Another Unlikely Alliance

This one has nothing really to do with me.

Sorry.

I have always been amused and intrigued by the ways in which subcultures have adopted fashions from other walks of life having almost no relation to their own. One of the most prime examples being the punks addiction to Doc Martens. For someone of my generation the two seem synonymous but they  were not mutually exclusive, rather a result of Doc Martens versatility.

We find in history different permutations of this. Most recently I have been perplexed and beemused by the use of Parkas and Carhart beanies. What started as a uniform for the scraggly alternative boy has now filtered into the closets- tucked alongside the Tory Burch bags and wedged sneakers- of the Upper East Side younger women.

Witnessing this unfold- i.e. having lived long enough to possess a context for Carhart beyond the 'Ladies who Brunch'-has brought some questions. How exactly did they come about, especially in a world, this nefarious fashion world, where practicality most often takes a back seat. A question I have no real answer to.

A week ago the Criterion Collection was streaming for free on Hulu. The burgeoning film junkie that I am took a holiday from the world and tried to cram in as many pretensiously deemed classics as I could. To say the least I had a ball of a time. During the marathon I happened to watch Quadraphorenia. The film is based off of the Who's rock opera of the same name. The protaginist is a British youth, Jimmy, struggling to establish an identity amoung the Mods.

Movie Poster FeaturingProtagonist 

I could spend a good amount of time discussing the plot, Sting's cameo, or the fantastic soundtrack. Instead I will recommend you watch it for yourself. I'm gonna talk about some Parkas. I have never worked on a show with Mods, this has simply meant that my knowledge of this subculture is limited to the stereotypes that have survived thanks to nostalgia. Album covers come to mind, but those hardly include outer wear, and, to be honest, I haven't devoted hours to studying them.

Sleek, mini-skirts, tailored suits, are what I assume most people think of. Never would I have included Parkas. I can't say I ever imagined what the Mods wore as coats, but if pressed I would have suggested something along the lines of the sleek dress jackets that dominate Men's runway shows year after year. Classic for a reason.

Parkas Galore Running From the Brighton Police
And Below The Mod Motor Gang

This is why when watching this film I was particularly struck by the prevelance of the Parka. Shot after shot depicted gangs of Mods riding vespas in a sea of green underneath their sleek suits sheltered from the outside world. Curious after watching the film I looked up why this was. While they were associated with anti-war movements, I wouldn't expect the lax political beliefs to get in the way of style. In fact I would assume the opposite. Fashion can be an outlet for political expression. A group so defined by their attention to tailoring seems out of place in the baggy day wear of the troops abroad. I was surpirsed to find that they were in fact used to protect their clothing. The word practicality doesn't strike me as a popular one in the Mod's vocabulary.

Years after their popularity, it seems Parkas have been again brought back by another unlikely group. A testament to the fact that durability can sometimes overcome and outlast aesthetics. While the prescence of Mod fashions have been diluted, their influence is undeniable. However, none have remained as untouched as the Parka. A surprisingly timeless look.

Winter Time Cat Calls

It's winter time in the city. Everyone's bundled up. My own scarf covers most of my face heating me like a grey knit mammal. My arms lay horizontal at my side propped up by every sweater in my closet. And then--

Damnnn, Girl!

As my hunting hat has rendered my peripheral vision null, it takes an entire body shift to determine the source of the shout. A man on the corner licks his lips as he continues to look me up and down. What would seem like a gaff at my ensemble suddenly becomes much more. While you never really seek out cat calls, there seems to be a time and place for them. Summer comes to mind. I've come to realize that these calls are not just reserved for the bare skin. Like the Amish made due with pictures of ankles so do the pervs of New York with stocking covered legs.

A Graphic Rendering of my Findings Level I

I have noticed, as you might expect, the outfit as a variable influences where the cat call falls on the sliding scale of invasiveness.

Demonstrating Level II on the Invasive Scale

My coat, at knee level, sometimes covers the skirt that rises, (when will they make garters for things that ride up??) which for someone taller might mean a lot of leg action. But I'm a shorty (just not your shorty). There isn't miles of leg, or anything, to reveal. Yet if the black above-the-knee skirt is on, so too is the light in the brothel window. In the sneaker ensemble I recently posted, one guy on the street actually inquired if my butt was going to be busy that evening. On a separate occasion I had the audacity to wear a pair of clog boots with the same skirt, and one man approached me in order to whisper in my ear.

Demonstrating Level III

Forgive me but I have gotten past the age of feeling flattered. I don't know if I was ever really at that age, but I now most certainly reside on the corner of grossed out and enraged.
Dear Sir: Honestly, I don't require your opinion to feel good about myself, nor am I soliciting it. I don't need another person to keep me warm, I have plenty of layers in case you hadn't noticed. Oh, and please don't act like I'm a terrible person for rejecting your 'compliment.'
I find it funny that those who frequently talk about protecting women, the heroes of their own narratives, are often the perpetrators of the problem. Maybe women would not feel they needed protecting if cat callers understood that their 'complimenting' is actually quite objectifying.

There are enough reminders that we, as women, are sexual objects. I don't need the dew from your breath to make the message realer.

The momentum that is building seems to be taken seriously only by other women. You can't argue that men's sexual nature is uncontrollable, and in the same breath argue that these 'compliments' are non-sexualized niceties. Despite what society has proclaimed, women are not that stupid. After being looked at for this long we know the difference between a look, and a peeling-your-clothes-off-up-and-down-and-all-over-the-street LOOK.

The fact that victim blaming still exists is unconscionable. Yet even I partook in it. I found myself surprised by winter time cat calls because I couldn't imagine how, dressed as the abominable snowman, I might possibly be tempting the penis gallery. I found myself texting friends "seems like people think red heads are easier," in an attempt to make light of the situation and, in some ways, try to explain it.

The sad fact of the matter is that we are all players in the cycle. I am at a loss for solutions to break it, but I think it starts with rejecting the ways in which we depict female bodies. Capitalism tells us everything is for sale; the beer, the t-shirt, and the buxom blonde. The only way I see we can reject this is to create our own images, in our own respective mediums. Multi-dimensional representations of women create a challenge for those who seek to objectify. It is harder to claim ownership of something you cannot fully understand. Progress can come from simply supporting the work of others who are trying to take these steps. In some ways this post was inspired by a few feminist fashion blogs I recently discovered. Like the brilliant musings on à l’allure garçonnière. An activist, who is moderating a much needed discussion on the intersections of fashion and feminism, and the ways in which they perpetually misunderstand each other. For now I will leave this post as my first hack at my own advice. It is an attempt to contribute to the argument.

Concluding With a Level IV 'Close-Up'

I was going to end with an apology for the potential repetitiveness. But I actually think it is necessary. You are not being dramatic if you feel violated by someone looking/cat calling at you. You have a right to be treated like a human whose sum is far greater than your sexual desirability. So let's make it an issue. Because it should not be a story we have to hear over and over again.

This is a space to share. This conversation is no where near over.


***This post was made possible by my wonderful editor Otis Axel.

Making Due With What You Got, a Partial D.I.Y

I came home from the movies the other night itching to create something. There were a lot of factors that contributed to this surge, the proverbial straw had been a series of really compelling short films. The collection were this years nominees in the Best Short Live Action category at the Oscars. Without a camera I seriously lacked the ability to create a short film of my own, so I busted out my sewing machine which has been blatantly ignored since my last d.i.y. post. For quite some time I have pined for a quilted sweater. Coming home I found no fabric suitable to create what I wanted, nor did I find the energy to make the fabric myself. Instead I took a favorite sweater and using it as a base, I created a shell like cotton top. Had my initial intention been to create a post about this project I may have been more diligent in photo taking, or at least created a step by step process, but that has not been how I have created in the past. If you are interested in recreating the entire top than please feel free to let me know and I will try and recreate the process as well as I can.

For now I will share the one quilted detail I made. It could be argued that the whole top was made just for these shoulder details, or the other way around (chicken versus that egg). It has been the sweater of my subconscious for sometime. A little fabric tweaking and I might argue it's exactly what I've been searching for, but, I was werking with what I got. Here is to the revision process and everything you discover along the way!

I had initially intended for these to be arm patches. I found they suited the shoulders more but don't let that limit you!

Materials
Four oval shaped fabric scraps (the pieces I used already had a criss-cross pattern which made the quilting bit all the easier). Don't worry if the ovals have uneven edges you will be turning them inside out so the shape can be perfected at a later step.

Two pieces of felt in the same shape/size (if your fabric is transparent you have the option to play with this color or get felt that matches, just something to be aware of!)

Scissors

Chalk

Your Sewing Machine

Step 1
First measure out the size/shape you want the patches to be. I arbitrarily started cutting and it turned out to my liking but there is nothing wrong with being cautious!

Step 2

Once you have your fabric ovals and felt ovals pin one of the felt pieces to one of the fabric ovals and attach. My suggestion here is to sew with the felt side facing up. It provides a more even stitch if you have an unruly machine like mine.

 ,

Step 3
At this point you should have two ovals with felt and two with out. Take your last two oval fabric pieces and attach them to the fabric side of the oval leaving a little opening so that when you are able to turn the whole piece inside out. Feel free to attach the fabric to the felt side if you'd like frayed edges!

Step 4
Through the opening that you left pull the oval inside out so that there is fabric on both sides. Tuck in the open edge and sew a circle around the edge so that the seam is sealed.

Step 5
At this point I simply sewed over the existing pattern on the fabric. If you would like the same 'quilted look' you can draw out a criss cross pattern with chalk and then simply sew over the lines. I found that the side of the fabric facing down ended up looking more 'quilted.' If you have a preference for which side is showing, make sure that side is on the underside when sewing out your quilted pattern.

Step 6
Attach to whatever you want wherever you want it!

When Will Spring be Here?

I am flipping a giant poo. I have been browsing through the Paris shows on New York Magazine's website, as I am want to do from time to time. Usually post sewing extravaganza- it's a way to either wind down or pump myself up for some more projects. In the shows that I have "watched" there is one trend I seemed to see over and over: There was a distinct straight neckline attached to a round sleeve. From Chanel to Georges Chakra I found variations on this theme. Gustavo Lin's almost achieved a version relying on the negative space of the others. The most interesting, though, were those that chose not to expose the neck. While I am a big fan of off the shoulders, there was something so inventive about the way that Karl Lagerfeld re-appropriated the silhouette to alter the classic Chanel suit.

Chanel 2013

Dior 2013

Georges Chakra 2013

Gustavo Lins 2013

While I was amusing myself trying to relocate this pattern, which in the wee hours yesterday morning seemed quite a solid one, I came across a designer who I had missed in my binge: Alexis Mabille. I do not profess to be a connoisseur of current designers, but it seemed missing him the first time around was representative of our relationship to date. Sometimes you find a collection that literally speaks to you. I who have been experiencing the style existential crisis of my life, somehow put myself together long enough to drool over the ornate and beautifully delicate work that is his 2013 collection. The girl that coveted The Little Princess, and Secret Garden has grown up. She wants some royal invitations, or an apartment big enough to warrant eating breakfast in a gown. I have not abandoned my desire to streamline and monochrome, but a show as whimsical yet (somehow?) modern as this is most definitely reason enough to wish upon a star for some kind of fairy godmother, hopefully one who has excellent sewing skills. 

It was excruciating choosing favorites but these seemed the most practical. What occasion doesn't call for a pantsuit with a train fit for a fairytale?

The X-Files X File.

In the midst of the resurgence of 90s fashion it seemed only fitting to review the costumes of a piece so quintessentially 90s. One of the joys of being home has no doubt been the discovery of my parent's netflix account. While the costumes are not high-fashion, I believe the intentionality of each piece is about as subtle as the action sequences. Like many who have come before I am fascinated and drawn to the sometimes hokey nature of the show.

Trench coat, gun, flash light and transformation is complete. 

The dominating costume piece is undoubtedly the almost uniform long black trench coat. In a sea of balding white men even Skully blends in with her matching coat. I was unconvinced of the significance of the coat until an episode in which while on vacation Skully covers her casual clothing with the cloak as she takes on the persona of Agent Skully. A coat which is tucked away in her trunk until she is reluctantly sucked into an investigation in a small New England Town.
As an aspiring costume designer I am usually quite fascinated by the differences between costume design for theater versus costume design for television, I feel that film falls more between the two then distinctly on either side. The X-Files was in a unique position. The paranormal plot lines created an interesting opportunity. Alongside the contemporary professional wear of its protagonists, and the distinct 90s day wear of the 'middle of nowhere America' they encounter, is this fantastical world. This world commissions its own elaborate effects, and theatrical ensembles. However, the great success is keeping everything so pedestrian until the last moment. When that monster finally rears it's ugly head, you know the next cut will be one you view between your fingers.

Episode 'Arcadia' offers a great example of this juxtaposition of normal and paranormal.

While the writing lacks real suspense, the theatricality is enough to get a heart racing. Despite the contemporary professional wear, the stylization of the camera shots and even the acting seems to me like something out of a 1930s pseudo-noir murder mystery. An attempt which I believe is only aided by the before mentioned trench coats. Unlike a lot of other television programs I have seen, I noticed that the X-Files uses costume design tactics that I normally attribute just to theater. I believe that the costumes helped the overall production of the show to challenge norms established by shows within its genre by bringing a little bit of theater to the silver screen.

A Not So Inactive Swarthmore Alum

This blog post will be a bit of a deterant from my intention for this blog. I hope in publishing it I may further my argument that it is possible to care about the world and fashion. The two passions are not mutually exclusive. I was apart of a group called Mountain Justice at my college that took it upon themselves to do what they could as students to aid environmental activisim. We came to the conclusion that by targeting the institutions endowment, as a financial supporter of the extractive industry, we could bring about change in a very real way. The group has recently made headlines, and I cannot express how proud of them that I am. I have not been very diligent in my help from the outside, but when I received an envelope from the alumni office with a packet detailing the beauty of giving back, I sat down and wrote a letter I had been meaning to write for some time. I also want to welcome any person to use this letter in any manner that they see fit.

So here it is.

In the hopes that I can add something to the google search when people are looking up Swarthmore College.

Dear Swarthmore College Alumni Office,

        I would be happy to support this institution with whatever meager funds I had if I felt that it currently upheld the noble morals it tries to impart to its students.

If there is one important lesson I have learned from this institution-to be sure there are many- it is the political significance of a dollar bill. I am expressing my right as a citizen and voicing my opinion as a member of the alumni community.

        We can no longer stand in the Ivory tower and criticize the operation of other institutions without critically looking at our own. It is the definition of hypocrisy to hold others to the moral standards we ourselves do not abide to.

         Swarthmore Mountain Justice’s campaign has met with pessimistic response. Some of the items brought up were valid questions. However much of the discussion has been clouded by circuitous argument, or the revisiting of issues that have already been raised and answered. I am not advocating for blind support, nor am I writing on behalf of this group. I only intend to use their campaign, and my experience with the group as an important influence on how I understand the issue at hand.

        The problem is not disagreement, but an unwillingness to try out new options. When we are presented with a challenge are we not taught to create solutions that are then to be tested out? When has it ever been taught that we should sit back and wait for problems to sort out themselves? Since the 1970s- some cases go back even further- people have been trying to fight climate change and mankinds inclination to exploit their finite natural resources. Yet we still find ourselves in the position we are in, and our tactics have not changed much. Why do we continue to do the same things and expect different results? Because we are academics, and as long as our comfort is not at risk we continue to fight for the oppressed and voiceless from a distance. We take note of the erratic weather, but it does not disrupt our studies, we still have the ability to import bananas from South America and light the countless unused rooms on campus. We congratulate ourselves on using LED light bulbs but don’t get at the real root of the problem. A bandage may hide the effects of gangrene for a time, but it does not cure the body. It cannot.

        I cannot say that I believe that global warming will stop the moment Swarthmore College divests from these industries. The damage there is already done, now we are gambling with the amount of time we want left. The status quo, though, is not enough. The Green Movement cannot match the exponential speed at which climate change is occurring. As the largest consumers of these products, we have the privilege of being sheltered from the irreversible damage we are causing. I understand there is no need to persuade anyone of the reality of climate change. What is astounding is that with our collective understanding there is still a hesitation to do something productive about it.

        So I am taking a stand. It is the only move I have as far as Swarthmore is concerned, but I hope that it has the potential to encourage someone else to evaluate their position and the potential power therein. I understand that a dollar has the potential to speak louder than any human with a megaphone. So I am lobbying for our survival.

        I know that this office does not control this decision, but in whatever small way it will be affected by it. This school instilled in me the importance of feedback. So here it is. As there was no form inside of the envelope I decided to give my two cents. Figuratively obviously.

        

        Until Swarthmore divests from the industries that make a profit off of destroying this planet, I cannot invest in Swarthmore.

Call me crazy, but making a gamble against the survival of this planet seems like a poor investment.

sincerely,

Ryane

An Unlikely Alliance

While I often enjoy playing sports my skill leaves much to be desired. On the field I find myself tripping over the thought of tripping over my own feet. This has always been a trait of mine. While my reflexes are sharp- my arms soon learned that stairs were too complicated a concept for my feet to understand- this ability to catch myself before I fall has never translated into anything substantial on the turf. To my own amusement, and the chagrin of my teammates I continue to accept offers when they are apprehensively given.
Inspite of all this I have developed a fondness for sneakers. It first started when I saw my favorite blogger, Ivania Capiro of  LOVE AESTHETICS, donning a new pair of running shoes she had surprisingly incorporated into her everyday look. I was curious, but did not take action. Instead I allowed it to mull in my head, and when walking down the streets of New York I took notice more often of awesomely put together sneaker ensembles.
Until one morning as I was running quite late out the door I grabbed a pair of maroon nikes I had gotten at a clothing swap my friend had organized. At the moment I wasn't sure what possessed me but I grabbed my hat and a khaki coat and ran out the door. After photographing this outfit I see its creation not to be a complete happenstance but a result of the gestation of too many images on too many street style blogs. Most 'fashion conscience' and non-concerned alike will unabashedly admit to a fascination and jealously of what appears to be the effortlessly cool stylings of the French women who breeze through life from one fashion tent to another. My core/aura is a casual-mess I have no real hope of giving off such an effortless vibe. But I can say without explicit intention that may have been what I was most influenced by. I somehow felt pulled together by a pair of sneakers. The amusement of it all may be the most delightful part.
It's funny to think how much we can pull out of such small moments of our lives. Because, of course, we are all making this shit up as we go. I now find myself, however, in a very serious predicament. Without any real funds to spare I am desperately lusting after a pair of black and gold adidas sambas. The awkward ten year old, new to the soccer field, still lives on inside me and she wants some funky shoes to spunk up her step.