Mark Cayabyab: Be Green Blog Posts #4

I could not wait for this week to come to an end since this assignment was assigned. I realized through this assignment that I'm pretty materialistic because it has been a real challenge for me not to purchase new clothing. The assignment actually came during a bad time because I really needed to purchase new clothes for the unpredictable Davis fall weather. For example, I had to wear an rain jacket two sizes too small for me during last week's horrible rain storm. Over these past few weeks, I have been going on Amazon, Gap, and Uniglo making shopping lists. I felt like I was about to end an strict diet and meticulously made my food list. 

I really enjoyed this week's reading focusing on Louis the XIV and the rise of saris. I already knew that London was obsessed with Indian culture apparent in their food, clothing, and films. Also, Bollywood is huge in London and this subculture is known for excess, color, and sequins. Reading the chapter reminded me of my travels to London and enjoying the only street food that I could afford and that was Indian. I like that many of the English based designers who are Indian descent pay tribute to their culture, but also try not to design an costume. For example, Ashley Isham did an whole Bollywood inspired collection in 2010 that had all of the typical features of Bollywood in the drapping, beading, and adornments. 

I was intrigued with the Japanese street fashion and youth culture after viewing the assortment of photos presented in lecture this week. Seeing that Japan's youth have the ability to express their individuality through fashion is comforting because  I believe that a society where youth does not have a voice or platform for expression will eventually fall. The street fashion in Japan is a prime example of the bottom influencing the top. For example, the harajuku street fashion and manga inspired fashion started with Japanese youth and eventually caught the attention of taste makers like Gwen Stefani and Tyra Banks. Thus, Japanese street style is the norm for people in America and in the media. 

Sources:

“Adoption and Consumption of Fashion” from the book Fashion-ology. Chapter 6.

Bhachu, Parminder. “It’s Hip to be Asian.” Class reader.

Kawamura, Yuniya. “Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion.” Class reader.

Aung Lin-Be Green Challenge Week #4-Blog #4

Aung Lin

ASA141-Valverde

Be Green Challenge

Blog #4

Week#4

            This is the fourth and final week of the Be Green challenge and my classmates seems happy that they’re about to run to the mall to shop until they drop. I think they don’t really care if products they buy are made with cheap child labor or made by abused sweatshop workers but I do. I told every girl I know about forever 21 and how they bullied their Mexican garment workers. I was shocked after what I learned in class and watched “Made in LA.” I’m the kind of person that would never support retailers that took advantage of poor workers from developing countries; especially children. This class and Be Green Challenge made me be more careful when I shop for clothes or anything. I felt very sad to learn about how my clothes are made and would never forget about it. I also hope my classmates would never support companies that use sweatshops that bullied their employees. This challenge made me think twice before I buy anything, read labels, and do research about where products came from.  

            After I read chapter 6 of our class book Fashion-ology, I learned that king Louis XIV from France is known for fashion and his spending on fashion and decorations at the Versailles Palace. I never once heard of a guy that cares so much about fashion until I read about King Louis XIV. I did further research about him online and Wikipedia and learned that he was the king of France for 72 years and it was one of the longest reigns in Europe. Also I learned that he spends a lot more money than other rulers to decorate his palace.

King Louis XIV in his stylish couture 

            I learned something I’ve never heard of after I read Bhachu’s article under week 9 reading. I had no clue Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles love Indian food and even served Indian food on Prince Charles’s 48^th birthday in 1996. I had no clue that there are millions of Indian people in Britain and British love Indian cloth and clothing. I also learned that many British fashion icons like Princess Diana likes to wear Indian women’s saris and it became a fashion trend. Even famous French fashion designer like Yves Saint Laurent was inspired by saris and had collections of it on his runway. I had no clue how popular saris was until I read this article. I wish my country’s women national costume was popular like saris.

Princes Diana wearing sari inspired gown

            I was shocked after I looked up images of these Kogal Japanese teenage girls wearing “mountain witch fashion trend” in Kawamura’s article under week 9 reading. I have no clue what these girls wear thinking and don’t know what kind of parents would let their daughters go out in public like that. I think these girls are making fool of themselves by wearing all these heavy make-up and insane hair. These Kogal girls went too far with these fake sun tans. I think they’re not creating Japanese street fashion, instead they’re ruining Japanese culture by dressing like prostitutes. Somebody needs to help these girls.

Japanese Kogal Girls

References

“Adoption and Consumption of Fashion” from the book Fashion-ology. Chapter 6.

Ashley, Maurice. “Louis XIV of France.” Wikipedia. 2014.

Bhachu, Parminder. “It’s Hip to be Asian.” Class reader.

Kawamura, Yuniya. “Japanese Teens as Producers of Street Fashion.” Class reader.

Justin Truong Be Green Challenge: Week 4

Black Friday and Cyber Monday has just passed! But other than that, it is finally December! It is the most wonderful time of the year where families and friends get together. However, people mainly look forward to Christmas because of the presents/gifts. There are many things on my wish list, although I don't need these gifts. Ever since I started the "Be Green Challenge" I have been on a roll by not purchasing any new clothing/accessories from the store and I don't plan on breaking that streak. I want to see how far I can last on this "Be Green Challenge." In my opinion it's pretty fun because one you are able to manage your money more efficiently, two fashion/style changes often. It is said in one of the documentary we watched in class that September is like a new year in the fashion world. With that said, there is no point to constantly spend money on new things just because it is the latest trend. My style of clothing has remained the same for years already. I like to keep my style very casual and basic such as colored t-shirts (White, Black, and Grey), a pair of nice jeans (selvedge or not), a fitted cap (baseball), and shoes (dessert boots, running shoes, etc). One particular video on youtube I stumbled upon years ago is about this video blogger who goes thrifting on Fridays. The things he finds are like hidden treasures if you are into old school sports apparel. Below is the video:

It comes to show you that there are great things at thrift shops as long as people don't mind that that they are used. But hey thats why people do laundry to get the dirt out. I am that type of guy that likes to dress casual and simple but there are days where you want to stand out more. By watching this video, I can tell that this guy has hit the jackpot because all of his apparel looks fairly new and well maintained for retro style clothing. As for the price I am pretty sure he found it at a good offer. Overall it comes to show you that hidden gems don't necessarily have to be found at name branded stores where they over price the product. It takes patience and sometimes luck to find these necessities such as Jordan, Nikes, etc when shopping at thrift stores. By re watching this video, I kind of want to do my christmas shopping at a thrift store this year just because I know I will save money but I'll just take the risk of the item being worn out or not. In all, think smarter when shopping for used items as opposed to new items. Happy Holidays.

Citation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gGSntbTSTE

- Justin Truong

Panhia Vang - Go Green Week 3!

Black Friday just passed! And, yay me! I didn't go shopping at all. I spent Thanksgiving in Davis, away from family, and attended the Sacramento Hmong New Year Tabling event all day Thursday and Friday. I think my busy schedule is definitely influencing whether or not I shop.

Cyber monday is coming up quick and I'm a little bit disappointed about this - just a little bit! Haha. I tend to do more online shopping that I do physical shopping. On the bright side, I might be missing some amazing cyber monday deals, but I have realized that I need to start saving money for future med school applications. Overall, I guess I'm doing myself a favor by not going online tomorrow! :)

While walking down the stretch of clothing booths at the Hmong New Year, I saw that many folks were selling little dolls in Hmong clothes - from stuffed animals to doll key chains. Among some black-haired dolls, many are blond and brunette dolls. It makes me wonder why? Especially when the Hmong community looks down on Hmong girls that has non-black hair.

This made me think about Abercombie's policy of hiring a certain "look" and discriminating against those who don't have the specific European fitted look that they need. These past years, I've been noticing that not only do many of these dolls have blonde and brunette hair, but also large beautiful eyes. It's what a White person in Hmong clothes would look like.

Lining the walls of my aunt's house is her collection of dolls that she hand-sewn Hmong clothes for. Unlike many of the dolls I see at the Hmong new year, she specifically chooses the darker skinned dolls (Native American dolls), which she says looks most like a representation of a Hmong girl.

I never really thought I'd give another thought about these dolls, but it's always been so apparent that they're not Hmong dolls. They're European dolls dressed in Hmong clothes. It makes me wonder if these designers and doll creators realize that these dolls are quite controversial when you look at them through an Asian American framework.


References:

yellowworld.org. “Abercrombie and Fitch Settles $40 Million Discrimination Suit.” Reader.

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/327/8/e/little_chibi_hmong_girl_dolls_by_magicalpockygirl-d5ly5s6.jpg 

Roger Saechao's Be Green Challenge Blog 3 Week 3

            This week’s be green challenge is by far the toughest. I have been browsing through the internet because the holidays are coming up and there are mega sales going on right now. Another reason why I been online browsing is because within the past week, my two favorite sports team the Oakland Raiders and the Golden State Warriors made me a very proud fan. With their victories and all of the excitement, I could not help myself but to look at their merchandises. It’s really hard to resist and I have this strong urgency of purchasing new clothes. While browsing their merchandises I was really surprise that they were carrying size small. In the past I always shop online and most of the time, size small is barely in stock. I was really tempted to buy their clothes, but I had to redeem myself from doing that because I do not want participate in being a consumer and I did not want to be a cycle of the production of sweatshops. Also while I was browsing through the Golden State Warriors website, I noticed that they made a special edition beanie with the Filipino sun surrounding the Golden State Warriors logo. The special edition beanie was made for Filipino heritage night which the Golden State Warriors do every year. This beanie was made to make Filipinos feel proud and something that they can enjoy and appreciate.  However this beanie reminded me of the Abercrombie & Glitch article where they produced derogatory Asian shirts which was supposedly to be funny. In this case the shirts are not funny because it produces the stereo types of Asian Americans. If Abercrombie wanted to produce Asian clothing, they should produce a product like the Filipino Golden State Warriors beanie where Asian Americans can feel proud of.

Sources:

Strasburg, Jenny. “Abercombie & Glitch / Asian Americans Rip Retailer for Sterotypes on T-Shirts”

http://www.warriorsteamstore.com/gsw1031141422.html

Be Green Challenge Week 3: Jillian Mariano

Week three of the Be Green Challenge passes by without so much as a nod or wave goodbye.  Once again, I have not bought anything besides food with flying colors.  However, my mama bought me some Tupperware to contain food.  Does that count as a strike?  But in all seriousness, I had many reasons to stick to my guns and persevere through this challenge, despite the capitalistic holiday season rearing its ugly head.  

The dreaded Black Friday rose from the depths of Hell to lay waste upon consumers, instilling in them a kind of feverish anger that makes them riot in the street and punch their fellow man in the face.  I was steadfast in my convictions, as Black Friday was the day of the Total Blackout for Reform, in which Ferguson protesters urged black and non-black shoppers to not spend a single dime to effect change on the police state or buy from black business owners if need be, and the Black Friday Walmart protests to effect change on Walmart’s exploitative policies.  Although not quite as visibly racist as Abercrombie and Fitch, who openly promote European, fat-phobic beauty standards, have racially discriminatory hiring practices, and stock their shelves with anti-Asian t-shirts, Walmart still overworks and underpays their employees. 

Strasburg, Jenny. "ABERCROMBIE & GLITCH / Asian Americans Rip Retailer for Stereotypes on T-shirts." SFGate. Chronicle, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.

Barman, Jay. "Protesters Chain Themselves To BART Trains At West Oakland, Temporarily Halt Transbay Train Service [Updated]." SFist. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2014.

Mandy Lew - Blog 3

Be Green Challenge

"Inspirational" Wall Decoration

This past week was Thanksgiving and equally, if not more important to some, the infamous Black Friday. This year many stores boasted about their early opening times. It seems to me as if the opening times of stores are becoming earlier and earlier each year, it won’t surprise me if Black Friday becomes a week-long event in coming years. Although stores opened earlier this year, ABC News reports that online sales have risen 9.5% from last year. The rising popularity of online shopping may convince companies to stop opening their stores earlier and illustrates how consumers have yet another method of purchasing material items. 

It is easy to forget the negatives of mass consumption especially if there are considerable markdowns. Even though some companies are known to be exploitative in their labor practices, this fact is ignored during the season of steep markdowns. These known exploitative companies need to be remembered in order for consumers to demand enforcement of fair labor practices. In this week’s readings on Abercrombie and Fitch’s history of discrimination, I learned about the various occasions and methods employed by the company to marginalize minorities. Prior to reading these articles, I was not aware of the discrimination suit faced by the company but did notice that their advertisements featured mostly white models. Because of this atmosphere I was never interested in this brand and do not remember the last time I entered one of their stores.

Although I didn’t buy anything personally, I did stand in a two hour line with my family. My family members barely go shopping and did not head to stores on Thursday night but even as we arrived at a store close to 1 pm on Friday, there was a line that almost circled the entire store. Although Black Friday is a commercial holiday I was happy to see that the people around us in line were kind and civilized, sharing and complimenting the deals they found and for whom they were for. Many shoppers were grandparents buying presents for their children and grandchildren. I overheard the parents and grandparents’ reasons for standing in this long line to purchase whatever they were there for. Honestly, it was nice to see these people show their affection for their loved ones even though it was through material goods. If only our society placed less value on material goods.

The Associated Press. "Black Friday Sales Fall as Sales Start Earlier." ABC News. N.p., 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2014.

"Abercrombie and Fitch Settles $40 Million Discrimination Suit" News Source. 2004. http://yellowworld.org/civil_rights/280.html

Strasburg, Jenny. “Abercrombie & Glitch: Asian Americans Rip Retailer for Stereotypes on T-shirts.”