Ethics of Fashion

[Belacqua]

The less you eat, drink and read books; the less you go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; the less you think, love, theorize, sing, paint, fence, etc., the more you save - the greater becomes your treasure which neither moths nor dust will devour - your capital. The less you are, the more you have; the less you express your own life, the greater is your alienated life - the greater is the store of your estranged being.

― Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

"Estranged being" is another word for cash in the bank.

The guys don't mention nice clothing here, but I see it as relevant. They want us to have rich lives. They want us to enjoy our time on this earth.

So Marxian criticism of the fashion industry is quite predictable: class exploitation, resource allocation, etc.

But this in no way means we should all dress in boring clothes. He wants us to go to the theatre, the dance hall, the public house; think, love, theorize, sing, paint, fence. And I would add: dress up. It would be silly to wear jeans and T-shirts for all of these things.

I think this means that we do it ourselves, for pleasure.