Environmentally Hazardous Clothing

Alright. This has been going on for awhile now and for some reason I've been watching a lot of TMZ lately (I don't know why) so I'm aware I'm not breaking any news here. This is not a celebrity blog, and I completely understand if someone's reaction to what happened between Chris Brown and Rihanna is somewhat ambivalent (if only because said person doesn't really care about celebrity news or who Rihanna is or any "Umbrella-la-la-la"s). The thing is, I don't really think this is a run-of-the-mill celebrity scandal; so far it's brought up issues of sexism, race, relationship abuse, victimization, and parental abuse. A poll was done at a high school and found that 1 in 10 students thought that Rihanna had deserved the physical beating she received. TMZ has been asking celebrity's opinions and has been shocked by the amount who have no opinion or give condolensces to both parties, not just Rihanna. On discussion forums, users talk about how she had mouthed off, been cheating, had spread an STD, or otherwise had provoked the fight and abuse.

I've noticed a large age gap in the responses, older people, especially older women, seem to be more horrified and bring up terms like "abuse", or "beating". Younger men and women seem to be more concerned with why they got into an altercation, the physical attractiveness of both celebrities, and are more likely to make fun of the situation. Obviously, more attention needs to be payed to education and awareness of women's rights, healthy relationship interactions, and gender roles in our public schools.

And this is also where I disagree with the idea that there is just way too much "political correctness" in our society. Fuck that. Conservatives use this as a talking point and it's complete bullshit. There needs to be some serious social condemnation of behavior like this and of people who defend abuse of any kind. I would rather be a little too polite and say things like "Happy Holidays" than look at this sickening WOMEN'S tank top with bloody scrawl endorsing the broken up face of a starlet.

Offensive clothing happens in many forms...exhibit A would be the boycott in 2005 of Abercrombie and Fitch's lovely line of t-shirts endorsing teenage girls to use their tits to get ahead and taunting brunettes (wtf?). A group called the Women and Girls Foundation forced the company to pull certain tees and issue an apology.


UMMM....DATE RAPE ANYONE?


I LOVE WHEN CLOTHES GIVE ME AN EATING DISORDER

For examples of other types of clothing that give off subtle hints of this type of grossness see: Michael Stars, Juicy Couture, American Apparel.

So why can't clothing manufacturers be more ethical and think about issues that affect their customer like these ones? Women are by far the major consumer of most fashions, and all of these things are talked about openly now--abuse, health, gender equality, sexism, etc. Seventeen magazine, for example! They are constantly publishing letters to the editor that basically state the same thing: "thank you for writing such and such story about an issue, but why do your advertisements totally contradict your editorial sentiment?" These are issues that are just plain ignored by most fashion entities. It's definitely not a priority for most of the junior's brands out there, and the old way of doing things--and their wallets--get in the way of progress.

ECONOMIC CRISIS FASHION!!!

Walmart brand "Puritan" cardigan, $13.97


Hahaha wtf, it looks like American Apparel? Good thing we won't let this evil big box into the city, poor Dov Charney would be losing profits left and right! By the way, Walmart also has a "Norma Kamali" line now and Dickies for like 8 bucks. Geez.

On An Un-Fashion Related Note...

I LOVE CARLA! I hope she wins!!

Fashion Marketing 101

When I was in fashion marketing classes about six (!) years ago, no one really paid attention to low end fashion. Everyone was mainly concerned with opening boutiques that carried Sevens and Juicy...because most of the time people who go into fashion marketing (to be a buyer, or open up a store, or manage a chain, etc.) think of themselves as very trendy.

Being trendy did not include needing to know about low end retail stores. They mainly included Target, Walmart, Kmart, Old Navy, some mall stores...anyone remember DEB? Or Rave? Rave underwent a makeover to try to capitalize on the new popularity of stores like Forever 21, and is doing much better now. These were places that trendy people did not need to pay attention to, because they catered to shoppers too concerned with bargain to understand fashion.

No one ever thought of low end retail as being part of the trend cycle. In my opinion, not only are stores like Forever 21, H&M, and Topshop a part of the cycle, they are major catalysts in fashion in general now. Because of the cheap labor and quick turnaround process for their lines, they are able to pick up on designer trends much sooner than a midrange brand could. Also, they aren't afraid of losing a customer base who could be frightnened of those wacky high end designer trends. Abercrombie and Fitch, for example.

There are good and bad aspects of this new industry force, I would highly recommend the documentary on the subject "Made in L.A.". It follows three Latina immigrants who work for Forever 21 and the struggle for them to receive basic working rights. Many people have actually boycotted the chain.

http://madeinla.com/

Local Fashion

I'm always quick to defend Seattle, I absolutely think it's one of the best places on Earth. Granted, I haven't been to many other places on Earth, but I just have this really strong feeling about it, ok? And even though I love, LOVE, this place, my home, I just have a couple bones to pick with it. There are some things I just can't defend, and I could definitely make a list of them in short order to share with you.

1. Our sad, sad transit situation. For some reason we are 20 years behind ever other major metropolitan area at least and we're just now slowly starting to catch up.

2. What's up with the crappy pastries? I know people have said this before, but it's so true. I kind of like Top Pot Doughnuts (not as good as Voodoo though) and the French bakery in Wallingford is also great. But that's it?


La Boulangerie

3. Condos. Let's leave the city be, ok you scummy developers? Oh wait, you already can't sell anything because no one wants to buy a $500,000 one bedroom at Denny Triangle, and if they did make that mistake they've lost half the value in the last year. And you ruined all of Capitol Hill! Go away condo monsters! Give us affordable rentable properteez!

4. Passive-Aggressive-ness. Everyone knows we're like this weird kind of nice/not nice human and we like to quietly judge. Sometimes I'm ok with it (like I would rather not talk to people on the bus, so that's ok) but sometimes it bugs me (like ok if someone is trying to PISS on said bus then it's definitely ok to speak angry words).

like roommates, Seattle is

AND, 5....of course is our standing in the FASHION world. Let's discuss.

Alright. Pros and cons. Our outdoor industry is awesome. REI, Eddie Bauer, Filson...our region is known for our love of outdoor culture and the designers in charge have been slowly catching on the the prospect of using fashionable styles along with utilitarian designs. Also, Snowboard Connection! They carry great local lines of ski/snow/skatewear. And now that I think about it, I'd say that the skate/urbanwear industry is basically the most successful, locally grown, forward thinking network in Seattle right now.

Ok, but we're also known for super dowdy clothing. Khakis, anyone? I blame Microsoft/tech industry and I think we are lazier about dressing for adverse weather here. We got away with it when dressing like a lumberjack was popular for everyone in the 90s, but I think we can step it up now. The thing that confuses me that I think that we have some great street style in Seattle, and I don't really buy the thing that people say about us being years behind New York--except if you look at the number of businesses that contribute to our fashion identity. We just do not have the kind of local support for forward thinking design that we should.

Let's compare to Portland. It was perfectly portrayed in the last season of Project Runway--the girl from Portland was innovative, fresh, and had a kind of style you could really pinpoint. And the Seattleite?


Fashion in Seattle is like Blaine...confused and all over the place.

So we need to correct this. When The Stranger puts out it's annual Fashion Issue, instead of pimping items from Ian and Nordstrom, it should be displaying the latest lines from the well-known, supported, reputable local designers. When students major in apparel design, instead of moving to NY/LA/SF blah blah STAY HERE! Form collectives with other designers and open up spaces in cheap neighborhoods like the CD and Georgetown! And be friendly, no one likes snobs, only snobby design. But most of all, let's support the local businesses that are paving the way for good design in this city, and ignore the ones who aren't.



NOT HERE



HERE

Kidding aside, I definitely think we have the power to make Seattle more successful in this area because we have the kind of atmosphere that could foster the growth we need. We just need to sort of collectively find our sense of self, style-wise. Personally I think having an outdoors/industrial-type base is perfect, and if we combine that with organic and innovative design we would be right on the money. It would be like a Euro-unisex-future thing and we would be an unstoppable army of good taste and it would be the BEST.

http://www.impulseseattle.com/
http://blackbirdballard.com/

OH THE HUMANITY...of mom jeans.

I LOVE these Grey Ant pants. Everyone's making such a stink about how fat and disgusting Jessica Simpson is, (ummm ok Fox News who are you, the mean girl in middle school that made DJ Tanner eat her lunch in the phone booth?) that no one argued the merits of high waisted pants! Ok so you know how when they have discussion on the teevees about politics and such (pros and cons and all that) they have experts from one side, and then an expert from the opposite side? I think it's called journalism. I think it should be the same about fashion. Like just because some uptight boring girl on "What Not To Wear" thinks something is unflattering, does that make it TRUTH? I wish I could ban that word, flattering. They say it forty million times an episode of Project Runway, and it drives me crazy. I'm so sure everyone in America who was criticizing Jessica Simpson's beautiful denim wears completely flattering things all of the time...because last time I was at a mall I saw some things. So people! Stop obsessing over that part of your body you hate! You should display it to the world, with freedom, it shall save you!

Best and Worst and Whateverrr

So even though it's already February and everything, I thought since I just started this thingy I could do a little best and worst of 2008. I've been thinking of a LOT of trends lately that I would really rather not see anymore, but I've also been more excited about fashion in general. I sort of felt like we went through a dry spell there for a bit. I mean, girls thinking LC from the Hills is a fashion icon is a little telling, no? Boring is not a style.

So I began to peruse The Internets for some "best and worst" lists for last year, and of course, found myself disagreeing with almost everything I saw. First of all, they seem to be written by people outside of the fashion industry on more generic websites (AOL, about.com) which probably cater to readers of lots and lots of top ten, best and worst, lists, quizzes, etc. They all kind of say the same thing. Most worst trends of the year were critiques of high fashion trends that maybe wouldn't go over so well in Middle America, and best trends of the year are basics, styles we've seen for generations, very flattering things. Well DUH! I had a weird feeling that Tammy from Tampa, mother of three, wouldn't be so into jodphurs and gladiator sandals. Tammy is only allowed to wear flip flops or crocs, of course! But I don't think that making fun of high fashion trends is really that interesting...really, certain trends coming from designers are only around to be chattered about by fans, worn by three women in New York City, and then filtered through the fashion cycle and watered down versions are worn by all. I find it to be a little negative on the part of people in the fashion industry to constantly be going through these motions, like why are you assuming that Tammy from Tampa wouldn't wear some oxford booties with her skinny jeans?

I think a more interesting topic to think about is this: what trends or fads are truly the "worst" because they are unflattering, or offensive and you also feel like they are being shoved down your throat by retailers? And what trends are truly the "best" of the year because they got you excited by the prospect of creating something for yourself?

I came up with a couple of my own. For worst I nominate probably one of the worst things to enter my life since that time in high school when the only bands on the radio were Nickleback and P.O.D....


AFFLICTION!



Why do bodybuilders like this brand? Is it some sort of proof of masculinity to wear an overpriced t-shirt that looks like something a 7th grade boy would scrawl on his canvas zip-up binder? Is this what "metal" looks like now? Really? And why are they always weirdly religious, with the crosses and all that? And also, rhinestones? Do you really need more shit on that fabric?
Why doesn't anyone ever talk about this blight on the suburbs of America?


For best, or my favorite trend I started to get into at the end of last year:


SLOUCHY BAGGY JODPHUR-Y PANTS!



This is from Chloe Spring 2009. They're seriously not that hard to wear...I'm still kind of getting used to them, it's a little tricky. But isn't everyone a little tired of skinny/wide leg trousers? And they're definitely NOT the same as "boyfriend cut".... they have to be real tailored, fitted at the bottom, maybe rolled up, but very feminine I think. I'm also really into baggy blouses that are tucked in (not over leggings, geez). Anyways there are lots of things I'm pretty excited about for this year but I think I will wear pants like this basically all the time. So Easy Breezy!

If people actually read this blog this is where I'd ask the audience's opinion on their best and worst of 2008, so instead I'll just hum to myself and post this baby.