IWA 5

Every society has its set of rules, not only actual written laws, but also set of rules of how people should behave culturally. Part of these rules is fashion. Somehow there is a set of norms Just like how someone might not agree with your beliefs, they could also disagree with how you and your clothes match. People cannot just wear what they want; there can be many differnet contexts for “crimes” of fashion, such as race, gender, class and nation or a combination of these, for example the Zoot Suit Riots, where the Chicanos commited “crimes” against the majority of not only fashion but also all of those categories.

I had a vivid experience of myself commiting a crime of fashion and – I suppose – class. It happened years ago, when I was still in junior high. Social hierarchy amongst students is largely based on “popularity” or “coolness.” What happened to me one day was that my t-shirt with the brand name Esprit printed on it was made fun of by one of the cool kids (he and I are on good terms now). “Esprit boy,” he called me in an almost condenscending tone. I was definitely not in his caliber of cool, so in turn I felt embarassed for wearing something that he thought wasn't suited for me and for not “knowing my place.” Although I wasn't completely sure what my classmate honestly meant when he said that to me, but I was quite sure that he did not think highly of me in the first place, as he bullied me sometimes. He probably thought that I wasn't cool enough as a person to even “understand” fashion. Needless to say, it felt like he was “putting me in my place.”

People generally dislike or fear being looked down upon, and thus a lot of people who aren't confident enough or not friendly with the popular students will not experiment daringly with clothes. After my incident, in fear of being called out again, I tried to tone down what I wore to not stand out as much. Especially in secondary school, being truly fashionable seems to be reserved for and synonymous with the cool, at least according to them. On the other hand, people with power and authority often like to act high and mighty. Like during the Zoo Suit Riots, where the Chicanos were stripped of their clothes, the sailors who were the people in power could not stand the Chicanos acting like they were not inferior to them (or even superior to them), and tried to “put them in their place.”

In society, people are constantly reminded of how to be normal. But, normal does not equal natural. “Normal” fashion is the images conveyed by culture, media and the people in power that most people think is the right way to dress or strive for. However, clothes and fashion is essentially all fabricated by humans. I am not saying that being natural is not wearing any clothes, but instead it is people wearing what they truly want to. Of course, that can pose problems, such as indecent exposure, inappropriate statements, etc. At least nowadays most people in most developed cultures are quite content with what manufacturers and designers had to offer despite being part of a system that has to be maintained. It looks a little bit like “ignorance is bliss.”

Personally, what I care most about is what people think of me, so I don't mind wearing something to suit others' standards as long as I look pleasing/acceptable to them. Although that Esprit incident during junior high did not seem like such a big deal at first, it probably subconsciously greatly influenced my decisions in dressing up. For some of the people who want to make strong statements with their dress and challenge the norms, such as cross-dressers and zoot suiters, there will still be people who are irrationally opinionated about what a certain race, gender, class, nation, age, etc. should or should not wear, and will hate on them. Dress is part of what somebody looks like and unfortunately, many people judge others based on their looks.