#6

We've all made it, 28+ days of being green and kicking consumerism out of our lives. We are one step closer to a better life, which does not have to center around consumption. Anyways, when I were studying for finals with my friends, I told them about my green project and I was taunted as being crazy and how I were able to do such a thing. For them, their last purchase was yesterday or the previous weekend when they bought a “much-needed” eye liner or a cute top. We partake in such consumerism knowing that we do not need uncountable articles of clothing in our closets.
However, clothing is more than a fashion statement, it is a style of life and self-expression for many. It influences attitudes, creates dispositions, and both emphasizes and reflects preferences.(Perrot) But we have taken it to another level by the buying power we have been granted and US government’s propaganda of excessive consumption. In our individualistic society, we seek to define ourselves in terms of our clothing. By dressing in a certain way or by owning certain number of clothing items, we validate and reward ourselves for our accomplishments. “In Western culture, clothing and immediate surroundings are used to protect and project a sense of self in very literal ways.” (Craik) Therefore, our lives are surrounded by and revolve around clothing and fashion that it has become a second nature for us as we partake in these everyday acts unknowingly.

#5

Thinking of our project and our oh-so prevalent consumer culture, we need to address the issue of clothing. Clothing plays a huge role in our everyday life, in consumerism and in the fashion world. Clothes are so politically charged that we often do not even consider it in that manner. Yet, time and again, clothing has proved to be such a distinct racial, cultural and ethnic marker that it is difficult to consider it out of that context. In our post 9/11 world, Middle Eastern, Arab and South Asian Muslims and their clothing has specifically become a problem leading to hate crimes at the hands of many extremist groups.
Women with hijab and men with turbans are automatically labeled as “terrorists.” Yet, it became hip to be wearing the keffiyeh, the Palestinian scarves that even appeared in mainstream stores such as Urban Outfitters. As both Maira and Gigi Durham note in their articles, this is commodification of the elements of the “Orient,” by accepting certain aspects of the culture without understanding the politics involved with it. Such appropriation really “…speak to the mutually constitutive categories of the “East” and “West,” recirculating imperialist tropes that have taken shape over many years.” (Gigi Durham) So, when Rachel Ray wears a scarf resembling anything like a keffiyeh in a commercial, it is no longer aired because the company does not want to be supportive of that part of the world, the Palestine or the Middle East in general. Such notions are problematic because a culture is commodified and sold to the public solely for consumption and the public is to accept it blindly without showing any support for the culture or their causes. Clothing, thus, is highly political and has proven to entail serious implications in terms of supporting or rejecting certain ideals.

I have made it so far and I have not bought anything. Ok, save for gifts for friend’s baby shower and birthdays. But, really nothing for myself. Anyways, this weekend was the baby shower where after playing several “bottle chugging” and “make a baby” games, I met a young woman who is traveling to Japan over the summer. She has been there a few times and when asked about her past experiences, reflects that Japan is in many ways like US. She said that every time she goes it seems that Japan follows similar trends and moves along the same direction as the West. The same can be seen in Kondo reading, where the article also states that Japan in many ways tries to build a national image based on the West and the modernity we associate with that part of the world.
Why is it that only West is associated with modernity and other nations try to emulate the Western ways in order to come into the global perspective. Western fashion has gone global whereas a lot of Asian fashion is still confined to local regions of that country. However, I think that as Niessen states that fashion should be reoriented to include the Eastern perspective, a new approach must be employed when defining fashion as such constraints of including just the Western side of the world must be removed and redefined.

Over the weekend, when I was at my parents’ house I was surprised by yet another gift from my mom, a Salwar Kameez. And guess what- It didn’t fit me. I was mad, but it wasn’t the first time this has happened. So I asked her to return it but there was the catch—She can’t, because she ordered the dress from a high-end boutique in India and had it shipped here. Talk about diaspora connections! These dresses are expensive and can run from $100-$500 and as I found out there is a new style every season. So, women buy new clothes every season which are ridiculously overpriced, I think. Anyways, the Salwar Kameez didn’t fit me and there is no way I can return it or exchange it. So I am stuck with an ill-fitting dress that I do not like.

This incident serves as an example of diasporic connections that Raghuram and Hardill write about in their article. Indian diaspora populations have connections back home in the form of these boutiques which primarily cater to overseas populace. There is a rising trend of importing clothes from India which are “in” currently, as opposed to the stores selling “outdated” items here. There is a network established by women here who send for clothes from the boutiques and are willing to pay high prices. My mom found out about it from a friend and immediately placed an order. There is an uprising of a new industry that caters just to overseas Indians who are willing to pay big bucks for their orders and the local boutique owners make every effort to rip them off. And like the clothes shops in London, this sort of business "feed many diaspora clothes markets." (Bhachu) Hence, I think it is only a matter of time until this sort of fashion industry, if it hasn’t already (come on, even my mom knows about it!) becomes more widespread among the Indians overseas who are looking for more trendy and up-to-date fashion. Who knows, maybe even mainstream fashion can draw from it or contribute to it.

Fashion

Memorial Day weekend came and passed, while I stayed at home hesitant that if I go to the mall I will definitely end up buying something. I did go grocery shopping however, and tried to buy everything Organic which has definitely doubled my food expenses.
Anyhow, so I sat at home and watched the Cannes Film Festival on TV as the the celebrities attending the Cannes Film Festival appear one by one displaying their best couture gowns while the critics scrutinized every detail of their donned fashion. At this point, I was drooling over the extravagant gowns and elegant dress, wishing for one of those high fashion items myself. Then, being a student in Asian American fashion class, I thought about why that is so?

As Kawamura states in her Fashion-ology book, the celebrities function as fashion leaders in our society today and we try to emulate their styles. Every little accessory they don immediately becomes fashionable and we desire to own it. This can be seen in Madonna’s case of making the bindis fashionable and "Liv Tyler rested dreamily on henna-adorned hands on the cover of a 1997 issue of Vanity Fair" further orientalized mehndi. (Maira) We borrow from everywhere, in many ways, we don’t really have a style of our own, it has been picked out and intentionally made famous and publicized by the celebrities. The fashion critics and magazine editors serve as the gate-keepers who choose the specific fashion from high couture houses to be made public. So they actually decide what will be in stores every season and what we will wear. Thus, when we long to have the jeans and dresses that the celebrities wear, we are just propagating the chain of fashion propaganda. While we might think that we have a unique style, one can argue that it is not so because we are all buying the items already picked for us. The more I thought about this, the more annoyed I got and the same dress that appeared gorgeous few minutes ago didn’t seem so appealing any more. And I switched the channel to something more pleasing, which can be very unique and personal—Food network.

baby GAP

For most of us, GAP doesn’t conjure images of young women working in sweatshops and even Nikes continue to be the fad item we all yearn to own. We are a part of the excessive consumer culture ever so present in the US that it has almost become synonymous with us Americans. Being on the receiving end, we do not understand or just simply neglect the relationship between excessive consumption and sweatshops present in our world today. Critical of the big companies such as GAP, my experience today has taught me that there are alternatives, if one is willing to look for them.

As I was looking for a gift for my friend’s baby shower, a cute little outfit on display in baby GAP’s window appeared irresistible. But I was taken aback from even entering the store knowing that this little dress is made by women who can barely afford to clothe their own children. I refused to partake in this inhumane consumption where “sweatshops are a reality of globalized economy” yet companies claim that “It is not a situation in which we are abusing people or there are health issues involved.” (Holstein, Palmer, Ur-Rehman and Ito, 1996) In fact, it is quite the contrary because workers face horrific working conditions and even suffer health problems caused by these circumstances. Picturing these inhabitable conditions, the little dress didn’t seem attractive any longer. Instead, I went to local Mother and Baby Source, a little shop filled with all baby necessities as well as organic clothes, to purchase my gift. I think I made a difference today, although it is minute on a global scale but it is a step away from the vicious cycle of exploitative production and irresponsible consumption. We do not need everything we buy, and we certainly don’t need closets full of clothes. Therefore, I think that as responsible consumers, we have to realize that “Clothing is a necessity whereas fashion is not.” (Kawamura, 2005)