Ignoring my desire

Blog #2

In the chapter, "Introduction: Globalization of Asian Dress," Carla Jones and Ana Marie Leshkowich stated that "choosing what clothing to make, sell, or consume are all acts of performance because they provide an opportunity to display oneself to others in ways that can register one's actual or desired identity along a variety of lines..." Personally, I believe that not everyone intentionally purchases products as a reason that relates to performance. However, when it comes to consuming popular products or fashion of a certain time, then I would consider it an act of performance. It is most definitely an act of performance if someone intentionally purchase expensive items (brand names) to display their wealth or social status. Even when a person chooses to dress up as a farmworker for a day, there is the assumption that the person chooses to display that they take in certain aspects of the product. That the farmer is not considered upper class and is not considered popular fashion. I believe many people nowadays purchase certain products to achieve a certain status or to make a statement of who they are, which I consider to be a act of performance.

In the book, Fashion-ology: An Introduction to Fashion Studies, Yuniya Kawamura mentioned that "the traditional concept of the artist as creator depends on an unexamined view of the subject and conceives of a person with no institutional ties, but in fact the artist is constituted in social and cultural processes." The process of shopping begins with the designer and ends with the consumer. The designer is a creator since he/she must choose and design and its product to not only satisty others, but to succeed as a product on consumption by meeting the consumers demands or a popular need.


Today, I went to Arden Fair Mall. Before I even went in I told myself that I was not going to buy anything. I would only take out my money for food or drinks, and if my friend wanted to borrow money from me. I browsed through a couple of shops that I would usually go to and end eventually end up buying something. Although some of the items were cute, I did not have much interest in purchasing a item. I knew that almost all of the items in the stores were new, so I did not bother trying anything on. I left the mall without buying any products.
While at the mall, I checked out the type of handbags that people had to see what handbags people would have. I remember seeing a Louis Vuitton handbag and juicy couture handbag. If you met me a month before, I only had one handbag. But after that, I have about 5. For a couple years now, I have been interested in possessing a Louis Vuitton handbag. I do not plan on purchasing one while on the compact challenge, but it is a desire and brand that I have wanted for a while. Perhaps, I will able to possess this luxury in the future when I have my own job.

-Alice Phun

Inside Source: Inside Source: Niessen, S. A., Ann Marie. Leshkowich, and Carla Jones. Re-orienting Fashion: the Globalization of Asian Dress. Oxford: Berg, 2003. Print.

Inside Source:Kawamura, Yuniya. Fashionology: An Introduction to Fashion Studies. New York: Berg, 2005. Print.

Outside Source: http://www.bagbliss.com/designer/louis-vuitton-purse/the-louis-vuitton-mahina-xxl-handbag/