Fashion is a way of expressing your personal style and individuality through clothing. It encompasses not only clothes, but hair, makeup and accessories as well. Fashion is a cultural phenomenon and an industry that is ever-changing. It can be influenced by the culture of a particular time period, social movement or the business tactics of big conglomerates that dictate what is ‘in’ at any given point in time.
Changes in fashion often reflect societal changes, but can also be driven by internal taste mechanisms that have nothing to do with current events. This is clearly evident when considering the popularity of certain sounds in music (see musical styles and trends). Likewise, it is often argued that changes in fashion are the result of a cycle of fads that begin with new designers producing their collections for the season. However, recent research indicates that this is not necessarily the case; a variety of factors drive a particular style at any one time.
Clothes and styles can reveal a lot about the person wearing them, associating him with specific groups of people and creating stereotypes and distance between groups. For example, a boy with green hair and multiple piercings might look like a rebel to some and an outsider to others.