This is Fashion Revolution Week, hosted by FashionRevolution.org.
"In an age of ugliness, a work of beauty is an act of defiance" – Sir Roger Scruton
The above quote was used in a video about the ugliness of contemporary buildings (such as monster apartment towers), by Paul Joseph Watson. He said,
"We are witnessing the uglification of the world. The Globalist goal is to make the whole planet identical in its atomizing dreariness. By dulling our senses they hope to dull our very life essence. This is all inherently totalitarian, but in an age of ugliness, a work of beauty is an act of defiance.”
You can think anything you want about globalism and what "they" want, that's not the point here. Or, rather, that is the point, that no matter where we stand on the political spectrum, there is one common aim: to promote and celebrate a special kind of beauty:
- the beauty of our world, when we haven't polluted it through the excesses of industry
- the beauty of natural fabrics and dyes that lessen that pollution
- the beauty of colour, and not just the same few colours that a handful of marketers have decided to sell us this season
- the beauty of human beings who are treated as such in their places of work
- the beauty of clothes, shoes, and jewelry that are well made, not slapped together
- the beauty of traditional arts, especially in fabric and jewelry design
- the beauty of things thoughtfully designed, that don't "make the whole planet identical"
- the beauty of things cherished and cared for.
We don't have to dress like teenagers or celebrities to promote this kind of beauty. We don't even have to dress in ways that stick out. We can find it in style that appeals to the more mature among us, to those who like things plain, and to those who love to shine. We can find it in imaginative application of colour, and creative uses of a small wardrobe. We can find it in designs that show the beauty of different shapes, sizes, and physical needs; and in clothes that will hold together and look good for a long time.
Don't ask just "who made my clothes," but "who chose my clothes?"
All this can be the work of beauty. It can also be our act of defiance.
4 comments:
Excellent post! When shopping in retail stores, the choices are pretty much made for you, and let's be honest, a lot of it is downright ugly. That is one reason why I prefer to shop resale. Other reasons being the exorbitant price of apparel these days, less stuff in the landfills and most of all, if someone tells me that a color is "in" or to follow the current trends, I know that I can find something unique in the charity shops.
All my reasons too!
I often wonder who designs this stuff? Tops with holes in the shoulders, sweaters with no actual sleeves, jeans with no hem and full of holes.....
I long for real clothes. When I find them, I make them last as long as possible by taking really good care of them. I have found myself making over the clothes I buy into something I can actually wear. Very few people look good in today's fashions.
I guess I am getting too old.
Hi Anonymous!
I have never cared for distressed denim myself. A hangover, maybe, from a childhood when you were embarrassed to wear pants with holes in the knee. (The unforgiving iron-on Jean repair patches made it even worse.)
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