Take a good look at the photos below and tell me if you see a problem:
The problem? Each of these looks has been touted in my newsfeed this morning as being “inappropriate.” This type of thing happens almost every day (I get some really weird things in my newsfeed). From the red carpet to work to school, everyone seems to have some opinion about what other people should be wearing, and, a lot of the time, they don’t like it. If we were all polite, reasonable-minded people, those opinions would be kept to themselves, as they should be. But no, the Internet exists and heaven forbid we fail to share our displeasure.
Dear fashion trolls: Take your unqualified and unworthy opinions and shove them up your ass so far as to need surgery to remove your fist.
I have a number of reasons for thinking that dress codes of any kind in any place are wrong. I see all this fashion shaming coming from people who have no fashion sense themselves and it makes my blood boil. Let’s consider what is wrong with this whole “inappropriate fashion” idea.
Fashion Doesn’t Appear Out Of Nowhere
Have you ever stopped to consider what it takes to get a piece of clothing into the store where it’s purchased? Whether it’s a name-brand fashion designer such as Versace or some Chinese knockoff found on the floor at Walmart, everything you wear started somewhere, on someone’s drawing board. Those drawings are based not only on the creativity of the designer but on a deep understanding of what is likely to sell. No designer, known or unknown, intentionally creates a garment that no one wants to wear.
Once the garment is designed, it’s shown to buyers. Buyers represent all the stores that are likely to sell the garment in their stores, whether off-the-rack or couture. The buyers know their customer base well and reject any design that is going to take up space and never sell. They only place orders for what their customers want.
Department stores, such as Saks Fifth Avenue, which have multiple stores, have multiple levels of buyers, each of whom makes a decision as to what to carry in their store(s). By the time any garment reaches the final consumers, as many as 20 different people have made a yes/no decision about whether to sell the piece. All these people have determined that the wardrobe they are providing is appropriate and desirable for their customers.
All these people are infinitely more qualified to determine what is appropriate than some overweight troll sitting on their couch snarfing their eighth box of Girl Scout cookies.
Fashion Is A Matter of Free Speech
What you wear makes a statement. Anything that makes a statement falls under the umbrella of free speech. Among other things, fashion choices say things like, “This is who I am,” “This makes me feel secure and comfortable,” or “This is how I want you to see me.” Fashion, at its best, should be a statement of pride in oneself.
Yet, there are too many times when people wear clothes that they don’t like, more layers than could ever be comfortable, because someone has shamed their fashion choice and labeled it “inappropriate.” For example, my 14-year-old daughter always wears multiple shirts and baggy pants to school because of comments she received two years ago. She no longer feels comfortable in the dresses she loved when she was younger. Her speech has been muted by what other people think.
Such invasions into one’s life are despicable displays of immoral character. Sure, you may have the right to criticize someone else, but should you? Do you ever stop to think of the long-term consequences that come with opening your damn mouth? How dare you shame someone who is simply enjoying the clothes that make them feel good?
Censoring Fashion Sends A Negative Message
I have long held the belief that when fashion is censored those doing the censoring are sending an inappropriate message: “There’s something wrong with your body.” There’s a conflict that comes with saying, “Your body was made in God’s image,” and “You need to cover more of your body.” Bottom line, your body is beautiful and clothing should enhance that beauty, not hide it.
How many millions of people look in their closet or dresser every morning and wish they could wear something more fun and exciting? How many people are forced to wear someone else’s idea of what is appropriate? How many people are forced to identify as something/someone they’re not because of the clothes they’re mandated to wear?
The worst censorship of all is the tired line of one’s clothing being “distracting” or “causes people to have inappropriate thoughts. WRONG! You are never responsible for what someone else is thinking or how they act based on those thoughts. If someone has sexual thoughts based on what you’re wearing, that’s a them problem and they need to adjust their thoughts accordingly.
Our society has a difficult time with the old-fashioned and not-appropriate-in-the-first-place idea that if a woman wears something that causes a man to have sexual thoughts she must somehow be “asking for it.” This utter piece of bullshit has dominated our society for far too long. The more we publish ill-conceived articles about someone’s clothing, we give ammunition to the people who would use it as an excuse for sexual assault.
No, there’s nothing wrong with you or your clothes, and it is never your fault if someone else can’t deal with your choices.
Trolling Fashion Shows Your Ignorance
As a photographer, I covered the fashion industry from New York to Paris for a long time; longer than some of you have been alive. One of the many things I’ve learned is that there’s a difference between honest, intelligent design critique and speaking blindly out of ignorance. There are people who get paid well to understand fashion and critique it responsibly. Everyone else is a wannabe.
One easy way to tell the difference is how the person talks about the fashion. The legitimate critic looks at the fabric, the stitching, how the garment moves, how comfortable it may be, how it compares with previous seasons, and how buyers will likely receive it. The asshole says things like, “It’s too daring,” “I can’t imagine anyone wearing that out in public,” “That is the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen,” and “No one should be seen in that.”
Ignorance abounds on the Internet and too often it goes beyond the drivel of unrequested opinions filling the servers on the X platform. X trolls are their own brand of stupidity and most people know to ignore them. What hurts are websites parading around as “news” or some other form of legitimate media without any real form of knowledge about any topic they cover. All they do is repeat the nonsense found on X and dare to try passing it off as journalism. I’ve not linked to any of them because that only gives them more oxygen. It is best for everyone if they shrivel up and die.
When it comes to red-carpet fashion, especially at awards shows, one needs to understand that fashion choices are not made in a vacuum. Conversations are held between stylists and designers with consideration given to where a person is seated, the type of seating provided, who they are sitting with, whether the desired fashion has been worn on a similar red carpet, and how the fashion reflects on the personality and style of its wearer. There are no accidents in the choices made.
I have no problems with any of the fashion choices I’ve seen of late. In fact, I quite celebrate the fact that the “year of sheer” has found a delightful home on red carpets around the world. I hope that the trend continues until everyone everywhere feels proud enough and secure enough to wear similar things in their lives.
But for that to happen, the trolls need to shut their fucking mouths and mind their own business, and let people wear what they want to wear.
By the way, have you noticed how no one’s saying much about Morgan Wallen being arrested for throwing a chair off a building and into a crowd last night? Yeah, let’s focus on the actual bad behavior for a change.
Morning Update: 04/08/24
ECLIPSE DAY!
This is it! The most anticipated/dreaded day of the year (so far)! The sun was reflecting brightly off the back of the turn three grandstands at IMS as I took the dogs out this morning. There are signs of some high clouds back to the southwest, but meteorologists are promising that it won’t dramatically reduce viewing abilities. We have our glasses ready. The only issue now is staying awake. Full totality hits right smack in the middle of what is normally my nap time. I’ll have to take an earlier nap if I’m going to see anything. In fact, I’m not sure anyone slept all that well last night, so it may mean mid-morning naps for everyone!
IMS is having a big eclipse viewing party. Honestly, I don’t see much difference between viewing the eclipse from the infield versus our backyard other than I’m not going to charge anyone to stand out here and look at the sky. I really don’t see the point. The sun is going to look exactly the same here as it does 300 yards from here. What remains to be seen is the degree to which the event messes up local traffic. People around here don’t typically drive with a lot of common sense anyway, so there’s a reasonable chance of vehicular disaster.
On the upside, today’s high temperature is supposed to be 74 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yesterday was significantly less exciting. The sun shone for a while, then it rained, then the sun was back out. I napped while it rained so that the accompanying pain could be ignored. The kids did kid stuff. G tends to be particularly loud when playing on the VR headset, but that may be part of its “charm” for now.
One particularly frustrating moment came when a friend tried to help out financially. They sent a bit of $ via Zelle, which goes directly into our bank account. Since the account is overdrawn (because of automatic deductions), their gift reduced the deficit, which is greatly appreciated, but did not fulfill their desire to help us with food. We’re still negative by a little over $40. Until that is paid, we’re just stuck.
Who all is trying to “like” posts but can’t? I understand that’s being a problem for some people. I’ll look into it and see if that’s something I can address.
Also, is anyone here genuinely offended by nudity? There’s going to be some in my next post as I’m about to go off on Internet trolls and those who make headlines of their actions. Keep watch as I won’t be able to post a direct link to that on FB. 🙄
Be careful out there this afternoon! Don’t be as stupid as a certain former president and try looking at the eclipse without protection.
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