Adornment
Encyclopedia
An adornment is generally an accessory or ornament worn to enhance the beauty
or status of the wearer. They are often worn to embellish, enhance, or distinguish the wearer, and to define cultural, social, or religious status within a specific community. When worn to show economic status, the items are often either rare or prohibitively expensive to others. Adornments are usually colourful, and worn to attract attention.
They have a long history, around the world, from feathers or bone, to modern accessories, such as jewellery
. Items of adornment are also used by warriors, and by other members of the military to show rank or achievement.
, jewellery
, clothing accessories, facial hair, fingernail modification, piercing, lip plates, tattoo
ing, braiding, and head gear.
, military
, religious
institutions, tribal
groups, and the punk culture.
Beauty
Beauty is a characteristic of a person, animal, place, object, or idea that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure, meaning, or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, sociology, social psychology, and culture...
or status of the wearer. They are often worn to embellish, enhance, or distinguish the wearer, and to define cultural, social, or religious status within a specific community. When worn to show economic status, the items are often either rare or prohibitively expensive to others. Adornments are usually colourful, and worn to attract attention.
They have a long history, around the world, from feathers or bone, to modern accessories, such as jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
. Items of adornment are also used by warriors, and by other members of the military to show rank or achievement.
Items of adornment
These include cosmeticsCosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
, jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
, clothing accessories, facial hair, fingernail modification, piercing, lip plates, tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
ing, braiding, and head gear.
Cultures, subcultures, and institutions
Groups who practice adornment include the YakuzaYakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
, military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
, religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
institutions, tribal
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
groups, and the punk culture.
Further reading
- Kniel, N; Wright, T:Ribbon: The Art of Adornment, press, ISBN 978-1-4236-0346-7
- Boucher, François:20,000 Years of Fashion The History of Costume and Personal Adornment, H.N. Abrams, 1987.
- White, Carolyn L.:American Artifacts of Personal Adornment, 1680-1820:A Guide to Identification and Interpretation, Altamira Press, 2005, ISBN-13: 9780759105898, ISBN-10: 0759105898
- Bouchot, Henri:The Printed Book, Its History, Illustration, and Adornment, from the Days of Gutenberg to the Present Time, General Books, 2010, ISBN-13: 9781153100137, ISBN-10: 1153100134
- Gurel, Lois M., Beeson, Marianne S.:Dimensions of dress and adornment: a book of readings, Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1979.