consumerism at its worst.. or shall I say best? blog #6

This past weekend, I took my sisters and my nephew to the bay for a family day. While at Pier 39, my nephew wanted to go into the krazy hat store and he asked if he could buy a hat. Since it was on sale, I told him that it was fine. After trying on countless hats, he couldn't find any that he really liked. I then told him that the next time we come back, he could continue his search. He disagreed and set out to search again for a hat, any hat. At this point I was getting peeved because he wanted to buy something just to buy something; not for any other reason. When I told him we had to go, he threw a hissy fit. The situation reminded me of myself (and NO not the throwing a tantrum part haha) when I would shop, not find anything, but feel the need to buy something. Consumerism is so ingrained into our lives that we constantly feel the need to buy... buy... buy. On a side note, there was the Vietnamese straw hat at the store and I find it a bit annoying that it would be grouped with the other "Krazy" hats that one would wear for occasions such as Halloween.


i found the image on buy.com where it's called a "deluxe coolie straw hat"... no comment.

To continue with my thoughts, not only feel the need to buy, but would actually fork out money for things we don't really need. For example, on another visit to the bay, my friends and I stopped by Japan town. I love taking pictures with the machines they have where you can alter your background, add decoration, write messages on the picture and etc. The advertisement for the machines has these two Japanese girls on it with cutesy backgrounds and colors. I also noticed the same advertisement when I was in LA. It reminded me of the article "Cuties in Japan" (Kinsella) because people of all ages buy into the "cuteness" and pay 6 to 9 dollars just to take these cutesy pictures. On that occasion, there was these two white couples who rented kimonos from the shop down the hall so that they can take these pictures. It was ridiculous to me. I felt that they had no right to wear what they did. It seemed cliche-ish to be in Japan town, wear kimonos, and take pictures with a Japanese picture booth. It reminded me of the class video about mis-appropriation and how it can infuriate another because I felt myself that it was a bit too much.

trade offs... blog #5

While finishing the class paper this past weekend, I found that through my research, couture clothing are produced in a "friendly" environment (Kawamura); which obviously makes sense. But as a student I can't afford the high priced, couture lines, therefore in order to keep up in a sense with what is fashionable, I have to shop at the cheaper alternative places. I'm placed in a dilemma; buying clothes from high end couture lines which will probably rack up my credit cards, or buy cheaper clothes that are knock-offs but are made in poor conditions. As a student with little means, the latter choice makes more sense even if I have to turn a blind eye to certain things. And if fashion is suppose to represent a social status (Stewart), then I'm sad to say that as a student I'm at the bottom of the food chain.

it only gets tougher... blog #4

This weekend, my friends and I went out to the bay to hang out and check out some clubs. I was VERY tempted to buy new outfits for the weekend. So I went shopping in the morning on Friday with the mind-frame that I would buy something if I found anything that I really, really liked. We frequented one of our usual stores, Forever21. While looking around, it made me think about the article "Forever in trouble" for the obvious reasons. It made me wonder which ones were knockoffs since I don't particularly pay attention to designer duds; what's new and what not. And then it made me think about the conditions that these clothes were made under ("Santa's workshop") which made me feel extra guilty for breaking the pact, so luckily I didn't find anything that I really, really liked. After leaving Forever21, I didn't actively try to shop at other stores because I knew that if I didn't try to look then I wouldn't find anything. I ended up recycling some of my old clothes and was able to enjoy my weekend just the same.

Vietnamese ao dai... blog #3

Last weekend my mother attended a typical Vietnamese wedding and wore a fushia and purple "ao dai," the traditional Vietnamese dress, that she purchased in Vietnam a few years ago. I've always looked at the ao dai as being the same as other ao dais that I see other ladies wear. But since taking this fashion class, it made me wonder what would an "authentic" ao dai be like. Is there are different cut? Would the colors be more demure? And finally, the ao dai that my mother is wearing, is it a more fashionable version that is catered to Viet Kieu tastes due to the revival of the ao dai in the 1990s (Ao Dai Revival, Valverde)? Other questions come in mind also, such as who designed it, where is the fabric from, and etc. As we live in the age of globalization and commodity culture (Tracing Transnationalities, Dwyer), one can never be sure which networks of production a garment has been through to become what one would purchase as the final product. Clothes in my eyes can never be seen as simply as before.

necessary evil? ... blog #2

This weekend while cleaning out my closet, I decided to actually look at the labels of the clothes I own. And of course most of the items in my closet were produced abroad in countries such as China and Vietnam. When you shop for clothes, you don't think what were the conditions that these clothes were made under, whether or not it was humanitarian ("Santa's Sweatshop"). You think about whether or not certain items fit well with your style or if it suits you, and in most cases about the price. If it is affordable and what not. There are two stores that come to mind when thinking about cheap prices for clothes and for food; Forever21 and Walmart.

Forever21 sales cheap clothes that imitate certain designers at a cheap and low price comparatively to the real deal. When shopping at Forever21 you don't think about the piracy and copyright issues ("Forever in Trouble?"), you are more focused on getting cute clothes at a decent price; although Forever21 has raised its prices since I remember first shopping there.

The same story can be said for Walmart. At super centers you can find comparatively named brand items at a noticeably cheaper price then stores such as Bel-Air and Safeway. And you also know, but choose to ignore, how Walmart treats its employees unfairly by paying low wages and offering meager benefits; yet people still shop at Walmart, I myself included. When you live in a declining economy, what other solutions are out there. It's only logical for people to find the best way to save their money, even if it means turning a blind eye to some issues.

Therefore it leads me to the conclusion that stores such as Forever21 and Walmart are like necessary evils. Knowing this, how can we change for the better if our options are limited?
I guess this "going green" project will help me see that there are a lot of things one can live without. And to not feel the need to purchase things just to purchase them; to change for the better.

Hello Kitty... blog #1

Sanrio has always been one of my favorites stores ever since childhood and through this class I have began to look at it through a different lens.

I can remember the days in elementary school when things like Hello Kitty and Lisa Frank were popular items. I remember as early back as the third grade when I would buy different stationaries that featured characters such as Hello Kitty, Twin Stars, and Pippo, and write notes to my friends and such. And although that was more then a decade ago, I am not ashamed to say that I am still a Hello Kitty lover today. Some might think it's childish to for a grown person to still like Hello Kitty, but I don't agree. Just because you are a certain age, it doesn't mean that you can't like "cute" things. That being said, I'm not likely to buy Hello Kitty stationary or things of that nature these days, but I would be inclined to buy items that are more tasteful and not so cheesy. I feel that one's tastes can mature with age. These days, I enjoy shopping for Hello Kitty jewelry. There are a few pieces in the Kimora Lee line that I like, that are highly over priced, but I feel it has a more refined look that would suit someone like me. If they weren't ridiculously over priced, I might have perhaps bought a few items, but I guess in a world where there's knock offs and cheaper imitations everywhere you look, to put a label on it and to over price it is to try to capitalize on the "authenticity" of it ("Knockouts or Knockoffs" Melissa Decker).

Thinking about the "Cuties in Japan," the article by Sharon Kinsella, I can reflect on why I still like Hello Kitty; maybe it's because it symbolizes my childhood when things were carefree and you didn't have any worries. In the world that we live in today, our day to day life is full of stress and there's always something on your mind. And if Hello Kitty helps me to remember the feelings of childhood to bring a little extra joy to my life, then I don't see anything wrong with it. You can be young at any age, it's just a mentality.

Linda Le