Jewish Devotion

by Amanda Toohey

Judaism Background Info:

One of the oldest monotheistic religions and was founded over 3,500 years ago in the Middle East. The most important religious document is the Torah. It is the original of the three Abrahamic faiths, which also includes Christianity and Islam, and was founded by Moses. It is a religion based mostly in actions rather than beliefs, however, a main belief is that God appointed the Jews to be his chosen people in order to set an example of holiness and ethical behavior to the world. Everyday acts can become acts of worship.

Orthodox Jewish Attire:

Women tend to cover almost the entire body as a sign of modesty and men tend to wear dark colors & black hats during the weekdays. The only item of clothing that is not dark is the white shirts that are worn while everything else such as jackets, trousers and shoes are always black or navy.

Preference for black is derived from two things:

1st -a decree made by community rabbis in the 18th century where they specified that black outer garments should be worn on the Sabbath and other Jewish Holy Days outside of the home because the rabbis thought that brightly colored clothing could provoke resentment amongst non-Jews thus leading to violence.

2nd -during this time laws required that Jews wore black clothes so that they could be easily identified and because they were seen as non-persons they were not allowed to wear clothes of color

Conservative Jewish Attire:

The most obvious and ubiquitous is the wearing of the skull cap, also known as a kippa or yarmulke by the male Conservative Jews. The skull cap is worn to show respect for God who is thought to live in heaven above us thus they separate themselves from the divine presence by wearing a hat or cap at all times. “What we wear, what we say and how we confront others is reflected in the manner which others exhibit toward us; therefore, the Jew who wears distinctively Jewish forms of attire can be said to seek to be treated as a Jew” Dr. Gerhad Falk

Designer: Alexandre Herchcovitch, above. His Jewish grandparents immigrated to Brazil from Poland in the early 1900s Attended a Yeshiva (Jewish school where classical Judaism is studied) "I was influenced by the modest Jewish attitude of dress, of not showing the body, [however] this goes strongly against the body-beautiful culture of Brazil."

Jean Gaultier's 1993 collection was inspired by Orthodox Judaism

The Desert Backdrop

by Amanda Toohey

The desert is a common backdrop in fashion editorials because it is vacant and makes the clothing stand out

Jean Baudrillard “Desert For Ever”

In this article, Jean Baudrillard discusses American deserts and the cities within those deserts and how there is a lack of culture. Baudrillard talks about the beauty of the desert and how it is so fascinating but lacks hope because there is no real culture like that found in European cities. He says how there is no desire in the desert, everything is mobile, there’s no monuments or history to be found. He believes that deserts and cities such as Los Angeles are so fascinating because people are delivered from all depth there—“it is brilliant, superficial neutrality with challenge to meaning, nature and culture.” In these desert cities there is a reverse in regard to seductive spaces or spaces with meaning and it results in the disappearance of all aesthetic and critical forms of life. The desert cities represent immobility without desire and the end of aesthetics. When talking about the lack of aesthetics, Baudrillard does not mean just the aesthetics of décor but also that of bodies, languages and everything else that forms the European’s mental and social relations. In the world of European’s, he states how “our universe is never desert-like, always theatrical, always ambiguous and always cultural,” but what is interesting about desert cities is the absence of all of these things.

He goes on to discuss how the only “tissue” of these types of cities are the freeways which act as an immense, collective art that are “ceaselessly unrolling, without aggression and without objectives.” He mentions how things typically found in cities such as elevators or subways, are nowhere to be found in desert cities such as Los Angeles. There are no center monuments, no verticality, no intimacy, and no collectivity—there is a power of pure open space that’s only found in the desert cities. The power of the desert form is the “erasure of traces, of the signified of the signs in the cities and of any psychology in bodies.” The fascination is found in the open space, dryness and sterility. Baudrillard claims how nowhere else does there exist such a stunning fusion of a radical lack of culture and natural beauty, of the wonder of nature and the absolute similarity. Culture itself is a desert in these cities and the culture has to be a desert so that everything can be equal and shine out in the same form. He mentions how the towns of the desert end so abruptly with no surroundings. They are something of a mirage—capable of vanishing in an instant.

Flight Attendant Fashion

by Amanda Toohey

Joanne Entwistle “Fashion Takes Flight”

In this article, Joanne Entwistle examines how fashion and corporate culture came together and created a relationship through the collaborations on flight attendant attire over the years. She starts off by explaining how “fashion speaks of the desires and characteristics of a modern life that is always in flux” but it does not usually feature as an aspect of corporate culture because corporate culture tends to be characterized by a seriousness of purpose and conservatism. However, because the two worlds of flight and fashion are strongly associated due to their dreamlike natures, we see fashion begin to cross boundaries into the world of corporate culture. Whenever airlines feel like they need an updated look they turn to the image of the female flight attendant and her uniform. It makes good business sense for designers to join forces with airlines because it can be a lucrative relationship and help the company obtain cachet and status.

It was during the 1940s that fashion and air travel grew exponentially and thus became more and more intimately linked. The post-war era was a time where more and more people were travelling by plane and the image or idea behind air travel began to become associated with the glamour and romance of modern society. Modernity manifested itself within fashion and air travel because of the forms of production they generated. Both opened up a new occupation and new opportunities for young women. It was during this time that the fashion model and the flight attendant came to represent the ideas behind new freedoms of post-war modernity for women which were very significant in the 1960s. The life of a flight attendant began to take on a glamorous feel and promised a life of freedom with a high chance of finding love and marrying well. Because the flight attendant was a desirable figure, she became what women aspired to be and what men fantasized about thus making her a marketable commodity for airline companies. It is because she is seen as something marketable that the stewardess must manage and maintain her appearance at all times as well as her emotions so that she can project the appropriate image for her job. This leads to stewardesses becoming iconic representations of air travel during the post-war era.

Pucci for Braniff, 1965

Nurse mother or mistress? Above a 1967 ad and the 1967 sensational book about the love escapades of a flight attendant

In the 1930s, the first stewardess was hired, Nelly Diener. During this time, the uniforms were very similar to nurse’s uniforms with the only concession to femininity being the ubiquitous skirt. In the 1950s, the flight attendant began to project an image of sophisticated femininity and in the 1960s uniforms began to be high fashion or couture garments. The most famous evidence of this shift is with the Pucci designs for Braniff International. After the Pucci and Braniff collaboration, the use of fashion designers became constant with designers like Cristobal Balenciaga, Christian Lacroix, Nina Ricci, Calvin Klein, etc. all creating designs for various airline companies. The 1950s stewardess had a role much like that of a housewife and the 1960s stewardess became more of a sexual figure much like a sort of mistress rather than a housewife. In the 1970s, a burgeoning female agenda and growing unionization lead to the more traditional uniform making a comeback with designs being made by people like Ralph Lauren and Bill Blass. At this time, tailored dress became popular and the image of a “career woman” began to be prominent among flight attendants.

Nina Ricci for Air France, 1978-87

The transformation of British Airways, before and after designer Julien McDonald

In the 1980s, there was tension among the aims of power dressing, standards of dress and sexuality within the uniforms. Eventually, sexuality diminished from the uniforms and focus was more on dressing professional but always with a feminine touch. Today’s flight attendants try to shake off the associations with sexuality but Entwistle believes that the fact remains that” the changing nature of the images of the stewardesses as well as the changing nature of her uniform…take on elements of contemporary fashion and are the embodiment of the commoditization of sex that’s harnessed by the airlines in their marketing campaigns.” The solid difference between fashion and the world of flight remains to be that fashion has always and continues to have and obsession with sex whereas the flight attendants have grown to protest this sexualization that had previously developed within the profession.

Singapore and Korean Air still hold height, weight and age requirements, above left by Balmain

Additional media:

Watch more here: Christa: Swedish Fly Girls of 1971.

Work >< Leisure

by Amanda Toohey

Barnard Communication: Chapter 5 “Reproduction” pp. 102-116: Reproduction, as used to discuss the concepts in this chapter, is not referring to its most common and everyday meaning. It is being used more in the context of fashion “responding to social and political changes, reflecting and reproducing these changes,” as state by Joanne Entwistle. It is about the idea that fashion often replicates developments and events in our social and political lives. Reproduction is simply being used to explain the ways in which elements of our culture are being sustained and how we ensure the continued existence of the sustained elements. The first example mentioned is that of the male suit. The ideas and practices surrounding a male suit have not changed drastically in over 200 years—the suits concepts and construction have continued to be reproduced. Another example is that of jeans. John Fiske explains how jeans are used to reproduce ideas and practices of the economic system in which they are made, bought and sold. Ideas such as individuality and freedom have become embedded in the meaning of jeans for those who choose to wear them. Next there is the discussion of the two main senses of the word reproduction. First, the mechanical and electrical sense of the word that often refers to reproduction in the photographic, printed or digital reproduction aspects. For example, a copy machine can be used to make an identical copy of something as many times as desired. Second, the biological sense of the word that tends to refer to sexual and genetic reproduction. For example, human beings procreate to maintain their species but no two people are identical. However, it is said that because the use of the word is metaphorical it is not useful to speak of reproduction in either sense.

The uniform distinguishes the worker from the consumer or leisure class.

In the second part of the chapter, there is a focus on fashion, clothing and class. It is mentioned that the existence of fashion was conditional upon there being different classes in society and upon the possibility of upward movement between classes. Thus, it is a very simple society that exists with no fashion. This means that class is a product of different economic conditions which in turn lead to fashions and clothing styles being developed. In order to understand this, one must take a step back and examine Karl Marx’s account of society. Marx explains how people need food, shelter and clothing in order to survive but a single individual is unlikely to provide all these necessities on their own; thus, people enter into social relationships in order to provide food, shelter and clothing. This is what Marx calls “production” and there are two elements to be analyzed in regards to production: the forces of production and the social relations of production. The forces of production refer to the means of production and include things like technology, machinery and anything else involved in the process. The social relations of production refer to the social relations that people enter into in production. However, when it comes to social class, this is defined in terms of the relations to the means of production. As in, ones relationship to the means or forces of production determines which social class one is a member of. For example, in ancient civilizations slave-owners owned the means of production which were the slaves themselves. In relation to fashion and clothing, Marxist accounts state that these things were simply the ways in which class identity was expressed or reflected. A person was first a member of a social class and then communicated that membership through their garments. Marx would explain that means of fashion and clothing are wholly dependent on economics. There are also arguments as to when fashion began to be as we currently understand it. Some say that fashion did not become powerful or influential until around the 1700s while others argue that with the beginnings of capitalism in the 14^th century there was a creation and notion of fashion.

Distinguishing leisure, especially among women, is through clothing that is not appropriate to manual labor. Barbara Hutton, Tangier Morroco, 1961, Cecil Beaton

In the third part of the chapter, there is an examination of feudalist and capitalist fashion to better see and understand the relationship to social class. Feudalism is essentially seen as a set of ostensibly reciprocal rights and obligations between the aristocracy and serfs. Taking place in the Middle Ages, it is noted that clothing during this time was very static and simplistic. Laws were often established to ensure that class distinctions were preserved in regard to clothing. For example, King Edward III of England passed sumptuary laws decreeing that ermine and pearls were to be worn only by royalty and nobles whose income exceeded 1000 pounds. There is often evidence as well of distinguishing who rules whom through the different clothing that is worn. The idea is that the difference in clothing is experienced and explained as the source of another class’s authority rather than simply a reflection of economic positions. With capitalism, it is much more complex to divide classes due to intermediate and transitional classes that often obscure a simple capitalist-worker structure. Classes can be divided and then continuously subdivided based on things like skill level. Also, they cannot be thought of as homogenous or monolithic structures because each class can be divided into class fractions. Within capitalism, it becomes more possible for clothing and fashion to be used to construct, signal and reproduce the desire for social mobility between classes as well as class identity itself. Clothing and uniforms are often used to reflect ways already existing class relations are constituted. Different materials and designs tend to be used to help distinguish class levels as well. Thus, it is argued that only in societies that are class based, where social mobility is desirable and possible, fashion can be found.

The signs of wealth and luxury are combined with leisure and travel, Rolex F 2009

Next, there is the discussion of fashion being constantly in motion, always changing. Veblen offers three norms used to explain the changing of fashion. He states that the first is the great and dominant norm of dress is the principle of conspicuous waste. The second is the principle of conspicuous leisure. The third is the principle that dress must be up to date. Thus, it is according to this that fashion consists of a series of imperatives to change one’s garments as soon as they are no longer in style. Veblen goes on to discuss how apparel cannot be considered elegant if it shows the effects of manual labor on the part of the wearer. Also, he discusses how the way women dress goes even further than that of a man to demonstrate the wearer’s abstinence from productive employment. On these accounts, Veblen sees fashion as essentially a reproductive process in that it is used by the leisure classes, the superior classes, to construct, signal and reproduce their positions of leisured superiority. Fashion is simply a way to reinforce and signal these positions of wealth.

Paris Trends

Big headphones, by Ceylan Kırmacıoğlu

Fashion tech accessories, by Nina Fernstrom

Vanessa Bruno sac, by Natalie Berg

Metallic puffy jacket, by Kasha Cabato

Fur hats and shoulder adornments, by Kelly Brett

Fur trim by Stephanie Wu

Fur by Amanda Toohey

Canada Goose jackets, by Djinane Alsuwayeh

Band jackets, by Katherine Wang

Flat boots for cobblestone, by Lauren Yi

Ugg style by Andrea Gutierrez Coello de Portugal

Stripes, by Ece Oney

Green accessories by Lisa Blom

On The Satorialist

Leopard print by Paloma Canut