Fashion is usually seen as a superficial, shallow, conforming, self-indulgent or even self-deprivating pastime based purely on appearance, an "effort to increase the attractiveness of the self, especially under conditions which impair the integrity of the ego; the sense of oneself is regained and heightened through novel yet socially sanctioned departures from prevailing social forms" (Blumer, 387). Through the sociocultural approach of the theory of fashion, one can detect a not-so-underlying notion of importance to what we spend out time and thoughts on how to present ourselves to the general public. Georg Simmel's and Herbert Blumer's thoughts, though over half a century apart, introduce readers into the sociological, cultural, and even economic value in the theory of fashion, it's evolution, and it's reflection of society as a whole.

Georg Simmel, author of one of the first theoretical approaches to fashion, is viewed as one of the most important sociologists...