want it to be or not.
Very interesting take
As a queer woman I feel fashion and clothes are very important for identity. When you come out and are figuring out who you are and where you fit in the queer world finding your style and the way that you like to dress and express yourself and present yourself is pivotal. I didn't know where I fit in because I am not a tomboy and never was and I don't dress in a typically butch way but on the flip side I am not super femme presenting. I don't wear makeup, I have shorter hair and prefer wearing jeans and flat shows and stuff. In the end I found my love for vintage fashion was what helped me shape my identity. I have also helped trans friends find themselves in their clothes and it really helps them in the process of feeling comfortable in their bodies. I know it is only a small thing in the grand scheme of things but it makes a big difference to them.
Same! Well, not in the fashion specifics, but in the wide strokes. For me finding the terms soft butch and hard femme really opened my eyes to the spectrum of options out there :)
Omg! We should be friends! I’m also queer and I’m definitely needing help with my style. I’ve been out for years but I’m trying to find out which style best suits me. I’m what they call a “blue jean femme or casual femme”. Jeans in general have ALWAYS been a staple in my closet. I’ve gained a lot of weight since high school though. I fear that jeans won’t look as good on me as they did when I first came out (high school).
As someone on the spectrum who lacks an eye for fashion and fears the judgement of others, I feared the fashionista archetype and those who imitated it.
But I’m glad to say that I’ve met some real life fashionistas who are genuinely good people who don’t just use fashion as a tool of judgment.
My whole life I’ve been struggling against the stereotype of the fashionista who loves fashion only for materialistic and not artistic reasons. I shop primarily at thrift stores and I’m proud of the wardrobe I have. Yet I’m still occasionally receive judgment for appearing shallow.
The scorn for fashion is a distinctly American thing because no one gives me trouble in Europe or the Middle East over it.
Vanity is always vilified in media. But for me, vanity can be the perfect middle ground between not caring at all how you present yourself to other people and narcissism. Vanity to me is about caring for and about yourself, but also being mindful of other people you interact with.
THIS.
Wow. I had not considered vanity as a neutral or positive quality. Interesting.
I feel like a lot of this is also a remnant of Christian beliefs of vanity being a sin
@jomaq9233 Yeah... the OP changed the definition. Actually vanity IS a sin.
When I was a kid in the 90s/00s, most girly characters were like that, including in anime. Jessie from Pokemon was different because while she's an evil fashionista, there's always been a clear distinction in her personality between when she's doing her job as a gangster and when she's off the clock. She's always been one of the softest and most fragile characters in terms of her personality, but she can always rise to the challenge when she wants to. In later seasons, Jessie's interest in clothes, makeup, disguises, etc. is a reflection of her artisticness and her creativity. Where it was mostly a joke in 1997 about maxing out James's credit cards at the mall, and that's a running gag for her throughout the rest of the series, later seasons show that her outer creativity is a reflection of her impressive inner creativity. Her creative self-expression is also a source of empowerment for her. She's not very self-confident. She depends on James to do everything for her, which he's happy to do. But if Jessie works on a creative project (ex. Pokemon Coordinating/Performing, baking, evildoing, etc.), then she puts her all into it. Her ladylike manners and her feminine way of dressing make her somewhat underestimated. It's not that characters think she's weak, but they're surprised to find how very strong she is. Usually they're impressed, but some guys find her over-dramatic or creepy. She and James live together now, and they have a podcast and CZcams channel together, where their creativity and love of creating characters and making costumes shines.
The funny thing about the modern fashion world is that it was founded by a very straight man--King Louis XIV of France. When he ascended the French throne, the role model for everything "high class" in Europe was Italy. Italian fashions, architecture, furniture, art, glassware--that is what the European aristocracy craved. But it wasn't because Italians made it that way. It was just a byproduct of Florence and Rome being the centers of the Renaissance and Venice being the center of commerce and high-end manufacturing.
King Louis XIV, though, purposefully built his court as a way to steal away this cultural power from Italy. So he made and enforced policies, laws and rules that put fashion and architecture at the center of political power in France. All French aristocrats were forced to live in the fabulous court of Versailles and they were forced to wear the king's fashions. These changed yearly, so that the aristocrats kept spending all their money on expensive clothes and furnishings instead of accruing money to spend on armies that could threaten the king's power. (A real concern for Louis, as he had to flee Paris in terror as a little boy during a very violent uprising of the aristocracy called La Fronde.) Thus the yearly fashion runway was born, as the latest fashions were paraded in front of aristocrats in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, with the king at the head of the runway. Of course, the Parisian designers of these fancy fashions became household names among the aristocrats, with surging demand for their cloth-making services. Within a few years all the European courts and aristocrats dropped Italy and followed the fashions dictated by King Louis XIV.
Thus for the first time in modern history fashion and power were intertwined in a way that was dictated by a few people in one place--at first King Louis XIV, and then just the French aristocracy. And it's been like that ever since, with Paris being THE center of modern fashion.
I used to never have any interest in fashion and makeup when I was in high school. It wasn't till I got older and when my brother got me into makeup that I realized that makeup and fashion can be seen as empowering. For me, when I wear vintage-inspired pieces, I feel like a different person versus when I usually wear the same outfits every day (which is usually a t-shirt and yoga pants or my work uniform if I am working). When I actually take time to put an outfit together and wear makeup, I feel so good. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't know how to paint my face.
I struggle with my love of fashion because I feel like sometimes it goes hand in hand with capitalistic consumerism. But these days I try to focus more on making things and repurposing old things. At the end of the day, my sense of style is my favorite way of expressing myself!!
I grew up in the 80s/90s (I’m 40) and was called a dumb blonde and made fun of for being super into fashion and make up and wearing lots of pink. A few people said i reminded them of Cher from clueless and Elle woods, which made me so mad at the time bc these people were “academics” who i knew weren’t complimenting me. (They were literally the lawyer-type people that made fun of Elle woods because one person was my brother who went to Columbia law and another was my sister-in-law who went to Yale and the others were my high school classmates who went to Harvard and Princeton. Omg i didn’t even realize how parallel it was to the Legally Blonde plot line until now. Lmao).
So i closed down that part of me in my late 20s and 30s and became a writer “who didn’t care about fashion.” And stopped wearing pink and anything fun. I also got super poor so i didn’t have money for fashion anymore anyway.
BUT I’ve realized over the last few years that I’m gender fluid and non-binary. And that’s freed me to dye my hair pink because I like upholding the notion that boys can wear pink too. l (so the boy side of me wears pink). And i wear make up again, but it’s in a different psychological context than before.
Before, looking back, i was to an extent performing “compulsory heteronormative femininity” for the male gaze. But fashion was also creative and fun!
But now that I’ve removed my gender container, i can just be into fashion and make up and pink hair with a creative child-like freedom and i have fun playing with gender norms.
As a 16 year old genderfluid person, you put it perfect into words !!!
@@okaypolastri That's awesome this resonated!
I am a fashion designer, so growing up with all this media that tell you that fashion is just superficial made me mad, yes maybe not everyone can afford Chanel, but fashion is beautiful, fun and a really goodway of expression.
You can be a fashion lover and have a Phd in chemestry fashion and intelligence are in same level
Great video!! I studied fashion, have my own clothing brand that works with Indigenous Artisans, a stylist, and also work for a non profit that helps fashion companies become more sustainable I love this video. I hate that people assume because you work in fashion you're dumb or a bitch. In my experience, I've met some incredibly talented,intelligent, hardworking, and passionate people. We are social creatures and fashion is merely a tool of self expression to tell the world something about us without using a word.this doesn't make you smart or dumb, it's merely just a tool if you decide to use it in your favor. Even if you're not a fashionista, we all use fashion to navigate the world. There is a reason you don't wear sweatpants to a job interview, there is a reason uniforms exist. It can be utilitarian, ceremonial, or for self expression; doesn't make it any less of a language.
looking amazing when you are at low point in life gives a sense of control and a sense of at least one thing going right, if I am depressed then I'll look great to feel better and powerful
Yep, that is so true. I'm going through a phase in my life just like this. If I can't control other things in my life, I can at least control what I look like to others. ;)
I love this channel but Regine Hunter (Living Single), Lisa Turtle (Saved By the Bell), Hilary Banks (The Fresh Prince), Toni Childs (Girlfriends) and Raven Baxter (That’s so Raven) not being in this video is crazy.
Absolutely! Many incredible women of color missing from this analysis…
It's because they're black almost all their videos on fashion and more aesthetic values feature white women
Fran Fine is a good subversion of this trope during the 90s
Another good example of fashion going alongside character growth is Rachel from Friends!
9:19 Talking about the fashion obsession part. Its not just fashion anything can be an obsession. Cleaning your room or studying can be an obsession. The problem with obsessions are using them as means to feel control or trying to escape aspects of life your need to work on.
Like it or not, clothing is something we all have to interact with on a daily basis. You may as well figure out how to make it an enjoyable interaction. Not caring about clothes is like not caring about food. You probably wouldn't want to subsist off of protein bars and a bunch of dietary supplements. You could, but why would you? The world is filled with gorgeous things. Go experience them. Your clothes should help you feel like your best possible self. If they don't, try harder. Life is too short to spend that kind of time with things that don't bring you joy.
To show how deep the shorthand goes with the word "fashionista," I almost skipped watching this video because I hate all that is attached to that trope. In the end though, I'm glad I clicked on it. It's always good to learn the history you didn't know and reevaluate your prejudices. Good show!
I was always fascinated by this character type as a kid. I thought Cruella de Vil was an interesting character despite her desire to skin dalmatian - which was really confusing because I love animals. There is something very powerful and feminine about fashionista, a characteristic you rarely find in female characters on screen.
This is a really good look into the villiafication of femininity and this trope really affects how people see it in real life
Pretty In Pink, while not a fashion-focused film, Molly Ringwald's character, Andie is probably the best character for breaking away from this trope because she was so unique in her style. Andie may have come from a lower-income area, but, her style was so uniquely her. She was thrifting and doing upcycling LOOOOOONG before we had the internet and social media. She literally upcycled 2 pink prom dresses to make them her own. She was one of the few likable and more fully-realized fashionistas that weren't "dumb," "stupid," or "superficial."
Katniss was empowered by Cinna's designs for her. He used fashion to make her stand out and help her in the hunger games by getting the audience's attention. It was a very clever and uplifting use a fashion in the books/ movies
Rarity from MLP FiM breaks all molds!
That's why I loved MLP:FIM so much
In the wonderful movie "Bright Star", John Keats' true love Fanny Brawne is a proto-fashionista, a talented and creative young woman who would have made a great career in fashion if she'd lived in the modern era. Yet she isn't portrayed in a negative light at all - quite the contrary. She's one cinematic fashionista who's in fact characterized as something of a visionary in the field of fashion, but one who was born too early in the 19th century and in the wrong context.
Haven’t heard anybody else talk about that movie. Not exactly groundbreaking, but the fashionista angle is definitely played up. Overall, I liked it.
Good topic! I feel like you guys have been a roll lately. I don't always agree with your takes but these are always entertaining to watch.
A Cis-Het Man who’s a bit of a fashionista? Interesting idea indeed.
Or a lesbian who loves fashion could be an interesting idea!
This conversation reminds me Taylor Swift, she is a fashion icon and always used clothes, hair and make up to signify lots of character traits or storyline aspects, including using the looks to underline the villainy or dangerous attributes of a character:
"Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man...."
"Cause darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream"
"And you've got your demons and darling they all look like me"
"getting caught up in the moment, lipstick on your face (...) ya know I'm not a bad girl but I'd do bad things with you, come here dressed in black now"
*portraying a villain* "I can feel the flames in my skin, crimson red paint on my lips"
"They say looks can kill, and I might try..."
As a fashion design student I could really relate. I think the whole “you are wearing something I like but can’t afford, so that makes you evil” is something I see quite frequently these days and it is so very stupid.
Was hoping to see Avasarala from The Expanse included here. She is a fashionista with power, cruelty but growth combined. Stunning clothes every time you see her. There are more fashionista characters outside of white women in romcoms.
Such a great character and series!
I think this Tropes playlist is amazing! Explaining each archetype of cinema and TV.
I knew there were some archetypes but I didn't know there were so many types.
It's impressive.
Archetypes are used for various research materials on infinite subjects.
I want a show which centres around a queer best friend duo, one is a femme lesbian who loves fashion, and the other is a gay guy who’s masculine and loves sports, and people around them constantly think they are a straight couple which annoys them 😂
I guess you forget to add Confession of Shopaholic as one of the movies that makes fashion empowering to women
I'm so much happier ever since I got into fashion and clothes.
Ugly Betty shows how fashion can be either shallow or meaningful, depending on who sees it. I remember one episode when Betty realizes that 'fashion isnt shallow, it's art. Another way to tell your stories so that others can experience it."
Good points, but I wish you'd also touch on the amount of human trafficking taking advantage of the fashion industry, the long history of abuse within the industry, etc.
A real-life example of a subversive take with fashion is to look at ZENDAYA
I honestly think that this trope speaks more to the non-fashionistas superficiality, rather the fashionistas’. I mean, why wouldn’t one want to look nice for oneself? Clothes are a sort of beautiful armor. Guess that is why some feel intimidated by it.
I remember that in the anime Sakura card captor Tomoyo was kind of a fashionista but a very kind and smart character.
Fashion comes and goes rapidly. It's personal style that's longer lasting. Some recent high end fashion is truly out there. I saw clips of one show and it looked like the models were wearing garbage bags and aluminum foil.
I'm surprised you used clips from but didn't discuss Buffy at all; Buffy and Cordelia (and a later antagonist known as Glory) are the epitome of the fashionista, to the point Buffy's divorced father basically can only connect to her through shopping. Yet as time goes on, these young women become less concerned with fashion and more with the trials and tribulations of adulthood and surviving new responsibilities or helping others. Though there are notably moments where those tendencies come out full force (Cordelia is more angry about her boss donating her clothes than she is about him firing her and easily forgives him when he buys her new clothes).
I wonder what would happen if The Devil Wears Prada was made today. I wonder what they would actually address.
Love this take
I’m a fashionista and sometimes ppl are scared of me because they think I’m a mean girl but I’m actually really sweet and shy 😅😅😅
Now I need to go rewatch Romy and Michele! Such a great movie!
What's the name of the movie that shows at 7:10?
I've always thought that the issue with the fashionista is they're a consumer or critic by definition. These are never heroic traits. The designer is an artist however which is why they get away with it. Just my opinion of course.
Isn't everyone a consumer in some way though?
@@dodobarthel2249 Yes, and a critic to some extent. It is seldom a defining characteristic is what I'm saying. When it is it's going to make an unlikeable character. Even in the video most of the positive traits mentioned are supplementary to the fashionista qualities. I'm saying it's just a poor trait to centre a character around. Again and still just my opinion.
The Fashionista in film is taking the cut throat nature of Fashion and softens it.
I love how The Queen's Gambit basically tramples the archetype of "fashionistas are dumb". We see Beth Harmon who is elegant, feminine, and stylish but at the same she's an extremely intellectual woman who is arguably a genius in her field.
Not to mention, the fashion industry has a known history of making a fortune thanks to body shaming, (seriously, it took my family years to finally stop buying me clothes, because the sizes they keep giving me were not only the wrong size, it was 2 sizes too small, didn’t fit me, &fashion's advice goto solution for that, it's not the dress it's the wearer that can't make it fit)granted I can understand the confidence feeling that clothes can give for some people(I certainly get the feeling, when I find a t-shirt in a color that like, they might be in mens sizes, but they're in different shades of pink, blue, purple &green)
That was a very good segue into the ad ngl
as a gay man I hate being asked about fashion since that is the only reason they do
and Romy and Michelle was great shout out
Villanelle from Killing Eve wore some very, very dope fits. Assassin and Fashionista 👌🏽
Does anyone know the German movie featured? It wasn’t given credit and I’m very much interested in it. Thank you ❤️
Not all are like that
Rarity from MLP Friendship is magic comes to mind
Would love to see your take on the cosplay community sometime
Emma Stone's Cruella is now my fashion role model.
You should a video on models. Idk I think it would be interesting
Can you guys do the "meg griffin" Trope, like a trope about overly hated bullied female character, i think it will make an interesting episode
Glenn Close as Cruella Devil is a whole Queen! ❤
I’m always going to love a movie makeover but I hope that as people understand how fashion can be empowering the scenes can be more clearly about self expression/ self actualization and not conformity
Which is why Katy Keene was ahead of her time!
I love looking at fashion but I've always known it's just not for me, I refuse to be pressured into treating myself as an object that has to be decorated and "made up" because I don't enjoy it, if other women genuinely do I'm happy for them. I prefer to expend my time, money and energy elsewhere, fashion is like something to look at from a distance to me, I also don't go to a museum and feel the need to put expensive paintings on my wall...or any paintings at all.
Please Do a video on Your problems with coworker romance
The Bratz is a good example of cool fashionistas who are still good, empowering and independent
what's the movie title on @7:08 ?
Does anyone know what the German movie is?
Not to mention, the fashion industry has a real history of making a fortune thanks to fat& body shaming, (seriously, it took my family years to stop buying me clothes, because the sizes they keep giving me were not only the wrong size, it was 2 sizes too small, didn’t fit me)granted I can understand the empowering feeling that clothes can give for some people(I certainly get the feeling, when I find a GILDAN t-shirt in a color that like, they might be in mens sizes, but they're in 4 shades of pink)
maybe a sequel to this, could be about The Foodie character,
Someone tell me how to intern with The Take lol
Same lol, I’m doing a Journalism (major) and Radio/Audio (minor) Communications degree at university and I wanna know!
“E-sentricities” why did everyone forget how to pronounce words with a double c? It’s a ks sound, not an s sound. Eccentricities, “ek-sen-triss-it-eez”
4:51 I invented that word.
I know The Take has done video essays on entitled women, &it's a given they probably covered entitled men, so have they ever done a video essay on the narratives if/when both had to interact with each-other?
I've studied a little bit of the fashion industry and it's easy to see why it's full of villains. But it's not. It also has victims of their villainy. The racism and sexism I expected, but some things I wonder if they might not be human rights violations.
Patrizia from House of Gucci wasn't fashionista. She was perceived as social climber, and her outfits were always tacky comparing to old-money like looks of most of Gucci clan members and associates. She was just better version of Paolo - more determined, clever and ambitious.
I honestly couldn't care less about fashion, and the movies depicted are ones I don't watch, but it was an interesting take nonetheless.
I keep it professional for professional settings. 🕊 ♥🤗
So we just not gonna bring up ravens character in that’s so raven as a positive fashionista or Bratz
I know I'm judged for my femininity and love of fashion but I don't care. It's important to understand that women are victims of misogyny no matter how they choose to dress themselves so you might as well dress how you want.
Hello classism.
Could y’all do a video about the rising tide of anti trans sentiment in the media?
Evie is a fashionista and she’s nothing like any of these so there
*Leo, Pisces, Taurus, or Aries* anyone? The fashionistas of the zodiac :D
None of these. It's Libra.
Why are they treated this way? Well, part of it is because of misogyn-
**The world collectively groans**
Know a fun take on the Fashionista? Quinn from Daria. She and her friends are literally called The Fashion Club, yet because they are cartoons, they wear the same thing every day. Brilliant.
Ugly Betty is underrated.
First! ☝🏾🥇
Devil Wear Prada was a puff piece compared to the white out period of the 2000s!!! The reality is way worse.
Shoulda been called "Dressed to Kill"...