Fashion has the power to influence how people perceive you. It has the ability to change and shape lives. Fashion matters.

Fashion has played a crucial role in influencing the oppression of women throughout history. The famous corset of the Victorian Era was a symbol of patriarchal oppression.

A small waist was idealized, but corsets rendered women immobile. It made them prone to fainting spells and was harmful to their internal organs. Corsets also damaged women’s self-worth, in that became dependent on the size of their waist.

Historian David Kunzle writes in Fashion and Fetishism: “the forcing of young females into narrow corsets [was] regarded as morally and hygienically on a par with the forcing of small boys into narrow chimneys."

Fashion also influenced the objectification of women. Skirts of the 1950s were tight at the natural waist and were either very full or very fitted. Styles were feminine and ladylike. Women conformed to the expectations of society: beautiful, yet also useful (as a housewife).

The bullet bra that became famous during the 1950s is another example of the objectification of a woman’s body. A curvy body with voluptuous breasts was then ideal at that time. The fashion industry portrayed women as sex objects.

In the 19th century Amelia Bloomer, a women's rights advocate and editor of the first feminist newspaper The Lily, wore pants. She sparked hysteria. But women just wrote her for advice, “showing how ready and anxious women were to throw off the burden of long, heavy skirts.”

It was only in the mid-20th century that pants became an acceptable everyday clothing option for women. But even today, women’s jeans & pants fail the purpose of utility and are restrictive. They have either no pockets or tiny pockets which are of no use.

Society portrays high heels as sexy, feminine, attractive, and elegant. Heels are worn all the time by models, actors, and women in the public eye. Wearing heels is painful, restricts ankle movement, and may cause toe deformities.

The fashion industry has long been promoting unrealistic beauty standards for women. The ideal body has changed over time but it is always oppressive because women are expected to fit beauty standards.