Wednesday, March 30, 2011

"You got your fashion in my politics!" "You got your politics in my fashion!"

Thus, this post begins in a similar way to most posts that actually see life on this blog. I go to write about shoes, I end up writing about Snuggies. I went just now to write about the joys of maxi-skirts, then after commenting on a recent What I Wore post, my brain went on a tangent about politics, fashion, personal style, and the inevitability of their mixing.

All Jessica did was put on some menswear and ask us if we felt free to wear whatever we want to!

The resultant conversation ranged widely, from women in menswear to hijabs to men in womenswear to bringing back the tricorne hat. (I'm bringin' tricorne baaaaack! You new-new-romantics don't know how to aaaaaact!)

Quoth your blogmistress in the comments:
Oh, I TOTALLY wear whatever I want. I don't even tone down the flamboyancy it now that I've moved from Indy to Vincennes for a little bit. (And for heaven's sake, my clothes aren't even out-there. People just aren't used to seeing hats with flowers and sashes instead of Nascar logos around here LOL) I am fortunate though, in that my personal style borders on the uberfemme. I barely even own jeans. People raise their eyebrows, and some shallow college students have openly made fun of my duds, but more often I get compliments on my "creativity and guts."

I'm all for women in menswear, men in skirts (Hey, it works in Japan), and I REALLY wish more men stateside were comfortable carrying a satchel, er, man-purse, whatever you want to call it. I'm of the belief that there are some norms that just shouldn't be as they are, and if you never push those boundaries, they're just going to stay right where they are, or even recede.

I totally realized, upon a re-read, that the way I dress reflects my politics pretty much exactly. Loud and proud in my femininity, and mostly unafraid to push against norms that I disagree with. I find myself wondering how common this reflection of politics in personal style is among my contemporaries. (more)

The mingling of style and politic has a long and rich history, with examples as obvious as women eschewing bras as an item of oppression in the 60's to the more obscure and exciting (albeit morbid) trend of women in post-Revolutionary France tying red strings 'round their necks and calling it "a la guillotine." Gallows fashion also extended to the short, shaggy cropped hair of the "a la victime" style. And let's not even get started on the modern-day implications of wearing things like the hijab or keffiyah, or modern ladies still wearing corsetry. In truth, though in more subtle ways than most of these examples, there is a political implication in everything we wear. There are just those people who recognize that they're acting within these implications, and those who don't.

(Supplemental: The Fashion Institute of Technology's "200 Years of Political Fashion" online exhibit.)

Do your clothing choices tell something about your own politics? What styles and/or eras are you most drawn to?

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Thanks for coming out to Fashionista Meetup Luncheon 2.0!


 Thanks to everyone who came out on the 5th! We had a crowd large enough to be interesting, but small enough to feel a tad cozy. Only about half as many people came out as those who actually RSVP'd. I blame the very nasty weather. Perhaps I'll have to start hosting these events only in the summer months.

Fun times were had! Tasty, flaming sushi was eaten! Our waiter, Sean, was the bomb! And I discovered that, yes, you *can* still talk fashion while carrying a healthy-sized foodbaby.

Sean = awesomeness.

Many thanks to Maggie the Haute Hoosier, Emily, Kailee, Rachel, and Jenny from the Indianapolis Star  for coming out to meet me and Jared at Naked Tchopstix.

Latecomer Emily!

And many congratulations to Rachel for winning the F-You Prize Package! Fresh fudge and a stylin' fur. Wear the fur well, Rachel. (But please no wearing the fudge; that would be awkward.)



Friday, March 11, 2011

In the spirit of community...

I take a moment to shout out to our friends, and our friends we haven't yet met, in Japan. It's one of the most exciting destinations for fashion-minded people in the entire world, and as you surely know by now, they've been hit by the seventh-worst earthquake in recorded history, an 8.9, which produced a tsunami that has virtually wiped out some towns in Eastern Japan, such as Sendai.

image from tokyofashion.com

Fortunately, the country has strict building codes which have almost certainly saved at least a thousand lives. But many are missing, hundreds have been killed, and the people hit need the prayers and support which are coming from all over the world right now. #prayforjapan is a top-trending topic right now on Twitter. Last I heard, traffic in Tokyo was still gridlocked. Airports are closed indefinitely. Photos are still coming in from Japan of huge, unbelievable scenes. Whole blocks of buildings going up in flames. Cars and airplanes piled up, looking like Tonka toys in a pile of matchsticks. Homes floating down streets to who knows where. Entire towns swallowed up.

image from tokyofashion.com

I got a very brief email from Kjeld of Japanese Streets earlier, saying he is fine and he will be in the disaster area starting tomorrow. Not since Katrina have I felt so moved and helpless all at once.

image from japanesestreets.com

Mobilization to help has already begun.

The Red Cross is taking donations via text message. Text the letters REDCROSS to 90999 to make the a $10 donation, or visit the organization's website, http://www.redcross.org.

You can also give to the International Medical Corps, which is sending response teams.

Save The Children are working to care for children effected by the quake. Donations can be made at their website.

image from japanesestreets.com


The Huffington Post has a much more comprehensive list of relief efforts and ways we can help.

神は仙台の人々の世話をしてください。

Saturday, March 5, 2011

A feature on dolly kei and Hitomi Nomura!

They interviewed my she-ro! This video annoys me, because they keep calling Hitomi and her shop "Mori Girl" even though it's clearly Dolly Kei, a completely different style tribe altogether.

My heart still went pitter-patter when they interviewed her, though. God, I'm such a little fangirl.



Friday, March 4, 2011

Don't miss the party!



A REMINDER!

We're having our second meet up, AND YOU ARE INVITED!
Saturday, 3/5/11 (tomorrow)
1:00 PM!


Naked Tchopstix!
96th St and Keystone
3855 E. 96th St. Indianapolis 46240


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Sign up if you haven't already! or just show up unannounced like a rock star.