Published: March 2, 2011

From the day we are able to dress ourselves, or at least from the day our parents stop dressing us, what we choose to wear (or not wear) becomes a representation of who we are. Preppy, goth, uptown, downtown, whatever style of clothing you choose to wear, it is a reflection of who you are. The styles of certain periods of time are memorable for a reason; they are symbolic of what was taking place in history at that specific time. Hippies represented the “peace” movement and power dressing in the 1980s was representative of women entering the work force. Would the flappers really have been so influential, and controversial, without their bobbed hair, straight waistlines and faces heavy with makeup? I don’t think so.

Contrary to popular belief, access to what is “fashionable” is no longer limited to the rich and famous. Stores like H&M and Forever 21 offer fashion-forward pieces at wallet-friendly prices. Target, the second largest discount retailer in the United States behind Wal-Mart, will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of its Go International collaboration program with high-end designers this year with the “Designer Collective” collection. This collection will feature designs by the likes of Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler and Thakoon and Rodarte, among others, who between them have dressed some of the biggest names in Hollywood, such as Reese Witherspoon and Natalie Portman.

Fashion shows, the main events at the biannual fashion weeks that take place around the globe in places like New York, Paris, Milan and London, were once only accessible to the rich and famous. In the age of the Internet, however, highly touted and sought after front row seats at fashion shows are now filled by bloggers, most controversially the 14-year-old blogging sensation Tavi Gevinson.

Not only are smaller-name bloggers taking the places of big-name stars at fashion shows, but designers are choosing to make fashion accessible to the masses in a major way: live-streaming their fashion shows on the Internet. The most recent Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Lincoln Center had a total of 33 designers choose to stream their fashion shows live, a record number. The fact that so many designers offered digital front row seats to their shows proves that fashion is about more than catering to those who can afford it. Through live-streaming, designers are giving people who wouldn’t normally attend a fashion show the chance to experience something unique and inspiring.

Anyone who believes that fashion is the glamorous, wealthy and shallow world it is often portrayed as should check out the documentary “Seamless,” which follows a group of young designers hoping to make it big time. This documentary shows the other side of fashion—the side of fashion that includes one designer working out of her parents’ New Jersey dry cleaner’s basement, and another living on a different continent than his wife in order to pursue his dreams. “Seamless” shows that for these designers, it isn’t about the fame, money or glamour. It is about having their creations, which are mediums of self-expression, be appreciated and recognized as true works of art.

Yes, fashion designers and devotees alike attend many parties, but most of these parties are actually of the philanthropic type. The Council of Fashion Designers of America, which was founded in 1962, works to promote fashion design as a branch of American art and culture, especially through its CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, which provides monetary assistance to promising young designers. The CFDA also supports numerous charities involving research and support for breast cancer, HIV and AIDS.

Are some of the models scary-skinny? Yes. Are some of the clothes stupid-expensive? Yes. But the fact that the Metropolitan Museum of Art devotes an entire exhibit, geniously curated, each spring to fashion proves that it is about more than crocodile bags and pouty lips. Just like generations of clothes-wearing people before us, fashion today is a form of exploration and self-identity within a certain era. “The way they wore” can say a lot about a certain time, place and person, and fashion deserves to be taken seriously as the cultural, social and philanthropic vehicle that it is.