Shakespeare's Power of Clothes
Clothes have the power to symbolize a person’s identity, class, and public impressions. Clothes can alter stance, mannerisms, ambition, and even the frame of one’s mind. The proper wardrobe can enable one to gain confidence, be more productive, and coordinate effectively. Whereas, poor attire can affect one’s public appearance by categorizing one among the inferiors which can further build negative labels that affect the character. Clothes have always had an influence on how individuals regard people and their level in society. Individuals make rapid judgments regarding one another primarily on one’s appearance due to one's garment selections. However, one’s own garment selection has a personal impact on how one views one’s own self, regardless of how others may perceive them. In Shakespeare’s time, disguises and clothes were used in stage production as a symbolization of character development that builds their public representations. In Twelfth Night, Viola changes her feminine identity with masculine disguise which changes her appearance in others’ perception permitting her to voyage around Illyria with courage, youth, and capturing attention. Malvolio also changes his professional working attire due to the influence of a fraud letter which immediately alters his appearance with yellow stocking labeling him a lovesick fool, not only in the perception of other characters but the readers as well. Whereas, Feste disguises himself as a priest permitting him to gain elevated honour and significance to provide command and authority over Malvolio. In Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, the alteration of clothing performed by Viola, Malvolio, and Feste reveals the power and significance of clothing in society permitting characters to explore social hierarchies; Viola explores masculinity, Feste explores priesthood, while Malvolio uses his yellow stockings to lure his master. Thus, in this case, the Renaissance era can be best used to display the differences in clothing that categorizes people in social hierarchies, offering men and priests more power and advantage than women and stewards.