Dating has been a central part of the western culture for a long time. With the changes in time, the whole culture of dating has also changed significantly over the ages. In earlier days the idea of marriage was seen as the ultimate aim of dating but in the last couple of decades we have seen a significant shift in the culture of dating. Marriage is no longer always the goal with which two people date and the methods of dating and meeting people has also seen remarkable change. The TV show Friends uses dating and relationships as an important theme throughout the show to push forward the story and create funny scenarios. Set in an American society, the characters constantly go on dates with new people for various different reasons.

Fashion plays a key role in dating especially when meeting someone you like, the expression of one’s self through his or her clothes becomes crucial. Dates and fashion thus share a very close connection with each other. Given the fact that the show ran for 10 seasons and was very important part of popular culture at the time, we can study dating and its evolution through the characters and their fashion in the show.

Throughout the whole show the most common and clearly the most used dating method is the dinner date. The characters go to various dinner dates throughout the show with a lot of different people. The dinner date has been one of the oldest and most formal types of date. The dinner dates are common from the start of the show till the end which shows that this type of dating is one of the few things that hasn’t changed in the dating culture.

If we look at the first couple of seasons we see that the clothing styles for the dates are very formal. We can see the women wearing dresses and the men wearing suits or blazers. By the way they dress we can infer that dates were more serious occasions earlier. A lot of thought goes behind how they dress up, how they fix their hair and even the shoes, accessories and jewelleries they wear. The color of the dress their dress also tells us a lot about how they want to express themselves. While most of the time the people wear more formal black, grey, dark blue colors occasionally we see someone wearing more bold colors like red. For example, when Joey goes out with a fan she is dressed in red from top to bottom and is much more confidant and dominating whereas Joey is very casually dressed. There dressing represents the intentions with which they are at the date.

When the setting of the date changes the fashion of the character also changes. When Ross and Rachel go for a movie date they are dressed more casually. It can also be that because they are good friends and they have known each other for a long time they do not feel the need to make a strong impression or express themselves through their fashion too much.

As the show progresses we can see that the dressing style during dates changes a little. The clothing of the men specially becomes slightly more casual with jeans, shirts and sweaters instead of suits and blazers. It is not completely casual but it is not as formal as the first couple of seasons either. In the case of women the fashion style is always very closely connected to their intentions and the type of date. On a date where the woman is interested in a serious relationship the fashion style is formal, the hair and accessories are also formal but this changes when they are not really interested or only looking for something casual. There is a very clear difference in their day to day clothing and the clothes they wear for dates which shows that it is clearly a statement that they are trying to make through their clothes. Through their fashion perhaps women are able to find a mode of expression in the public space but we don’t see this working among the male characters of the show. There is not much difference in their clothing style on a date from their day to day life. This shows that they do not feel the need to express themselves through their clothes too much. Perhaps a closer study of the power relations and the cultural upbringing of the characters might produce very interesting arguments for the reason behind this phenomenon. We can see that fashion in a way follows the changes in the dating culture rather than the other way around.

By Arun Enterria (1733107)

Do you think appearance doesn’t count in the workplace? Well, think again. The quality of your work might be the most important thing but your appearance also leaves an immediate impression on your colleagues, management, including the customers you attend to. While eccentricity might be allowed and even embraced in some settings, most workplaces are conservative and want you to be too. And if your company has a dress code policy which you don’t adhere to, your job could hang by your threads. But this is not it, guys- Dressing appropriately varies from gender and also the kind of job you have. In fact, our clothing also has a lot to do with our social status, you don’t believe me, then let’s take a quick look at some of the characters from Friends.

Beginning with Chandler Bing, nobody knows what chandler does. Okay jokes aside, he works first as an IT Procurement Manager and then as a Vice President of IT Procurement with the specialization Statistical analysis and data reconfiguration in the first 9 seasons and as an Advertising Copywriter in the end. We would very clearly notice that Chandler’s job required him to wear suit and pant which he turns around with his very colourful ties. The very purpose of dressing according to our workplace is for us to blend with the rest of them.

However in the last few episodes when Chandler quits his job and works as an Advertising Copywriter, although his co-workers dress more casually, he still could not break away from the habit of wearing formals which makes him stand out in a very negative light.

Coming next to our trend setter, the undisputed fashion queen of TV show Friends, Rachel Green rocked all the workplace attires. She first worked as a waitress at coffee shop, then an assistant at fortunate fashions where she was also required nothing but pouring coffee, buyer and personal shopper at Bloomingdale’s, and lastly as an executive at Ralph Lauren. We’ll look at the trajectory of her workplace attires beginning with the coffee shop. Usually as a waitress, people are often required to wear a uniform t-shirt with an apron and a skirt. At the coffee shop at central park, she had the freedom to choose from her own wardrobe. But we can see that Rachel mostly chose to wear casual t-shirts from a wardrobe full of dresses, sweaters and formal shirts. Why so? Because working as a waitress and having a low paid job, the people she meets and mingles with does not demand her to be so formal and from such a position when she however moves to a high end job where the cultural and social values are high, she is required to dress up in a certain way. Such a trajectory can be seen throughout the show.

When she started working at Fortunata Fashions, she starts dressing up a little more sophistically- we can see how she starts wearing sweaters with her maxi skirt and her hair is properly made, a way in which she never dressed before.

 Next when she starts working at Bloomingdales she wears her pencil skirt and tight clothing, with her hair tight behind and tosses with her fancy jewellery. The major reason why we see her dressed in proper business attire, predominantly is because it presents a visual image and sends a message that the employees are professional. 

Next when Rachel starts working in Ralph Lauren, we see a stark difference in terms of her hairstyles and choice of clothes. She often wore a printed shirt with pants or skirts- The silky texture of which stood her out in a higher status position than all the other workplaces. Printed clothes have been very trendy since the beginning of the 21st century and Rachel not only keeps her personal style in mind but also the office culture and overall vibe of the company. Specifically working in a fashion designing company, it becomes very important for her to maintain a professional image of herself and the business where employees routinely interact on a daily basis with prospects, clients and business partners.

Appropriate workplace attires are thus extremely important for professional success. All the characters can be seen fitting into their social and cultural set up as and when their situations changes. And no matter what, they never forget to assert their identity through their fashion statement. Be it by changing dressings like Rachel or by standing firm on what you are, like Chandler. Together these characters have shown us the trajectory of various fashion elements as being influenced by their occupation in particular.

By Ashmita Saha (1733132)

The ever-iconic Friends starts with a wedding dress, so how can we not talk about the evolution of wedding dresses in the series. Rachel’s wedding dress which in a way kicks off the series and the myriad wedding dresses that have been portrayed in the series are worthy of an analysis since the series spanned over 10 years. Which better way to understand the wedding trends of a decade!

First and foremost, Rachel’s wedding dress. Being a spoilt girl who gets to have everything in her life, she really must have had a fairy tale kind of wedding in her mind. Hence she had a quite larger than normal silver tiara, a long train and a tulle gown. The dress came from Warner bros costume depot, hand selected by the Debra Macguire herself.

But when it comes to phoebe, she raised herself and doesn’t believe in anything that is luxurious. For her wedding, all she wanted was to feel pretty. Monica, being the wedding planner was so perfectionate that she knew exactly what Phoebe would like. For her white meant nothing and she simply did not choose it for her wedding even when it was the standard colour. We can see the dawn of brides experimenting with various colours for wedding dresses ever since this episode.

Monica, on the other hand is the perfectionist. She wanted everything on point for her wedding and she makes sure it is. She even fights for a wedding dress which was on sale. However, when they aired the episode of Monica’s wedding it was during the late half of the decade. The whole new trend of minimalism started with Monica’s dress which was plain yet elegant.

The lesbian wedding

Friends travelled way early than its time because it portrayed a lesbian wedding as natural as it could be. They broke the gender stereotypes embedded in the bride wearing white to symbolise the patriarchal construct of virginity. Instead the couples chose normal dresses, which they thought were perfect for them.

How can we not end this session with not even mentioning the iconic bridesmaid dresses? The pink tulle bridesmaid dress of Rachel caused a huge rush in tulle bridesmaid dressing. It was so horrible according to the designer, but the ever-beautiful Jennifer Aniston made it look so pretty. This dress played an important role in the story, as it was the wedding of her ex-fiancé, and on the day they were supposed to be married, Rachel runs away in the realisation that she is not in love. This time, the dress was intended to be funny to set the mood and it is amidst this hilarious outfit, her butt showing, and her parents saying the reason why Rachel dumped Barry was syphilis that she regains agency as a woman. When everyone including Barry betted on her to leave by 9, she stayed and declared that she had promised herself that she’ll make it though at least one of his weddings.

By Sethulakshmi S (1733162)

Fashionably Friends!

The changing ways in which fashion was used to reflect the characters’ personalities in friends.

Friends had played creatively with fashion during its ten year run with its characters setting several fashion trends, many of which are still popular throughout the world today. Even though the characters were all popular and iconic for most of their outfits, a pattern can be traced for each of the main characters in the outfits they wore. Here’s a look into the kind of outfits each of the friends wore and how the show used their outfits to reflect their personality and its change over time:

Each of the friends can be said to represent different personality types – the hot guy (Joey), the fashionable dumb blonde (Rachel), the mother figure (Monica), the nerd (Ross) ,the funny but awkward guy (Chandler) and the weirdo (Phoebe). These categories overlap considerably and are very much flexible but nevertheless represented in a subtle manner in the show, especially in its earlier seasons. As the show progressed, these categories changed and transformed considerably for the characters adding on more complex layers and thereby giving a much realistic portrayal.

These personality types are solidified through the kind of clothes and accessories worn by the friend. Here is an examination of this :

Ross

Ross was introduced as a nerdish character, academically oriented and the only friend who was relatively successful in a career they actually loved at the start of the series. His suits and the close-cut, gelled hair denoted his calculated and efficient personality. Ross is also averse to taking risks as seen in several instances like his constant need to get married and settle down. These personality traits are reflected in his relatively poor sense of style and lack of experimentation in the early seasons. Later on, as his character evolved Ross is seen experimenting more with fashion as seen with the examples of his leather pants, tanning experiment and teeth whitening all three being huge fails but hey, he still he tried! Friends also involuntarily gave a relevant message through Ross in one of the later episodes when he was single and wore a “woman’s” top to a date because he liked it and not knowing it was women’s but anyway this helped convey the reality of “social constructionism” of gender norms as theorized by Butler to an extent!

Rachel

Rachel is portrayed as the most fashionable among all the friends and later on adopts a career in fashion itself. She wears trendy but simple clothes that set the 90s trends and even current fashion statements throughout the world. This matches her personality which clearly had a great sense in fashion. Rachel’s clothes also became more classy and elegant overtime denoting her growth in character after finding her own career path and being successful in it.

Joey

Even though Joey was an actor, his fashion style was not at all elaborate or eye-catching, mostly restricting to jumpers, sweaters and other casual clothing. This suggests his laid-back, lazy but confident personality that can pull-off a great first image even with a casual sometimes shabby appearance. The very first time Joey comes on screen he is made to look dapper pulling off a black leather jacket and blue jeans. This was done to convey the handsome hunk image associated with Joey. But overtime Joey was spotted mostly wearing casuals and jumpers denoting Joey’s character development into a lovable, loyal but dumb friend image. In the later seasons Joey’s casual clothing was accompanied with the input of shirts in his wardrobe intending to show his maturity as a person. Friends also used Joey to convey the prevalent gender stereotypes in fashion with the episode of the unisex bag and women’s panties both being enjoyed by Joey, the character representative of the traditional forms of masculinity in the show.

Phoebe

Pheobe is perhaps the most quirky, fashionably futuristic and experimental friend. In the earlier seasons, Phoebe wore a lot of retro style and vintage dresses showing her versatile and creative personality. She does not shirk from experimenting new styles or trying on odd looks like attaching a Christmas décor on the front of her dress when dressing up for Ross’s office party. Overtime, she is shown to wear an orange faux fur coat and outfits with uncommon combinations of clothings and accessories. She portrays a vibrant look similar to her personality that makes her stand out among others. Pheobe’s personality was framed to be empathetic and artistically creative for example her understanding the meaning of the poem “The Empty Vase” while most of the others were not able to. This difference from the crowd is reflected in her clothing as well. Overtime, Phoebe also settles down and marries like most of her other friends, but her fashion style, though at times conforming, always stood out one way or another.

Chandler

Chandler’s clothing more or less represented his tactical, logical and clever personality. He was also probably the least experimental in fashion reflecting his personality that lacked in confidence throughout most of the show. He generally stuck to the norms in terms of fashion but nevertheless had a good taste in outfits. Chandler avoided challenges most of the time like retaining his office job for a long time before becoming confident enough to quit and pursue a career of his choice. Chandler was never seen wearing anything out of the ordinary and was also careful when it came to spending money unlike his other friends. He did apply the lipstick for men and kept the weird dog shaped statue to appease Joey and Ross respectively.

Monica

Monica is probably the classiest and most elegant but at the same time simple in her choice of clothes and style. She mostly wore basic and dark or dull shades of colour in the earlier seasons reflecting her perfectionist and mature personality. Monica does occasionally sport red for special functions that make her stand out unlike her usual blend-in outfits. Over time it can be noted that she wears more colours like purple, orange, pink etc showing her growth in personality and more confidence in herself after becoming successful in her career.

By Aiswarya Annie Santhosh (1733123)

Cultural impacts of Fashion Depicted Through Relationships in Friends

In Friends, Relationship is the backbone which holds all the aspects of the sitcom together. When dates becomes a part of their daily routine,relationships are what kept them routed in where they are. A strong sense of this message can be seen conveyed through their fashion statement as well. Phoebe is known for being free spirited. She is the one who often comes up with vibrant colors and crowded prints. Some of the dresses that she wear reiterates her origin within a lower middle class family about which she is totally comfortable with. But when she meets Mike’s parents,we can see a sudden subtle shift in Phoebe’s dressing sense. It’s not the real Phoebe that we get to see, but the Phoebe that tries hard to fit into the high cultured life of Mike’s parents. She wears lavender coloured dress with a beautiful pearl neckpiece which is a usual attire of the royal family in London. Besides that lavender and pearls are epitomes of elegance, femininity and royalty.

Even though she didn’t want to hide her background,she was constantly trying to fit into the elite culture. When we compare this with Phoebe’s previous relationships, we can see how much she experimented with her clothes. Phoebe’s change when it came to Mike’s parents might also be because of the larger social structures into which she was implicitly trying to fit herself into. She wants to start a family and live with Mike. His decision that he will never get married might have put Phoebe in pressure and made her insecure. 

Similarly, when it comes to Ross and Emily,the costumes were designed in such a way that it’s all grey. Especially after the episode after Ross spells wrong name at the altar. Ross’s high standards and principles makes him a person who would do anything to make a marriage work. He is totally overlooking the potential threats that his behaviour could create. Ross’s and Emily’s costumes reveals this uncertainty and inability to anchor at a particular extreme; it goes with the larger idea that there is nothing black and white, everything is grey. This can be related to the subsequent merging of the thin line between high culture and low culture. Initially contrasts were stressed upon and later it gave way to more light colours, especially grey. The episode where Emily gets ready o get back into the relationship reflects this the most. Chandler and Monica’s relationship can also be seen as reflecting various cultural elements. Chandler’s constant insecurity as a man is portrayed through his constant admiration over Richard when Monica was dating him. Its definitely not his job that makes him insecure and timid. He equates his inability to get more dates like his friends as a disability which will make him less than a man. The narrative shows how Chandler grew more confident and healthy after he gets into a relationship with Monica. This is reflected in his dressing also. The usual timid and loosely dressed Chandler becomes more sharp and confident. Costumes can thus be seen as radiating important socio-cultural elements across the timeline

By Anagha S (1733126)