Fashion Advice or Fashion Shaming?

 

I came across a video where a woman points at a model wearing a kurta, pauses, then looks at the camera, point the viewers and says, “If you are wearing something like this, no one in the office will look at you or even take you seriously at all.”

I was quite taken aback by the way she put something down to promote something else. The first comment I read said, “The new trend is promoting one’s product by making others feel inferior.” And it was right.

Because All these days, people would have been happily wearing those outfits. But this statement might make them question their dressing choices. Rather than giving people space to think, these kinds of stunts put them down and make them feel bad, as if their styling choices all along have been wrong.

Yes, I agree that some channels do help with fashion choices. There is nothing wrong with making people aware about colour and combination choices. But it’s not right to imply that your entire life has gone unnoticed just because you made ordinary choices.

At the end of the day, dressing is subjective. People can truly carry an outfit only when they feel comfortable in it. But due to trends and other influences, many try to fit themselves into something that doesn’t feel like them.

Dressing well can earn you respect, give you confidence, and help present yourself better. But this isn’t how it should be promoted, in my opinion.

Good fashion content gives you time to think, shows options, explains why something works (not what’s wrong), and respects everyone’s budgets.

There is a difference between saying,

“Here are some other ways to style yourself.”

And saying,

“What you have been wearing all these days is wrong and embarrassing,”

which mocks affordability and implies your choices are wrong.

That shift matters.

To counter that video, another woman posted a response saying, “Main toh office daily aise hi jaati hoon, sab mujhe seriously lete hain. Kyunki respect aapke kaam se aati hai.” (“I go to the office dressed like this every day, and people do take me seriously—because respect comes from your work.”)

Yes, dressing does matter—but not more than your values and work.

Another video I came across showed a young girl being asked how much her outfit cost. She said her top was from Meesho and cost ₹200. Immediately, a clip of a man drinking water and bursting out laughing was inserted. When she said her pants were from a street shop costing ₹300, the same loud, sarcastic laughter was added.

What are these videos trying to project with such meme templates? That’s not commentary—it’s mockery packaged as content. The goal is:

trigger insecurity

spark reactions

increase shares and comments..

What is wrong with wearing clothes that cost in the hundreds? These videos often make people feel insecure, even when they are comfortable with what they wear.

So, to make my point clear—I’m not against videos that suggest styling choices. But how you promote them matters.

Yes the saddest part is,that’s how advertising works..But it doesn’t mean we have to accept it without question.