ABSTRACT
Clothing tie-symbols have been adopted by the young and those on the cusp of identity change. The existence of clothing tie-symbols suggests that social class in the United States is only one of several types of identity that can be overridden by the availability of clothing and various notions of lifestyle and political orientation. Trendy styles are put together by young wearers from inexpensive clothing and usually inferior fabrics, and are usually worn for a short time. This chapter includes trendy styles such as mock hippie, rave styles, urban outfitters, hip-hop, rap styles, gothic, body piercing and tattooing. Through the tie-symbols teenagers become aware of different values and orientations to social life, encouraging self-definition. These representations may also help to link the young to the adult world, a form of anticipatory socialization. A 1982 study by Margaret Rucker and her colleagues at the University of California–Davis provided information on how the problem of self-definition was worked out in college.
