[Tomkat]

I'm not sure I agree with you on the clothing/fashion angle (you realise your original post covers two pretty separate topics yet you've tried to merge them?).

You're saying that people want to conform with each other, so dress in a similar way to their peers/friends.

I think it's more that life becomes easier when people conform. Life would be more difficult for you if you wore a bright pink suit to work than if you wore a sensible navyblue one.

Yes, I could wear a white shirt and blue jeans and some black shoes like the million other guys who go out on a Saturday night dressed like that. I never do though. How I dress affects how people speak to me and interact with me on a social level.

There's also the completely subjective side of fashion. People dress in a certain way because they think it looks good. I would never dress in "skinny jeans" for example, no matter how fashionable they were, as I think they look shit. On the other hand, I often wear hats which none of my friends do (and did before I lost my hair, too) and have recently taken to wearing waistcoats. That isn't conformity.