Blog 6: Is That Your Grandma's Coat?

When I originally signed up for this class, I thought to myself, Asian American Studies and Textiles & Clothing hybrid class, this is going to be so easy. The first day of class, and my original perception was turned upside down. Totally not what I have expected. Professor Valverde touched on topics that have I found very refreshing, since my Textiles and Design classes rarely touch on Asian/Asian American fashion. After that first lecture, I was hooked, in a good way. 

The first third of the class was about looking at images, and testing myself on how strong my knowledge of fashion was, and I did excellent on the European/American section, but once the Asian/Asian American fashion images came on screen, I did not do so hot. Why did I not know these things? It bothered me for a while, and I realized that these images rarely come up in American pop culture, until recently, when Alexander Wang, Richard Chai, Phillip Lim, and Thakoon were mentioned in the pages of Vogue. As the class progressed, we talked about globalization, capitalism, diaspora. I found myself digging through my closet and looking at the condition of them, labels, and tags. A majority of my damaged items were from Forever 21. Surprised, not really after watching Made in LA film. I slowly started to see the politics behind fashion and the power plays it has in the industry, influencing what I buy as a consumer, and therefore shaping my identity expressed in my style. LIGHT BULB! 

When I started this be green challenge, or what I now dub "No-Buy November", I really had my doubts as to if i will survive this cold turkey style. Especially with Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It will take a lot of determination to take me...

From this:

source: http://www.joblo.com/images_wallpapers/2072/coas_2_1280.jpg

To This:

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK8mJJJvaes

And I did get through it! I am so proud of myself, and thrifting has become more of a hobby for me now. I definitely have my favorite secondhand stores in the Davis/Sacramento Area. Which are...

Davis: All Things Right and Relevant, Boheme, and French Cuff Consignment

Sacramento: Bows & Arrows, and Crossroads Trading Co.

But besides all of that, I throughly enjoyed the discussions we had, and as I became more invested, the more I looked forward to going to class, and i put in more effort into dressing up for lecture. It was truly one of my favorite classes in Davis. I wish there was a Part 2 where we talked about beauty products, upcycling, and etc. 

Not gonna lie, I will miss this class and the people in it

- Krizia