What your clothes reveal about you - BBC REEL

For as long as we have worn clothes, there have been rules and social customs about what to wear and when to wear them. Our clothes have evolved to reflect our social aspirations and even political ideas.
In his book Dress Codes, Professor Richard Thompson Ford explores what our clothing reveals about us and our society.
Video by Izabela Cardoso & Fernando Teixeira
Executive Producer: Camelia Sadeghzadeh
#bbcreel #bbc #bbcnews

[@LambentOrt]

While I agree with some of his statements about fashion and power especially in regards to feminism, race, and the modern era, I simply can't agree with his assertion that clothes as symbols of status only arrived with the advent of "tailoring". Clothing has been used to assert power and status and group/individual identity across various cultures since forever. Just at look at how important dress is to tribal societies. Anyone can see that kind of power dressing precedes the advent of modern Western-style tailoring by several millennia.

[@colouredwinds]

I totally agree with you on that. It is way before that. Religious leaders and people always dress differently and this is just one example of your dress conveying your position in society.

[@solostudio100]

Well said, this is a skewed view on the westernisation dress codes.

[@v.a.l.5165]

Exactly. It was an odd tack to take.

[@Lone-Lee]

This video actually focuses on the Europe and the West. He's talking about the Western world, not the whole world!

[@ladyjustice1474]

The color purple was considered only for royalty. That goes all the way back to Roman Empire.

[@nataliamaglakelidze8797]

It started way before than 600 years ago - in China, for example, nobody could wear yellow or even have yellow threads on their garments since yellow represented the sun and was reserved to the emperor. In ancient Rome and other empires, purple was the color for the royalty. In Korea, throughout all dynasties starting from B.C. the color of your clothes indicated not only your social status, but also if you had a son, a husband etc.

[@maywalker997]

In Japan too, there were a lot of dress code rules on colours, formality and age. The kind of kimono you wore could say everything about your marital status, social heirachy, age and family origin to even your interests and sensibilities (via embroidered motifs). On top of this, people were also very attuned to the seasons and it was considered very important to wear clothes that were seasonally appropriate in their motifs (for example plum blossoms for Winter or water motifs for Summer) and there were many motifs that were thought to bring luck and other things to the wearer. There were also many different grades of silk and other fabrics which could say a lot about your wealth/social status (for example durable Tsumugi silk for townsfolk, luxurious Rinzu silk for special occasions, lightweight Sha silk for those who could afford the finest summer kimono, etc).

[@christianfrommuslim]

Exactly. He is taking a very narrow view, which seems too pointed to be objective. This video implies that only Western culture and white people had such dress codes. That is misleading and not true. If he doesn't know this, he is not knowledgeable enough to be speaking as an expert on the subject. If he does know this, to be honest, he should specify that he is speaking only of the dress codes in the West in the past few hundred years.

[@Sjalabais]

Excellent comment, something the BBC should react to, even, when publishing something so superficial.

[@naisunys]

True even in Melayu’s culture the way the traditional clothes are worn/styled specifically sarong/samping connotes various messages of marital status. Dress code isn’t exclusively reserved for whites only.

[@jonahwhale9047]

@@maywalker997 Yeah, there was an interesting phase where they cracked down competitive dressing mandating only dark indigoes, greys & browns, which then paradoxically led to very subtle but competitive cloth weaving & linings to make garments special instead. I think we can safely say it's been going on since the first humanoid stuck a feather in their hair.

[@hoptanglishalive4156]

If you want to be respected in polite society, always wear a bookshelf.

[@maelenaguevarra161]

It's like being in an army. "Hey, we're wearing the same uniform, don't shoot!"

[@luciananunes7044]

A great video, narrated in a very clear way. As my native language is Portuguese, the BBC helps me to improve my speech. Gratitude!

[@ChocolateAristocrat]

This book sits on my top bookshelf and catches the eye of visitors to my home. The conversations that have taken place...interestingly many are still trying to consume (dress) their way into societal acceptance.

[@mr_easy]

The title is pretty misleading. It should be something like dress codes and history.

[@1suitcasesal]

Interesting topic. I wasn't aware that some of these rules and laws existed. Well done video.

[@nl7247]

Love the analysis about video call background.

[@v.a.l.5165]

This is an oddly British/American focused analysis. Clothing and how it denotes societal status is a fascinating sociological phenomena and goes back as far as humans have lived in stratified communities. I understand that he was coming from a particular perspective, but the title implies a broader scope.

[@biakahmar9171]

I don't care much about dress but this video is very interesting.. and the narrator is pretty articulate

[@happygucci5094]

Professor Ford IS articulate.

[@sschofield115]

Professor Ford + BBC = articulate (this isn't some small time KZbin channel)

[@ruleofreason5286]

Happy learning

[@JustAThought155]

This is interesting. One question. Can you explain why the narrator’s ability to be articulate is something that strikes you? Again, I am only curious. I am not challenging your comment.😊

[@biakahmar9171]

@@JustAThought155 No ums or aahs; Objectivity and non-partisan perspective. He speaks in a clear and concise manner, and he is precise in his speech.

[@smkh2890]

Clothes indicate which 'tribe' you belong to: length of hair, use of cosmetics, style, date, are all markers of which tribe you belong to : manual worker, office worker, professional, social status. It can be generational, indicating age or 'datedness'. Of course associations of colour and design also flag one's gender.

[@JannaGiles206]

Really interesting! Thank you for sharing this quality content!

[@FreeSpirit47]

04:07 Keep in mind that it was not JUST African American people that were prohibited from dressing what was deemed part of their station in society. People who were white were also seen as a threat if they were known to be financially poor, yet, dressed in suits or other fine clothing when they were not working. Native American peoples lives are not much better now than they were 60 to 100 years ago.

[@ltlbuddha]

Interesting and informative. I assumed the clothing in the marches in the 60's were and artefact of their time in a different manner.

[@mukhumor]

In Britain there was a rule that only rich people could wear black because it was an expensive dye, and reserved for officialdom. The Irish wore black cloth taken from black sheep, which angered the British... 'Who do they think they are!'

[@mikewhocheeseharry5292]

I heard it was Royal Blue that was hard to make because you had to use crushed beetles or something. In Southeast Asia, black color dye was easily made from coconut charcoal.

[@TPGNATURAL]

I liked this video with one exception. When Professor Thompson talked about the hoodie. My experience as a teenager working in a liquor store in a predominantly white area we where on alert when anyone came in the store with their hoodie over their head. No matter how cold it was outside. This liquor store was in a fairly safe neighborhood. And when I had outdoor jobs where I needed to interact with the public we where trained not to meet whoever the customer was with the hoodie over my head. If it was raining to present myself as nonthreatening as possible with my rain hood on my head. I have talked to many people over the years that said they felt uncomfortable sometimes when a unknown person has been around them with a hoodie over the persons head. I heard and saw a narrative change with some people after Trayvon Martin killing. This is just my experience in life and what others have told me. I wonder what a evolutionary psychologist would say after reading my comments ?

[@jonahwhale9047]

I don't know but can never work out why those kids still do it in Summer when the rest of us are wearing t-shirts. Screams adolescent insecurity more than gangster. Find a good supply of 'hoodless hoodies' (zipped sweatshirts) & buy a hat if your head's cold. Too many adults are going out dressed like they're still wearing infants' clothing, suggesting that they are still just big babies. Leave sportswear for sport.

[@aesyamazeli8804]

Hoodies are just unliked by all adults

[@Chris-sg4th]

What they don’t say is when a white man wears a hoodie chances are. It’s it’s tight slim hoodie and slim it skinny jeans. When a person of color wears a hoodie. Some of them wear baggy clothes. Tatted up. Sagging their pants. It’s not just hoodie. It how they present themselves. Which one of those two seems more of a threat. Stereotype it but it’s true

[@TPGNATURAL]

@@Chris-sg4th Maybe you can read my initial comments. Mostly white people and fear of harm was there. I do agree to some degree what you said about white people. I do see some white people with baggie pants with over sized hoodies. Do the Hispanic, Black ,White or whoever else is maybe tatted up looked at with apprehension. Yes. By some people and no by other people. I do agree somewhat at how they present themselves will in my case help make me feel in fear or not. In closing I believe the different banks I have gone in there is posted signs to take off sun glasses, hats and hoodies. Because a very small group of people use those three things to hide themselves to commit crimes. As the three men the other day who did a home invasion robbery with hoodie over their heads. Is there stereotypes, we all do it in my opinion. Some people get harmed more then others because of it.

[@AG-on3vt]

No one gonna mention that this man looks like Denzel Washington ?????

[@flamencoprof]

In the Sixties I began wearing jeans because they were work clothes and I wanted to signal I didn't care for fashion and didn't want to be one of the suit-wearing drones. By the mid-Seventies I was questioning that decision, since so many were wearing jeans it was becoming a kind of uniform. Still I wore them. By the Eighties, jeans were being sold artificially faded, artificially worn, and creatively modified away from the basic work garment I initially embraced. Still I wore them. By the Nineties jeans branded you as old-fashioned. Still I wore them. By the 2000s, ridiculously distressed jeans appeared. Still I wore them. Today, I don't even care what dumb people are doing with jeans. Still I wear them.

[@shecalledmelisalou]

I too wear jeans almost everyday. It has held me back in many ways but I just can’t quit them. I even wore denim suits and dresses when I working in law and real estate. I drew severe criticism because of it. Still I persisted. Now I have my own business and wear jeans every day. I look back and know I missed out on deals and was treated differently and thought of as poor even though I lived on Central Park West and then Fifth Avenue and had 2 Ivy League degrees. Wearing jeans or even tailored fashionable denim was looked down upon. But I was comfortable, more productive and true to myself. I was psychoanalyzed as hiding in my jeans....told that I feared success or attracting attention. Perhaps. But it was and continues to be a security blanket of sorts that I don’t want to give up. I’m glad I no longer have to defend my choice of clothing. I have even incorporated denim into my home decor. To each her own....

[@flamencoprof]

@@shecalledmelisalou Thanks for your honest and interesting reply. I feel maybe this song is appropriate to the situation, 🙂 Otis Redding - I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now).

[@jonahwhale9047]

@@flamencoprof Every generation has wanted to put a twist on them to make them their own. For many decades it was hard to find just a good old fashioned, unwashed, straight pair of jeans that you COULD do the work they were originally designed to do in!!! In a way, I'm grateful for the recent generation of hipsters for getting us back to pure "authentic" cuts. Yup, some of us actually bought them because they were work clothes, & easy to clean. My advice now is, if you fine a pair you like, buy 6 pairs because there's no guarantee they'll be on the shelf tomorrow. However, I've become grateful for that 1 or 2% of stretch in new ones. As to actually paying for post-punk, pre-distressed, Ramones style drainpipes, already worn out & with holes in the knees, that's just crazy. When I was young, you had to 'earn' the holes in your jeans not buy them! I have to admire the manufacturers' artistry at time, but to think 1,000s of kids in China are actually employed to take brand new, perfect jeans, & destroy them in order to make a profit must be one of the most bizarre & wasteful twists in the history of consumerism. I could do a psychoanalysis of it but what a waste from an environmental point of view. I guess it arose of the era when pre-worn vintage 501s started to command a premium price & the Chinese did what the Chinese do, & reckonded they could make more if they faked them. The Japanese, on the other hand, bought Levis' original wooden looms & went off to make more authentic than authentic indigo died, selvedged jeans. If you can afford, there's a company that will actually make them to fit you too.

[@flamencoprof]

@@jonahwhale9047 I get where you are coming from, and you have reworded a lot of my own thoughts, but steady on! I just wear them, I don't worship them.

[@jonahwhale9047]

@@flamencoprof Hey, but you are in a close, life long relationship with them!

[@kasondaleigh]

Fascinating!

[@deanlol]

I disagree with this summation. I am a blue collar worker. When I work, I wear clothing that I don't mind staining with dirt or other substances and has signs of wear. I have a Carhart coat that I have worn for many years that is dirty and ragged while I work. When I face the public in a private or social manner, I wear Levis, Izod, Northern Face and other nicer name brand clothing. Just because you can afford nicer clothes doesn't mean you always wear them.

[@TAVettel]

Fabric's, colours, types of footwear this is a subject one can really deep dive into and learn a lot about human culture and societal oppression and renunciation of that oppression.

[@christianfrommuslim]

This video implies that only Western culture and white people had such dress codes. That is misleading and not true. If he doesn't know this, he is not knowledgeable enough to be speaking as an expert on the subject. If he does know this, to be honest, he should specify that he is speaking only of the dress codes in the West in the past few hundred years.

[@shecalledmelisalou]

@@christianfrommuslim maybe you need to read the whole book and not just watch a KZbin clip....

[@huzaag17]

Excellent investigation

[@SabrinaLovesPuffins]

i didnt know denzel washington changed careers.

[@christianfrommuslim]

This video implies that only Western culture and white people had such dress codes. That is misleading and not true. If he doesn't know this, he is not knowledgeable enough to be speaking as an expert on the subject. If he does know this, to be honest, he should specify that he is speaking only of the dress codes in the West in the past few hundred years.

[@Sjalabais]

Yes, it's almost weird how the BBC manages to land on their face like that.

[@pabloapostar7275]

He is a law professor whose expertise is in US civil law. The US culture and civil law is Western culture and is derived from European history. BBC clearly presented an expert on one specific portion of the human population and he discussed the dress code of that population and how it affected the dress of activists during the civil rights movement in the US, i.e., his area of expertise. He also gave context - he was surprised how many US civil rights cases involved how people were dressed. The video was blatantly explicit that he was talking about one and only one thing with no implication that he was discussing any other portion of the world's population or history.

[@christianfrommuslim]

@@pabloapostar7275 The title is misleading. It should have been, "How Western dress codes impacted civil rights in America."

[@tamasgyorffy1]

fully agree with you!

[@smkh2890]

About the book display as background: I did that back in 1970 applying to Oxford. I didn't even interview, they took me on my writing.

[@shecalledmelisalou]

?

[@Lone-Lee]

Were there zoom calls in the 70s? 😲

[@smkh2890]

@@Lone-Lee I did the interview in person if that's what you mean. In the 1970's there was no internet, not even satellite tv. Maybe fax existed...

[@Lone-Lee]

@@smkh2890, yeah, I know, I was just joking. You told in your comment that you used a book display as your background. For what exactly did you use them?

[@smkh2890]

@@Lone-Lee Ah now I remember, I had to submit application forms and the photo i used had my bookcase as a backdrop. What are you reading? I hear there is a new Cormac McCarthy due out soon!

[@juststardust8103]

Very interesting video.

[@jaybird2791]

I wear any jeans that fit- as long as they are broken in. Always new sneakers and a t-shirt on a daily. As I get older- it doesn't matter any more. I try to wear by best manners as possible. With patches of kindness- love and understanding all over my coat of armor.

[@dhairyazaveri1680]

This is very different than Indian idea of dress

[@RK-gc3jr]

It's also about trends

[@memolano100]

Fantastic video.

[@Genny-Zee]

He looks like the principal in Mean Girls

[@patrycjakonieczna]

Some Polish local governments like Labour Office have insisted on casual dress code. Of course there are some restrictions like not wearing sport suits but I saw things like man wearing Avengers t-shirt.

[@pomelogirl_8939]

I find it funny how ppl say that we're so different from the past, yada yada that this doesnt work, this and that, but in reality, its a social construct of the entire human civilization. Its not inherentlg bad in of itself, its when it gets used in ways that can either be bad or good....

[@cbeary2000]

Such a bummer that this has once again turned into a comparison of hierarchy and race. No talk of Hispanics, jews, and asian participants - just whites and blacks. I hope one day our American culture (most specifically the media and higher learning) will expand our narrow focus into something greater than this.

[@shubhmishra66]

Thank you for saying this.

[@leonamay8776]

Sumptuary laws for example often required Jews to mark themselves as Jewish by being required to wear certain colours, clothing styles etc. Jews being banned from certain profession also meant that the average Jew used to be very poor before the enlightenment in most European countries (despite common misconceptions). Which obviously also had an impact on their attire.

[@shecalledmelisalou]

There’s only so much that can be put in a KZbin clip. Read the book

[@miaomiaou_]

It’s a 7 min video, I’m sure there’s much more said in the book, also he’s black, isn’t he allowed to discuss these issues when given a platform? It was relevant and interesting.

[@smartanajones4u]

Well just include yourself in the category of people of no color since all yall only vary ethnically

[@justotorres8970]

I have plenty expensive clothing but most of the time I have Walmart gear on.

[@gendoruwo6322]

i thought the video is like a horoscope reading: "Hey you wear this X style, that means you are this X kind of person." Instead i get a history lecture.

[@chloellabip]

No, a white guy walking behind me with his hood up is still going to make me cross the street... skin colour doesn't matter, it's the way the person carries themselves that makes the impression. At least in the UK.

[@joelstephenson8017]

I was thinking the same. I'm from England, and the dodgy look of a hoody (with the hood up) knows no skin colour here

[@annwe6]

I teach yoga and have a gold mandala painted on my background wall. When I'm on Zoom calls and classes it looks like a halo framed around my head (reminiscent of the crowns in the Green Knight movie, if you watched that). I may look like a saint, but saint I ain't.

[@shecalledmelisalou]

That I need a stylist because I “look poor”.....

[@koleyw932]

Clothes can be a good way to put your best foot forward. I like to confuse the rich by dressing like them; navy blue, Kelly green, pink oxford, plaid Bermuda shorts and white blazers. You can’t really eat the rich, but you can mock them in subversive ways.

[@colouredwinds]

I don’t feel that this says anything special. If you go to a museum or a gallery, especially those with portraits of images of people, it will be obvious that dressing had meaning behind it. People didn’t just random clothes for their paintings. They chose it for a specific reason, such as their position in society or their wealth. This really isn’t anything new.

[@ylounis]

Interesting video, but the (too) dynamic editing made me nauseous

[@144Donn]

@4:20 Dignified dress demanded Dignity..perhaps the biggest takeaway! Perhaps dignified dress also makes us feel and act more dignified?! Can we correlate the civility, peacefulness, maturity and dignity of our society by our dress? It has more to do with the content of our hearts...but, sometimes you have to work from the outside inward. Just wondering how we'd be acting today if we were just a bit less informal.

[@sangeerpurayil6653]

Male tennis players wear shorts and women skirts. Men wear shorts and women bikini at the beach. Some even wear just thongs. Same goes to many sports events. Men normally wear suits at functions and women wear fragments of clothes. Whats the science behind this phenomenon?

[@wmom1816]

I enjoyed Denzel Washington's presentation on fashion and class through the ages😁

[@Weirdkauz]

Very interesting topic, though totally mis-titled, plus this editing style may be hip or whatever, and it's kinda thrilling but absolutely unfit for an informational video. Music videos go well with that, but in digesting information, one wants to habe images to dwell upon while listening to the content. What's going on here is counterproductive as well as very, very annoying.

[@FAARHAAN1]

Your total study is based on the clothes of the West.. what about Asia and other continents?

[@ladyjustice1474]

Your research is incomplete. There is a lot information in your video that is wrong. It is so wrong that it shows complete lack of knowledge.

[@claimed_nag23akahorsehunti49]

This man lookin a bit like a 1/4 pounder Denzel over here. Little funny beanie baby looking guy. I like him. This whole system of class for clothing is goofy. Stay comfortable and let others minds not matter to you as an individual.

[@biakahmar9171]

😂😂 dang

[@depakbhandari]

hy denzal

[@Showmetheevidence-]

Let’s call out the Bs first line straight away; “Dress codes work to cement a social hierarchy…” Utter nonsense - people choose the clothes they can buy / can afford to buy. Hierarchy’s might choose clothes to represent status & that will never change. But most of this video is pushing the boundaries extremely hard!

[@christianfrommuslim]

This video implies that only Western culture and white people had such dress codes. That is misleading and not true. If he doesn't know this, he is not knowledgeable enough to be speaking as an expert on the subject. If he does know this, to be honest, he should specify that he is speaking only of the dress codes in the West in the past few hundred years.

[@pabloapostar7275]

Golly, then why the laws governing who could wear what? Why did the Europeans criminalize women for wearing pants for centuries? Why were there laws governing who was permitted to kill who during battlefield combats (e.g., Henry II's murderer was tortured to death for not being of an equal social status as Henry II, even though Henry pardoned the man for that crime).

[@Lone-Lee]

@@christianfrommuslim, No! There's nothing in the video that implies that. This video focuses on Europe and America (Western civilization in general), not the whole world! _"If he doesn't know this, he is not knowledgeable enough to be speaking as an expert on the subject. If he does know this, to be honest, he should specify that he is speaking of the dress codes in the West in the past few hundred years"_ Don't just jump into conclusions. You are talking as if he was the one posting this video on KZbin. It is BBC(or their social media manager, to be more precise)! They might have called him for an interview discussing the history of fashion in the West. It isn't his pr0blem that they posted it with this title.

[@tazwarmirza1612]

Oh wow . My god. You are in fact a law teacher?

[@jonahwhale9047]

Got to laugh at the idea of people buying a load of books just to have in the background of their Zoom screen. Just a buy green screen ...

[@newgoliard6059]

I care more about how I look with my clothes off.

[@diegopitbull7580]

He lost me when he started making K Harris a role model.

[@shecalledmelisalou]

People ran to the stores to buy those sneakers after those photos came out. But like Obama’s tan suit....Black people can get no respect dressing outside of the box. And with people like you they get no respect no matter what they wear.

[@aesyamazeli8804]

She live rent free on your head he only talks about clothing not making her a role model.

[@diegopitbull7580]

@@aesyamazeli8804 You are funny.

[@teissi]

I hate dress codes. Especially gender divided

[@donnawoodford6641]

And then there is body paint to make it appear one is wearing clothes! Ha, ha!!

[@breightscott]

Kamala could be the best dressed woman on earth but could never mask her incapability of being completely out of her depth with the hyeba laugh of hers whenever asked a challenging question

[@warri0rp0etry47]

It all stinks of Vanity. From beginning to end.

[@1789Bastille]

people in suits are just clowns who need to wear costumes

[@Marina-ct6tv]

Very distracting the sketch of the woman - just hate the way the woman body is deformed to potrait an alien version of whomanhood