Well-being Lecture Reflection
Throughout the Better Lives lecture unit, every lecture has been of importance, yet I was able to identify the most with Jekaterina Rogaten’s lecture on Well-being. Primarily, I was fascinated by the way in which Psychological Well-being is applied in most aspects of life; as the lecture continued, it was made apparent that consumer’s/worker’s well-being is a key factor within the fashion industry.
In this modern day, fast fashion takes a lead in this social media influenced consumer age. In many ways, well-being is the reasoning behind this. Through Rogaten’s lecture I became enlightened through learning of both Hedonic (subjective) and Eudaimonic (psychological) well-being. One subject area that stood out to me was the Paradox of Choice. It can be argued that by maximising your choices, you maximise your freedom whilst maximising your decision-making. This can be applied to several instances within the fashion industry; reflecting on this from a personal perspective, it can be applied to my wardrobe and shopping habits. Through the constant pressure to appear well-presented and ‘on-trend’, it could be argued that myself and others feel the need to purchase garments from fast-fashion brands. It has already been well-established that fast fashion has an incredibly negative effect on the environment, yet its effects have not necessarily been portrayed within personal lives. It is of my opinion that through the large quantity of clothing items I own, the number of choices I have to make in the day increases due to me choosing an outfit to wear in the morning. This should mean that as my decision-making has been maximised, my freedom should be as well; as previously mentioned, the constant evolving trends lead this to be incorrect, as now only a small selection of clothes are deemed ‘fashionable’ and ‘on-trend’. This could therefore lead to a depletion of happiness, as consumers are arguably reminded that their outfit is not complete without a new pair of shoes or a new jacket etc.
To conclude, this particular lecture has allowed me to understand the power of choice and the effect that this choice has upon the fashion environment. Through self-acceptance and self-realisation, we as consumers have the power to change the fashion industry. Perhaps by becoming happy and content within ourselves, we do not have to purchase another garment or clothing item to feel accepted within the ever-changing and evolving trends of the modern day. In many ways, it could be argued that the fashion industry projects and enforces a level of toxic pressure amongst younger consumers; as we purchase a top for £4 alongside a year’s worth of next day delivery for £7- we as the sole consumers have to understand that this is not ethical, as we should educate ourselves and through this self-realization be aware that it surprisingly is more than ok to wear the same outfit twice.