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Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Americans, You Look Like Hell
What is America's fear of dressing well?
I recently attended a formal wedding in Oregon, and was astonished by the inappropriate attire that I viewed there. I saw grown men dressed in pleated khaki shorts, polo shirts, and athletic footwear. All that was missing were the backwards baseball caps. As I glided past in my silk gown and fitted velvet jacket, I felt for the bride and groom. As their friends and family, didn't we have an obligation to try to be elegant for their special day? Couldn't we all, for one day, honor the couple's marriage ritual by dressing appropriately? Is it somehow embarrassing, or too emotionally difficult, for American men to behave as if they care?
Until the last couple of decades of the twentieth century, Americans considered dressing well as displaying a sense of pride and purpose. To present oneself as well groomed showed that you cared, that you were deserving of respect, no matter what your income level. It still does, but America has lost that thread, as it were. Part of this decline has to do with the mass marketing of clothing for large business conglomerates, such as department stores and big box emporiums. But one-stop shopping does not a stylish citizen make. Department stores and big-box emporiums cater to the concept of ready-to-wear and off-the-rack. Ready-to-wear is more business baloney that has colluded to make the American citizen look bad while making a lot of money. The sizes are confusing and shift according to brand, and are cut to conform to an arbitrary fit model. No one possesses the same physical proportions; this is one of the gifts of individuality that has been bestowed on us by nature. If a piece of clothing does not fit you properly, you should have it altered. Alterations to fit individual bodies was part of how all commercial clothing was produced, until profit margins took precedence over dressing well.
Wake up America, and understand that Wal-Mart and their ilk are not out to make you look good. Their purpose is to sell cheaply produced, anonymous clothing that wears out quickly so you will have to buy more. While doing this, your individuality will be stamped out. You will lose the knowledge, if indeed you ever had it, of what looks good on your unique form. You will be forced to continue to patronize generic retail establishments, which make their profits by the exploitative practice of outsourcing their clothing production to developing countries. Realize that this is un-American, for America values individuality, freedom, and quality, doesn't it?
The media emphasis on what celebrities don is another marketing ploy of the bigger conglomerates of the apparel industry. It makes average people understand style as something only the wealthy and perfect-bodied can afford. But celebrities work with stylists to create a certain image. They are creating iconography, which is not style. The average American says "I could never look that good anyway." Neither do the celebrities; look at the alternative industry, maddening in its mixed-messagery, that the gossip media has also created: trafficking images of celebrities in sweat clothes, flashing cellulite, schlubbing around on their days off. American people, beware of this trickery! Do not let media double-speak deprive you of your obligation to present yourselves with dignity!
There is an erroneous idea that only designer clothing looks good, and the average American cannot afford to dress well. But style is an alternative to money. Money does not influence wearing clean, pressed, well-fitting clothing. Nice clothing can be found used at cheaper prices than new Wal-Mart-type crap. The stigma of used clothing being the province of the marginalized needs to change if we are to truly embrace green politics as the only viable alternative this planet now faces.
In Europe, people prefer to buy a few well-made and individually tailored pieces per season. The American practice, in contrast, is to blow wads of cash on poorly produced impulse purchases at the local mall to fill an emotional void that has been planted there by a consuming culture.
Looking good is not only for yourself, but perhaps more importantly, it is for other people. You are hurting someone's eyes if you stomp around in fleece and oversized tee shirts, and not only the eyes of aesthetes such as myself. Clothing that fits your body, that flatters your unique physique, will provide you with comfort and confidence. Certain cuts of clothing force better posture. Television makeover shows have flourished under this premise. If you're not sure what looks good on you, bring someone whose style choices you admire, or ask someone who works at the store. Any self-respecting salesperson will be happy to do so. Clearly, this will not occur at K-Mart or Old Navy.
Even so-called anti-fashion movements such as punk have style in droves. It's just that their fashion is not driven by a profit-making industry, but by political expression. Style is not affectation. It is how you present yourself to the world. Get real, Americans, we've looked bad for too long!
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COMMENTS
Muire: you nailed it.
Part of the dissonance inherent here is: "Don't we know better?" and, if not, ~what~ has changed? On so seemingly simple a matter?
I don't ascribe to the idea that people (esp. MEN) are so mentally watered-down and stupid that they would allow diaphanous (and highly ephemeral) modern "trends" to give them loads of latitude, in terms of dressing-up (or not) for an ostensibly sacred/important/pivotal event...such as a wedding.
Trust--even if one were birthed in a trailer-park, one knows that certain occasions merit "effort"--fashionably speaking. In fact, I've seen more cases wherein so-called "bargain-basement people" take pains to OVERdress for important occasions because there is some basic sense, some basic comprehension of the magnitude of the occasion.
A lot of this depends upon the very diverse definition of a "wedding" in these times. BRIDES tend to dictate. If one is holding an Enya/Brian Eno-scored rite on a beach in Big Sur, with everyone showering lavender upon the couple, and the BRIDE makes it clear *beforehand* that this is a "shorts & sandals are fine" wedding, that's one thing.
But most BRIDES expect people to bring their best to the occasion--poor or rich.
To be invited to a wedding is an ancient and shudderingly powerful thing, a grace rendered. Unless one is a complete troglodyte, one shows-up in one's finest or one doesn't GO. This is so elemental. One never knows: at any given wedding, water can be changed into wine, and one needs to be dressed for the vintage.
But I truly see your discomfort: America has generally become as cynical, lackluster, and as CRUDE as the very oil it can no longer afford to buy.
But when dignity goes out the window--it's disturbing. Agreed.
Mind you, this is coming from someone who feels that, when someone says something especially nice to me, I need to send a $300 gift-basket in return. I think people deserve those kinds of things. But I wasn't taught to do that. I do it because I really feel people deserve it--and I'll never waver on that.
At the end of the day, you either "know" it, or you don't.
Love your piece of commentary, Muire. Cintra makes good choices in that regard.
Posted by: Juan (You Either Know It Or You Don't" de la Sahara at May 7, 2008 2:08 PM
Right on Muire. I'm pressing my vintage Pendleton shirt and making dinner reservations as I write this...
Posted by: Kevin Vanderhoff at May 12, 2008 5:22 PM
I don't really see the big deal. If people look like isht (in your opinion), that's their perogative and their right to dress any dnam way they want.
Whatever they're wearing, that's their style. You may think it looks like isht, but maybe they can't exactly afford quality, tailored clothing or can't spare the time to go out and find their sizes used. Maybe they're busy trying to put food on the table for their families or balacing two/three jobs just to pay the bills or maybe they're just cheap and lazy.
It's a mistake to form hard judgments about people based on how they look, especially if you know nothing else about them or their circumstances besides their attire.
Posted by: Marcos Castillo at May 17, 2008 10:15 PM
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CULTURAL DOGFIGHT