Fashion. A
single societal concept that has taken control of how we value others. Fanny
Fern mentions in her article, “A Law More Nice Than Just”, that she had read
that a girl, “Emma Wilson was arrested for wearing pants” (2105). Gina Barreca discusses in her piece, “ Good
Girls Don’t Get It”, that “Good Girls wear miniskirts but not hot pants. Good
Girls wore patterned tights but not fishnets,” (Barreca 3).
In Fern’s
piece, she is addressing the misogynistic view that society has on fashion. Women
shouldn’t wear pants, and at that point, it was illegal to wear pants as a
woman. As time went on, you would have expected that this viewpoint would’ve changed,
however, the only thing that has seemed to change is the law. I love thrift shopping,
it’s my favorite way to get clothes because there is so much history behind items.
With that being said, I shop the entire store. I don’t shop based on the gender
specific sides. I just look for clothes I like and if they fit, I buy them. All
of this is relevant because it never fails, that when I bring my new clothes
home, one of my family members make a comment on the items being “men’s”
clothing. What the hell does that even mean? How can you classify a piece of clothing as masculine
or feminine? To me, it’s neither. Like Fanny Fern and Amy Poehler, I know there
is this stigma around women wearing “masculine” clothes, therefore I always
feel even more empowered when I get dressed because my mindset is, “I don’t
care if you fucking like it!”
Now, let’s
talk about the Barreca piece. Barreca does such an important job at truly highlighting
the idea of stylistic approaches to achieve the desired persona. Due to society’s
need to label everything as a justification of why someone’s dressing the way
they are, or acting the way they are when she talks about the Bad Girls, I immediately
thought of the “grunge, rebellious, hipster” style. However, how do we group
someone’s behavior with their style? We shouldn’t. For instance, I am an
example of someone who dresses the complete opposite of her personality.
However, when I wear outfits that fit into this “bad girl” category, I
immediately become a target for stares and negativity from strangers. For example,
I was once wearing these awesome navy green corduroy pants, with my classic
Guns N Roses t-shirt, because I thought they looked cool together. I had gone
out with my sister-in-law to shop for some things, and while we were out, I caught
2 older women staring at me in disgust. The one even came up to me and told me,
“ You should be ashamed of yourself dressing like that, pretty girls like you
should be more pure, and nice” and just walked away. Like, EXCUSE ME?! I genuinely
took a step back and had to evaluate the situation that just happened. I couldn’t
understand how this random lady, who doesn’t even know me, had the audacity to
tell me I needed to be nicer, based on how I was dressed!
With my
experiences with clothing and stereotypes (trust me I have a lot more, but that
would turn into an actual book), I raise the question, how the hell do we break
these stereotypes that society has placed on fashion? Or are we just stuck in
this never-ending loop of exhaustion?
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I couldn't agree more with your post. I really liked that you connected an experience of your own with the Fern's whole point of that piece. It always amazes me how people who know nothing about you, feel the need to assess you ,and then make comments about you based solely on your appearance. I'll never understand how people can be so quick to judge, especially since "gendered" clothing is something completely made up by society. Wear what makes you feel comfortable, not what makes others feel comfortable.
ReplyDeleteAnother post that made me gasp! I cannot believe someone said that to you when you were rocking what sounds like some awesome pants and a cool shirt. The audacity. Wow.
ReplyDeleteOkay one, I would have thrown hands. But two, I feel this on a level that just almost hurts. I was raised being told that with 'my body type' I shouldn't expect to fit into anything pretty or petite (Like those two have things in common). So I shopped in the men's department (which I get most of my pieces from cause they are comfy) and got stares for it at school and at home. So the societal norms have gotten to my style and esteem. So I say dress however you damn well please!
ReplyDeleteI love the use of GIFs in your post! It really helps solidify your argument. I knew exactly how you felt after each section based on the GIF you chose. I especially enjoy the first one, since that perfectly describes what I personally have learned from this course so far: I can do whatever the heck I want, and nothing can stop me. And it’s Nick Offerman. Who doesn’t love Nick Offerman?
ReplyDeleteYour title had me laughing because I often think that to myself when I'm watching Project Runway lol. Anyway, I just honestly cannot believe that you were told to be "pure" when you had a band tee on. The meme just says it all, ugh. I think it's about time in society that we stop caring about and judging what other people wear and dress how we feel comfortable. For so many centuries, women were not allowed to wear what they wanted and only recently were allowed to wear pants, which is ridiculous. It is about time we claim the right to choose what we enjoy wearing, whether that be a full ball gown to the grocery store or sweats to class. You all know I already rock one of these things *winky face*.
ReplyDelete(No, I don't show up to work at Food Lion in a ball gown. Unless I put khakis and my work shirt over it, I'd probably get fired...but THAT would be a lewk.)
I also am a big thrift shopper (in fact Aneyla and I are planning a Goodwill trip for this weekend.) It's just so much more fun to find things you know other people won't have. I also like to think I don't dress for other people, but people's opinions are usually in the back of my mind whether I like it or not. Your question on how we break these fashion stereotypes is hard, but I think the more we work together to not give a frick what men or others think of us, the closer we'll get to that goal. And in response to your title, WTF is fashion???? The world may never know.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it's absolutely mind-blowing how often people associate our personal qualities with our attire. You have piercings? Instantly a "bad girl". You were crop tops and booty shorts? *insert a sexual name here* You wear black garb? What a drag.
ReplyDeletePeople wear what they like, NOT their personality traits. If I dressed as goofy and happy as I feel as the inside, I'd be decked out in yellows with happy faces and rainbows and unicorns glued to my shirts. Instead, I just like casual, long-sleeved clothes, which shouldn't brand me as, I don't know, a lazy person? (I'm currently wearing a hoodie and leggings as I write this, so I could've worn this outfit to bed I guess). Anyways, I'm ranting. I'm just tired of our clothing defining who we are instead of just our tastes.