tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post5807708913056016384..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: The Language of ClothesAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-65401416695524469992016-11-19T12:45:29.552-05:002016-11-19T12:45:29.552-05:00I get frustrated by people I know who say that clo...I get frustrated by people I know who say that clothing just doesn't matter, or who say "whatever you like" when I ask for suggestions on how to dress for a social event when I'm not sure. Clothing gets interpreted even (or especially) by the leftist/alternative/feminist crowd who claim to hate "rules" about what to wear. Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-60813121839862788722016-11-16T17:46:32.963-05:002016-11-16T17:46:32.963-05:00Adding my name to the list of people who remember ...Adding my name to the list of people who remember Ruthie's Club fondly...<br /><br />"everything that everyone wears carries symbolic baggage"<br /><br />I've thought a lot about this. When I was younger, what I really wanted was to find a way to dress that communicated nothing. Eventually, I figured out that this is impossible. So one is left with no choice but to try to figure out what to communicate with one's dress. It certainly feels complicated.Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-87391281508046602922016-11-06T12:42:16.098-05:002016-11-06T12:42:16.098-05:00Giselle, I miss Ruthie's Club too. There doesn...Giselle, I miss Ruthie's Club too. There doesn't seem to be anything like it now.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-72289774774028289292016-11-06T12:39:39.604-05:002016-11-06T12:39:39.604-05:00Re school uniforms, I've been on the fence sin...Re school uniforms, I've been on the fence since I was in high school. I went to a public school that served a mixed neighbourhood (some poor families, some more middle-class), and I often saw the girls from St. Chad's School for Girls (snobby Catholic private school, closed many years ago) in their pleated skirts, white blouses, and jackets with school crest on breast pocket. I thought they looked quite spiffy, and I wasn't the only one. Some of my classmates thought we peasants should have a uniform too.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-87738059832137922772016-11-06T12:30:37.639-05:002016-11-06T12:30:37.639-05:00Thanks for all the comments, everyone! Lisabet, yo...Thanks for all the comments, everyone! Lisabet, your experience reminds me that I'm always learning things that make me aware of my own prejudices. Years ago, I had an attractive young African woman in one of my classes who always wore clothes I considered inappropriately tight, in bright colours, and with an obvious wig that looked like a braided ball atop her head. When she handed in a well-written essay, I suspected plagiarism and checked it out as hard as I could, but didn't discover anything. Then I discovered that she also wrote well on in-class tests, when my eyes were on her. She had neat handwriting, and outdid herself on the final exam. So obviously my suspicions were unfounded, and they were based on a vague belief that a woman who wears sexy clothes every day to class must not have a brain, which is ridiculous. (I still tend to distrust students in general, but I've learned, over and over, that intelligence and writing ability can't be guessed by someone's appearance. Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-26894920211881914862016-11-05T20:38:26.967-04:002016-11-05T20:38:26.967-04:00In Catholic school, the girls wore those insuffera...In Catholic school, the girls wore those insufferable jumpers. The idea of 'looking good' was anathema to the nuns.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-74118981665558942222016-11-05T18:14:16.098-04:002016-11-05T18:14:16.098-04:00I remember Each Has A Point in all its incarnation...I remember Each Has A Point in all its incarnations! (I miss Ruthie's Club...)Giselle Renardehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15955755448116234634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-49585113130670602442016-11-05T15:31:43.791-04:002016-11-05T15:31:43.791-04:00I'm philosophically opposed to school uniforms...I'm philosophically opposed to school uniforms, but pragmatically it blocks the competitive nature of clothing, especially among kids. I suppose it also reduces the time it takes for a kid to decide what to wear in the morning, but that's a small consideration compared to competition to show off how expensive your clothes are and how fashionable you are.<br /><br />That said, I'd have hated to have uniforms when I was in school. The required gym suits were bad enough. No required uniform is going to look good on every body type. My granddaughter actually prefers to wear her school uniform, even though it's not absolutely compulsory and allows slacks instead of skirts for girls, but she has the luck to be gifted with a form that looks good in anything (in spite of the fact that she lives almost entirely on mac'n'cheese.)Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-63761713133239742032016-11-05T08:07:48.158-04:002016-11-05T08:07:48.158-04:00In my university, the students are expected to wea...In my university, the students are expected to wear uniforms. The details vary with the department and with the year of the student. Thus, they provide very strong signals of relative status.<br /><br />Meanwhile, I'm very opposed to uniforms because I feel in reinforces what is already an unfortunate trend toward conformity among these kids. I haven't officially announced this, but word has gotten around that my students need not wear uniforms to my lectures or labs. <br /><br />I'd love to start a movement!Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-1586229447239177682016-11-05T08:05:33.575-04:002016-11-05T08:05:33.575-04:00Love the quickie, Jean!
And also your point about...Love the quickie, Jean!<br /><br />And also your point about never knowing how someone will interpret what you choose to wear. <br /><br />When I was in high school, I was hauled in to the principal's office because he believed my (hot pink) skirt was too short. As he looked up my student file (no computers back then), I could tell he expected to discover that I was some slutty juvenile delinquent who was barely passing her courses. When he found I was the top student in the school, it kind of took the wind out of his sails.<br /><br />He still sent me home, though. Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-83492802712647634702016-11-04T20:32:40.481-04:002016-11-04T20:32:40.481-04:00From what I see in California, men and women wear ...From what I see in California, men and women wear about whatever they want. Not a style or determinable vintage. The difference is in if they have an artistic or fetching approach. Some do some don't.<br /><br />The excerpt sounds like a black widow couple. :>) Well-described, Jean. Good pictures there. Love the historical dialog.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.com