Author Topic: Dress decolonization  (Read 5902 times)

90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #75 on: March 20, 2022, 08:33:32 pm »
A small victory:



I don't think he should have worn a Western suit, though.....

90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #76 on: March 24, 2022, 03:12:37 am »
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/supreme-court-confirmation-hearings-ketanji-brown-jackson-feature-something-new-ncna1292354

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Ketanji Brown Jackson's dreadlocks are changing the face of American justice
...
As Jackson’s image circulates, some observers, most notably other Black women, have called attention to something that might at first seem superficial: her hairstyling. She looks especially familiar to those of us, women and men alike, who belong to what some call the “natural hair community.” And Jackson’s hair doesn’t stand out because of its texture alone; the locked style makes a particularly strong statement.

While hair seems trivial and we may be reluctant to add to the scrutiny women endure over their appearances, the reality is that women and men have both been expected to follow norms about dress and grooming and to make strategic choices about outfits, accessories and hair color.
...
The 17th century tradition of judges’ and lawyers’ donning white horsehair wigs in the U.K. and some former colonies, for instance, has been partly preserved. It is welcomed by some as a uniform that epitomizes the idea that justice is blind, while others link the practice to antiquated customs ill-suited to modern society, not to mention warmer climates. Either way, these issues raise questions about how we think servants of the court ought to present themselves.
...
Jackson is a child of the ’70s, and her natural hair reflects the sentiments of the Black is Beautiful movement and the more recent Natural Hair Movement that combine personal style with politics. Many of us see the beauty of Black natural hair. We also see its supreme power.


rp

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #77 on: April 28, 2022, 11:23:42 pm »
A picture says a thousand words:


But alas, Kim has ultimately succumbed to Eurocentrism, supposedly for "diplomatic outreach":
« Last Edit: April 28, 2022, 11:49:14 pm by rp »

90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #78 on: April 29, 2022, 12:12:35 am »
While the non-tie suit is of course preferable, we should continue to criticize its remaining Western elements, such as the folded collar (designwise identical to the folded shirt collar on the right). Here is an anecdote to learn from:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_(tunic)

Quote


French (Russian: френч) was the designation of a particular type of military jacket or tunic in the Russian Empire and later in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokumin-fuku

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The Kokumin-fuku (国民服) (literally: "national uniform") was the European-style men's civil attire introduced in Japan in 1940 during World War II.[1][2]

Its similarity to a military uniform was one of the reasons for heavy casualties among Japanese civilians when the Soviet army attacked in 1945.[3]

Also, just the other day I was explaining in a private discussion the engineering inferiority of Western sew-on buttons:



With repeated buttoning and unbuttoning, the thread attaching the button to the fabric gradually loosens more and more until the button ultimately falls off and has to be re-attached. This never happens with the superior engineering of buttoning using part of the fabric itself:

« Last Edit: April 29, 2022, 12:44:58 am by 90sRetroFan »

Zhang Caizhi

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #79 on: April 29, 2022, 04:15:19 am »
I see that service dress uniform for military and other public uniformed services in many countries use neckties.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_dress_uniform

rp

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #80 on: April 29, 2022, 07:19:16 am »
I agree. For reference, this is the actual Zhongshan tunic:

Note the lack of buttons/folded collars.
« Last Edit: April 29, 2022, 07:54:40 am by rp »

90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #81 on: April 29, 2022, 10:19:32 pm »
This same principle of not adding foreign objects to construction is also seen in:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dougong

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The use of dougong first appeared in buildings of the late centuries BC and evolved into a structural network that joined pillars and columns to the frame of the roof. Dougong was widely used by the ancient Chinese during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BC) and developed into a complex set of interlocking parts by its peak in the Tang and Song periods. The pieces are fitted together by joinery alone without glue or fasteners, requiring precise carpentry.

https://cutthewood.com/featured/ancient-chinese-woodworking-without-nails/

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Chinese architects and Chinese woodworkers have used mortise-and-tenon joints so pieces of wood are joined together. A rectangle-to-rectangle tenon,  square-to-square or “peg” fitted into a “hole” or mortise, or “hole” were some of the techniques used. It is crucial to carve the dimensions of the tenon precisely yo mirror the mortise so the two will successfully fit together.

As an ultimate rule, screws, and nails have never been used in any stage of the process. Indeed, history has proven that the creation of furniture pieces with nails and screws tend to wobble, unlike furniture pieces that were precisely joined using mortise and tenon, wherein individually carved pieces fit quickly into one another.
...
Not to mention, the joining of the wood in this way creates a corresponding tension in the beam and does not create possible flaws in the cutting planes that may be present with other glue joining techniques.
...
The nails and screws hold the wood quickly, allowing a small movement that eventually breaks the wood around the metal fastener. The movement of the wood, the humidity and the deterioration of the glue eventually loosen any glued wooden board.

When done correctly, projects made entirely of wood can last as long as wood, which can be more than a thousand years.

When you hammer a nail or screw a screw into a piece of wood, you are adulterating the wood. Anyone who is willing to adulterate the very material they are trying to build with should not be allowed to build anything.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nail_(fastener)#History

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The Bible provides a number of references to nails, including the story in Judges of Jael the wife of Heber, who drives a nail (or tent-peg) into the temple of a sleeping Canaanite commander;[3] the provision of iron for nails by King David for what would become Solomon's Temple;[4] and in connection with the crucifixion of Christ.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw#History

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The metal screw did not become a common fastener until machine tools for their mass production were developed toward the end of the 18th century. This development blossomed in the 1760s and 1770s[54] along two separate paths that soon converged:[55] the mass production of wood screws (meaning screws made of metal to be used in wood) in a specialized, single-purpose, high-volume-production machine tool; and the low-count, toolroom-style production of machine screws (V-thread) with easy selection among various pitches (whatever the machinist happened to need on any given day).

The first path was pioneered by brothers Job and William Wyatt of Staffordshire, UK,[56] who patented in 1760 a machine that we might today best call a screw machine of an early and prescient sort. It made use of a leadscrew to guide the cutter to produce the desired pitch,[56] and the slot was cut with a rotary file while the main spindle held still (presaging live tools on lathes 250 years later). Not until 1776 did the Wyatt brothers have a wood-screw factory up and running.[56] Their enterprise failed, but new owners soon made it prosper, and in the 1780s they were producing 16,000 screws a day with only 30 employees[57]—the kind of industrial productivity and output volume that would later be characteristic of modern industry but was revolutionary at the time.
« Last Edit: July 19, 2022, 06:24:55 pm by 90sRetroFan »

rp

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #82 on: April 30, 2022, 02:05:41 am »
Another thing I wanted to mention about the Kim picture is the face shapes. While Kim may not be the most Aryan looking guy, Moon has an undeniably Gentillic face shape.

90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #83 on: May 13, 2022, 09:10:14 pm »
https://www.yahoo.com/news/am-choosing-literally-wear-chinese-130036049.html

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a memory of my first job as a community organizer in San Francisco in the spring of 2002. “Racist fashion’s got to go!” I chanted, assembled with hundreds of Asian American protesters on Market Street. We raised our voices against retailer Abercrombie & Fitch for releasing a series of graphic tees with Asian stereotypes, like “Wong Brothers Laundry Service ― Two Wongs Can Make it White” and “Buddha Bash ― Get Your Buddha on the Floor.”

Then, too, my parents told me — in equal parts pride and worry — to keep them posted on our campaign. “Stay safe outside on the streets,” they said.

The risk of asserting myself felt urgent back then. And, today, I’ve decided anew that being nondescript and subtle will not protect me. The truth is, just showing my face in America has been enough to make me a target for harassment or attack on the street in the middle of the day. I’ve decided I’m acting on a conscious dare of standing firm in my identity, not shrinking from it. I’m resisting my vulnerability with visibility.
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Recently I’ve made another, more surprising, sartorial choice: I started searching online for vintage Chinese dresses and integrating them into my at-home ensembles and my emerging post-pandemic wardrobe. A cheongsam, translated as “long dress” in Cantonese, is a sheath dress with a high mandarin collar and asymmetrical opening fastened by interlocking knotted buttons and loops of hua niu, or flower buttons. In my cheongsams, I can put myself together even when I feel fragmented, struggling to process being both Chinese and American in a country that has always had anti-Asian racism coursing through its veins.

I’ve acquired 15 of these iconic dresses from secondhand shops, boutiques and vintage stores. Each figures prominently in my power-up wardrobe, making a conscious statement about my heritage, my culture, my visibility and my pride.


Thank you for at least making an effort. However, note that the dresses you bought are already Westernized versions:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheongsam#History

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The predecessor of the more well known qipao resembled the men’s changpao. The changpao was a long gown commonly associated with the male literati class. The first 1920s iteration was androgynous and had a “wide, angular and puritanical cut”[8]

In other words, the original versions were low in sexual dimorphism. But then:

Quote
According to the Clothing Regulations, the cheongsam needed to be worn with trousers and be calf-length, but with the introduction of Western fashion many people replaced trousers with stockings and added matching accessories. The side slits were re-purposed into an aesthetic design reaching the top of the thighs to reflect the new fashion trend. By the 1940s, trousers had completely fallen out of use, replaced by different type of hosiery. High-heeled shoes were another fashion trend introduced to Shanghai at the same time, and it became an essential part of cheongsam fashion set, which continued into modern days.[13] As trend of hosiery in turn declined in later decades, women started to wear cheongsam more commonly with bare legs. While this development settled the cheongsam as a one-piece dress, by contrast, the related Vietnamese áo dài retained trousers.

The modernized version of cheongsam is noted for accentuating the figures of women, and as such was popular as a dress for high society. As Western fashions evolved, so does the cheongsam design, with introduction of high-necked sleeveless dresses, bell-like sleeves, and the black lace frothing at the hem of a ball gown. By the 1940s, cheongsam came in a wide variety of fabrics with an equal variety of accessories.

Westernization leads to increased sexual dimorphism every time.

Before Westernization:



After Westernization:



See the difference?

If you are serious about decolonizing your wardrobe, go for the pre-Westernized versions!


90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #84 on: May 15, 2022, 11:37:14 pm »
Let's talk about yet another uniquely Western inferiority:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe_polish

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As leather with a high natural veneer became popular in the 18th century, a high glossy finish became important, particularly on shoes and boots. In most cases, homemade polishes were used to provide this finish, often with lanolin or beeswax as a base.[citation needed]

In the late 18th and early 19th century many forms of shoe polish became available, yet were rarely referred to as shoe polish or boot polish. Instead, they were often called blacking, especially when mixed with lampblack, or still were referred to as dubbin. Tallow, an animal by-product, was used to manufacture a simple form of shoe polish at this time. Chicago, where 82% of the processed meat consumed in the United States was processed in the stock yards, became a major shoe polish producing area.[5]

In London the Warren brothers, Thomas and Jonathan, started making blacking around 1795–98, initially in partnership and then with competing companies. Jonathan Warren's Blacking company is noted as the first employer of the young Charles Dickens aged 12 in 1823.[6] The competitor to the Warren companies in London is the Day & Martin company formed in 1801.[7]
...
Other early leather preserving products included the Irish brand Punch, which was first made in 1851. In 1889, an English man by the name of William Edward Wren, started making shoe polishes and dubbin under the brand name Wren's. In just 3 years, he won the “First in the Field – First Award Leather Trades Exhibition 1892″ award which was awarded by the Leather Trades Exhibition held in Northampton, the centre of Britain’s boot making industry. This signified the importance and prestige of the exhibition in the trade and was a recognition of Wren's quality. In 1890 the Kroner Brothers established EOS, a shoe polish factory in Berlin, which serviced the Prussian military. It finally closed in 1934 when the Nazis forbade Jews to operate a business.[10]

Hail Hitler! Seriously, somehow every other civilization in history managed fine without shoe polish for thousands of years, and then Western civilization just had to introduce this totally unnecessary item into existence, and then worst of all manage to convince the rest of the world (or at least the Eurocentrists among them, who were unfortunately the majorities everywhere) that they needed it:

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Shoe polish was to be found just about everywhere Allied troops ventured.[17] American war correspondent Walter Graeber wrote for TIME magazine from the Tobruk trenches in 1942 that "old tins of British-made Kiwi polish lay side by side with empty bottles of Chianti."[18] A story indicative of the rise in global significance of shoe polish is told by Jean (Gertrude) Williams, a New Zealander who lived in Japan during the Allied occupation straight after World War II. American soldiers were then finding the dullness of their boots and shoes to be a handicap when trying to win the affections of Japanese women.[14] U.S. military footwear of the time was produced in brown leather with the rough side out.

When the British Commonwealth Occupation Forces arrived in Japan—all with boots polished to a degree not known in the U.S. forces—the G.I.s were more conscious than ever of their feet. The secret was found to rest not only in spit and polish, but in the superior Australian boot polish, a commodity which was soon exchanged with the Americans on a fluctuating basis of so many packets of cigarettes for one can of Kiwi boot polish.[citation needed]

Sigh.....

http://www.herc.org/library/msds/shoepolish.htm

Quote
Carcinogenicity - NTP: YES
Carcinogenicity - IARC: YES
Carcinogenicity - OSHA: YES
DYES HAVE BEEN FOUND TO INDUCE CANCER IN LABORATORY ANIMALS DURING LONG-
TERM FEEDING STUDIES OF DYE.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2022, 11:42:41 pm by 90sRetroFan »

Zea_mays

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #85 on: July 19, 2022, 09:29:45 am »
At least Westerners don't do this anymore:
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Breeching was the occasion when a small boy was first dressed in breeches or trousers. From the mid-16th century[1] until the late 19th or early 20th century, young boys in the Western world were unbreeched and wore gowns or dresses until an age that varied between two and eight.[2] Various forms of relatively subtle differences usually enabled others to tell little boys from little girls, in codes that modern art historians are able to understand but may be difficult to discern for the layperson.

Breeching was an important rite of passage in the life of a boy, looked forward to with much excitement, and often celebrated with a small party. It often marked the point at which the father became more involved with the raising of a boy.
[...]
In the 19th century, photographs were often taken of the boy in his new trousers, typically with his father. He might also collect small gifts of money by going round the neighbourhood showing off his new clothes. Friends, of the mother as much as the boy, might gather to see his first appearance. A letter of 1679 from Lady Anne North to her widowed and absent son gives a lengthy account of the breeching of her grandson
[...]
In England and some other countries, many school uniforms still mandate shorts for boys until about nine or ten.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breeching_(boys)


Quote
Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1884, at the age of 2.


On the other hand, they still have gendered pink and blue baby clothes...

90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #86 on: August 16, 2022, 04:25:36 pm »
Eurocentrist police stupidity:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/wrong-anything-anime-fan-china-233612326.html

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Anime fan in China says she was interrogated by police for wearing kimono
...
In a video that purportedly shows her encounter with officers, an officer shouts at the woman, questioning her identity.

“If you come here wearing Hanfu, I wouldn’t say this. But you are wearing a kimono, as a Chinese person. You are a Chinese! Are you?” the officer shouts at the woman.

Meanwhile, "Chinese" government officials regularly wear Western dress while on duty officially representing China FFS:



but the police don't go after them for it. Yet a civilian is arrested for wearing Japanese dress in her own time?! Why the double-standard? (Answer: pervasive Eurocentrism.)

The truth is:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimono

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The first instances of kimono-like garments in Japan were traditional Chinese clothing introduced to Japan via Chinese envoys in the Kofun period (300 – 538 CE; the first part of the Yamato period), with immigration between the two countries and envoys to the Tang dynasty court leading to Chinese styles of dress, appearance and culture becoming extremely popular in Japanese court society.[1] The Imperial Japanese court quickly adopted Chinese styles of dress and clothing,[6]
...
In 718 CE, the Yoro clothing code was instituted, which stipulated that all robes had to be overlapped at the front with a left-to-right closure, following typical Chinese fashions.[9]: 133–136 

To not positively welcome ancient Japanese dress in China is to be ashamed of ancient Chinese cultural influence.



Yes, I know Japan was part of the:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eight-Nation_Alliance

but that was post-Meiji Japan. And guess what (back to previous link):

Quote
During the Meiji period, the opening of Japan to Western trade after the enclosure of the Edo period led to a drive towards Western dress as a sign of "modernity". After an edict by Emperor Meiji,[citation needed] policemen, railroad workers and teachers moved to wearing Western clothing within their job roles, with the adoption of Western clothing by men in Japan happening at a much greater pace than by women. Initiatives such as the Tokyo Women's & Children's Wear Manufacturers' Association (東京婦人子供服組合) promoted Western dress as everyday clothing.

See also:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/colonial-era/shimabara-rebellion-the-christian-revolt-that-isolated-medieval-japan/msg13812/#msg13812

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/colonial-era/shimabara-rebellion-the-christian-revolt-that-isolated-medieval-japan/msg13827/#msg13827

The best way to express disapproval towards post-Meiji Japan is to celebrate pre-Meiji Japan.
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90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #87 on: September 16, 2022, 06:13:56 pm »
Nice!


90sRetroFan

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #88 on: October 19, 2022, 07:42:05 pm »
How sartorially colonized was pre-1979 Iran?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_in_Iran

Quote
Attempts at changing dress norms (and perspectives toward it) occurred in mid-1930s when pro-Western ruler Reza Shah issued a decree banning all veils.[9][10][11][12][13] Many types of male traditional clothing were also banned.[14][15][16]
...
A far larger escalation of violence occurred in the summer of 1935 when Reza Shah ordered all men to wear European-style bowler hat, which was Western par excellence. This provoked massive non-violent demonstrations in July in the city of Mashhad.[19][10][12][14][15][16][20]
...
Later, official measures relaxed slightly under next ruler and wearing of the headscarf or chador was no longer an offence, but for his regime it became a significant hindrance to climbing the social ladder as it was considered a badge of backwardness and an indicator of being a member of the lower class.[17]



In Iran, headscarfs are leftist:

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A few years prior to the Iranian revolution, a tendency towards questioning the relevance of Eurocentric gender roles as the model for Iranian society gained much ground among university students, and this sentiment was manifested in street demonstrations where many women from the non-veiled middle classes put on the veil[9][17][10][22][23] and symbolically rejected the gender ideology of Pahlavi regime and its aggressive deculturalization.[9][17][10][11][23] Wearing of headscarf and chador was one of main symbols of the 1979 revolution,[10][11][24][23] Wearing headscarves and chadors was used as a significant populist tool and Iranian veiled women played an important rule in the revolution's victory.[17][11][13]

Present-day False Leftists outside of Iran seem to have no awareness of this historical context. If you support the anti-headscarf protestors in Iran, you are supporting Eurocentrism!

And one more thing about Reza Eurocentrist Pahlavi:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reza_Shah

Quote
Reza Shah was the first Iranian Monarch in 1400 years who paid respect to the Jews by praying in the synagogue when visiting the Jewish community of Isfahan; an act that boosted the self-esteem of the Iranian Jews and made Reza Shah their second most respected Iranian leader after Cyrus the Great.

See also:

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/news/iran/msg15794/#msg15794

https://trueleft.createaforum.com/news/iran/msg15960/#msg15960
« Last Edit: October 19, 2022, 08:29:24 pm by 90sRetroFan »

SirGalahad

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Re: Dress decolonization
« Reply #89 on: October 20, 2022, 12:35:44 am »
While in general I still support the current Iranian regime, I can’t help but feel that they deserve these protests in a way. Women in Iran should be allowed to not wear a hijab without fear of the mistreatment, cruelty or harassment that I’ve both read about and seen lately, because that choice is ultimately a non-violent one. I think that Iran is partially responsible for ruining its own image in the same way that the Eurocentric clown Xi Jinping doesn’t do China any favors either. While both of those countries have dealt with intense western smear campaigns, I think that Iran would be in a better position in terms of PR if the regime had made an attempt to stamp out some of the attitudes and behaviors that sparked this protest in the first place
« Last Edit: October 20, 2022, 12:54:27 am by SirGalahad »