intellectual properties

clothes maketh the (wo)man

this great piece on the historical and human importance of fashion by author Linda Grant on the Powell’sBooks.blog, contextualized by the odd historical footnote of the effect of sending lipstick to the women of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, simply articulates so many things i haven’t been able to in my defense of fashion (online and off).  some choice excerpts:

It is a commonly held view that fashion and makeup are trivial concerns: Superficial, unnecessary, and concealing by trickery what is held to be ‘real’ beneath. Fashion is surface, fad, transient. Yet time and again one uncovers moments when clothes and makeup become the things that render us human.

…

Our clothes are our identity. They are, whether we like it or not, how we are judged by others. Out in public, they send out numerous messages, about our social status and our sense of ourselves. A flamboyant tie, high-heeled shoes, this season’s shade of purple — all make announcements to the complete strangers we walk past on the street.

…

Clothes are not everything, but you cannot have depths without surfaces. They communicate with what is within; between the two there is always a great dialogue.

via nagutron

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