Even if you are not a sports buff, the name Tiger Woods probably sounds familiar. He's a golfer — everyone knows that.

On the opposite end, to those who are not fashion crazed, does the name Karl Lagerfeld ring a bell?

Maybe, maybe not. Most likely not.

Lagerfeld is a fashion institution. He is the head designer of Chanel, Fendi and a variety of other major fashion houses. Lagerfeld is to fashion as Woods is to golf.

But because American society views sports with utmost importance and fashion as frivolous and shallow, people do not know Lagerfeld as they know Woods.

Why is it that the game of sports is taken so seriously, yet indulging in the art of fashion is seen as vain?

Just like other art forms such as painting, music and writing, fashion is an intellectual form of expression. One of the most fascinating aspects of fashion is that you can describe your personality with clothing. Nine people can take the same Gap T-shirt and wear it nine different ways. It's a great indication of individuality and personal flair.

Studying the history of fashion trends also is a great way to reflect on events, views and morals during a certain time period.

In the 1920s, women rebelled against their conservative and repressed roles in society. They traded in their heavy, full-skirted and corseted dresses for shorter, shapeless shifts that hid their curvy female bodies and exposed their legs.

Similar to fashion, trends in sports also expose events throughout American history. Amateur baseball became popular during the mid-1800s, but lost appeal in 1860 — not coincidentally, the tumultuous time before the Civil War. The number of baseball clubs dropped enormously. But after the war, more people were playing baseball than ever.

Along with providing historical insight, fashion and sports are intellectual endeavors.

For example, every time I read Vogue magazine my vocabulary increases. The latest addition to my speech? Esoteric — "designed for or understood by the specially initiated alone … requiring or exhibiting knowledge that is restricted to a small group … of special, rare or unusual interest," according to Merriam-Webster Online.

Every article includes incredibly descriptive and sophisticated language. Vogue's unique writing style introduces me to a plethora of new ideas for writing my own articles.

On the opposite side, sports require traits such as dedication, hard work, passion and the ability to problem solve — four intellectual attributes. Possessing the self-discipline and the commitment to succeed in athletics are qualities of a scholar.

Some people might argue the reason there is such a wide gap in acceptance between sports and fashion is socioeconomics. Sports are open to everyone regardless of status in society and fashion is somewhat of an upper-class luxury.

This is not the case, for the most popular word in fashion right now is "vintage," a high-class word that disguises what it really is — old, second-hand clothing. No matter what store a garment comes from, if it is described as "vintage" it is immediately chic. Vintage is available to the masses.

Then people might argue that reading fashion magazines with ultra-thin models plastered on the covers promotes eating disorders. This is a statement I will not refute. But sports promotes similar unhealthy ideals as well.

All too often sports players are kicked off teams for taking steroids. There is pressure in sports to be the best and to have perfect, muscular bodies. Some athletes attempt to achieve these unrealistic ideals in unhealthy ways.

So while society might never hold fashion at the same intellectual level as microbiology, nor be incorporated into American tradition such as watching baseball and eating an Oscar Mayer hot dog, fashion is not frivolous nor vain.

Even if you choose not to accept fashion as art, clothes are a necessity. Why not appreciate them once in a while?

Elizabeth Swanson is a State News MS&U general assignment reporter. Reach her at swans130@msu.edu.