I have been finding myself gravitating towards streetwear. I recently bought an Angel Chen “Fight Club” coat and was attracted to the brand that I am wearing in this post Fors Nome, (find out more on Wednesday) because of the logo on this beautiful blue coat that says “When hell freezes over”. There is something about the time we are living in now that is pulling me towards action. Streetwear to me signals comfort but in a avant garde, not athleisure, kind of way.
Clothing has always been my way of making a statement, of marking my identity and of communicating something about the time I live in. Streetwear right from the start has been about meaning so perhaps that explains the attraction. Streetwear is art, culture, music and activism. Streetwear is about you and what you want to say. The challenge is to keep it a unique representation of you not just a bag or shirt with a logo that everyone else is sporting (sorry Supreme). Because at what point does it then stop being the essence of street?
Most streetwear brands are considered to be unisex, yet are mostly designed by men, Leah McSweeney, head of Married to the Mob, in a recent article in Glossy states her belief that women’s streetwear has not yet formed a clear identity. What is a woman’s streetwear? Streetwear and high fashion are blending in what is said to be woman’s version of streetwear but when is it visionary and when is it just a reflexive response because everyone else is doing it? It seems like a good time to re-examine and re-create women’s streetwear identity.
Uniforms have also figured prominently in my sartorial life. They may be used to strip away identity but they can also be used to equalize and to make one feel a member of a group. How can you make streetwear a woman’s uniform that has meaning for our time without becoming “uniform”? What might be a customizable streetwear? One that represents an “us” at the same time as “me” allowing the diversity of all women to be realized?
What might women’s streetwear be and how would you customize it to make it be you?
I’m always a bit wary of commercially produced ‘street wear’ . Years ago when punk was fashionable here in the UK it wasn’t long before high street shops were producing their own clothes decorated with safety pins and ready–ripped jeans. Once shops start selling it, doesn’t it stop being edgy? I guess maybe it depends on how one defines street wear/
Exactly my point! That’s why we have to have our own version and keep it moving before it can be reproduced!
I’m always confused as to what street wear is exactly. But, I’m always drawn to photos on pinterest stating so. To me, a graphic tee worn in an artful, non typical way creates a cool street wear look. Or at least it can, if done just right. As I approach 60 I often feel like I’m having to fight blending in and dressing "too normal." A graphic tee thrown on first, for me, sets me in a unique direction where I won’t feel over-dressed. I want to appear approachable and hip, yet not too bland. Starting with something edgy/youthful reminds me of an important part of myself I want to relay, and most importantly stay in touch with.
Absolutely get the same feeling! It’s like when I used to put on my pretty but cool Allman Bros. Eat a Peach tee.
Great post, thank you. When I visibly mend my denims, not embellishing but celebrating their value to me, I feel connected to women across time and culture. This because I am using my hands and my imagination to make use of what I have and enjoy the process. When I find beautiful vintage Japanese fabric to make a scarf, it vibrates with the time and care someone spent to create the material.
Its this embodiment of respect for women and their skills and the love they invest in creating, combined with my characteristic hard/soft, old/new, that defines streetwear for me.
Interesting how differently you interpret streetwear from my feelings on clothes inspired by streetwear.
You describe streetwear as “art, culture, music and activism” For me, streetwear alludes to crime and poverty, the oversized sweat pants and t-shirts worn by street thugs mimicking prison jump suits and the sexual clothes advertising the wares of street walkers. The fabric quality is poor and the cuts designed for ease of machine work. When I see the oversized knits of streetwear I see the immiseration of American workers and the exploitation of offshore workers.
Another series of questions could be: When did work clothes become streetwear? I remember when jeans were limited to work sites. Wearing jeans used to be rebellious. Now jeans are couture. When did sportswear become streetwear? Women use to only wear tights and shorts in the gym. Now women are wearing skin tight leggings on the street.
Streetwear is cynically marketed to the rightfully angry who lack a political program. Streetwear is marketed as an attitude and display, as if that were enough. Streetwear does not substitute for politics.
It is interesting our different feelings since I sense we share a common punk background. I would like to see more interesting clothes that combine a sense of romanticism, tragedy, and intelligence, or are, to quote Cathy Horne, “strange, difficult, and emotionally affecting.”
You might enjoy the article posted on this weekends bibliography re the whitewashed history of denim.
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