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Fashionista 2

A fun jacket, made by Trish and delivered to me 2025-05-25. Yes, I like outrageous clothes.

Returning from visiting our son, Alasdair, on 2024-10-07 who at the time had just bought his first house at Åros, near Oslo, I realized that the upcoming weblog post, titled Arts & Crafts typefaces, would not be ready for publication without excessive effort. I then looked to see if one of the 38 scheduled posts could be pushed forward, or if one of the 144 unscheduled drafts could be published. That was when I found this post about fashion. Except, it was too much like another recently published post. So, I decided to delay it another year, to add more content! That year is now up.

At some forgotten moment in time, I was thinking of writing fashionista content, and for inspiration ended up digesting the essence of a website, that no longer exists, titled: Wardrobe, Female, Adult. Schools are social environments, where there are considerable differences in how much money and effort individuals invest/ spend/ waste (select one, depending on your perspective) on clothing. When it comes to women’s fashions, I don’t know how much my tastes have evolved since, say, 1966. The British television series, The Avengers, has had a disproportional influence on my appreciation of women’s fashions. For those unfamiliar with the series, it started out in 1961 as an espionage series with two primary actors, both male. When one of them withdrew after the first season, management decided to have a woman play one of the leading roles. Fortunately, the scripts were not changed, so this leading woman was acting in a very masculine manner. In the series there were a sequence of intelligent, stylish and assertive women , starting with Cathy Gale – portrayed by Honor Blackman (1925 – 2020) more famous for her role as Pussy Galore in the James Bond film, Goldfinger (1963). She was followed by Emma Peel – portrayed by Diana Rigg (1938 – 2020), not quite so famous for her role as Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Then there was Tara King -portrayed by Linda Thorson (1947 -), who never appeared in a Bond film, but who had the advantage of being Canadian. Much of the clothing worn by these women in the series was designed by Pierre Cardin (1922 – 2020). I believe I can relate to the Avengers more than any other television program because of its creator, a Canadian = Sydney Newman (1917 – 1997), originally from Toronto. In addition to creating The Avengers, he co-created the science-fiction series Doctor Who.

By 1976-7, The New Avengers had arrived. Wikipedia tells us that “scriptwriter Dennis Spooner (1932 – 1986) said that at the end of its run The Avengers had gone as far as it could in terms of parody. For this reason, producer Brian Clemens (1931 – 2015) intentionally aimed for real stories and straight, Len Deighton (1929 – )-type spy stories in The New Avengers.” Yes, birth and death years have been added to the quotations.

From the above text, it might be assumed that I am overly enthusiastic about James Bond. When it comes to espionage, I am more appreciative of Len Deighton’s unnamed hero, who appeared as Harry Palmer (ca 1922 – ?) in several films. The early works shared the same producer, Harry Saltzman (1915 – 1994) a Canadian, who arranged for another Canadian, Sidney J. Furie (1933 – ) to direct the first Palmer film, The Ipcress File. My analysis is that in some way Canadians are able to bridge the divide between the Americans and the British.

Harry Palmer was first portrayed by Michael Caine = Maurice Joseph Micklewhite (1933 – ) starting in 1967. In a 2022 television series, The Ipcress File, he was portrayed by Joe Cole (1988 – ). The Jean Courtney character portrayed by Lucy Boynton (1994 – ) in the TV series is dramatically equal to the role of Palmer. That same role was played by Sue Lloyd (1939 – 2011) who, as an earlier Jean Courtney, also proves to be an effective foil to Michael Caine’s Harry Palmer in a first film version of The Ipcress File. In Bullet to Beijing (1995), she recreates this role. Unfortunately, her scene was cut from the home VHS & DVD releases, but was later made available as DVD Extras. I also appreciated Lloyd’s portrayal of Cordelia Winfield in the 1965–1966 British television series The Baron.

The problem with fashion is that most people are workers. Even though the type of work varies with the individual, most people don’t spend their day posing. Thus, clothing has to be functional, has to fit, and it should be durable. At the end of its life, recycling should transform it into something even if that something is only heat. Currently, in Norway, there is considerable discussion about what is to be done with worn out clothing. The official answer was recycling. This sole answer was recently abandoned when it was discovered that some clothes were actually worn out. So now we are allowed to put worn out clothing in with general garbage. There are still details that have not been worked out.

Recycling clothes in Norway involves delivering whole, clean and dry textiles to collection boxes or recycling stations, where they can be sold for reuse (most often abroad), repaired, recycled, or in a worst case, have their energy recovered. From 2025, there is an increased focus on reducing the large overconsumption of clothing in Norway to reduce the climate footprint.

Lists

In this section, readers are about to read the original content for this post. It originated in an article about three notable women who provided the world with clothing formulas. I am uncertain if it also contained a fictional extremist, or if that came later. There was also some other comments about these formulas, and two magic numbers. The content of these lists, with one three-letter word exception, avoids underwear. Yes, in some circles underwear still remains unmentionable.

Coco Chanel (1883 -1971) has a list that remains unnamed and unnumbered: Black and white. Good shoes. Dresses. Polish. Simplicity. Well-fitting clothes. (No magic number.)

Joan Didion (1934 – 2021) had a packing list taped inside a cupboard “which enabled me to pack, without thinking, for any piece I was likely to do”, she wrote in 1979: two skirts, two jerseys or leotards, one pullover sweater, two pairs of shoes, stockings, bra, nightgown, robe, slippers, mohair throw (Magic number = 13, but elementary arithmetic says it should be at least 16, perhaps higher, based on the number of pairs of stockings.)

Annmarie O’Connor (1973 – ), You-niform = one coat, three jackets, five bottoms, five tops, one dress, five [pairs of] shoes. (Magic number = 20, although I count 25, since shoes come in pairs.) Her thoughts can be found in her book, The Happy Closet: Declutter Your Wardrobe, Simplify Your LIfe (2015). She also adds: “A You-niform is a network of interchangeable pieces. It helps free the mind to concentrate on other things with the added benefit of not being a drain on our resources (impulse buying, anyone?) What’s more, you get to decide what suits you and your lifestyle.”

In the movie Clueless (1995) the main character, Cher Horowitz, portrayed by Alicia Silverstone (1976 – ) has a wardrobe that necessitates a computerized inventory. This film, based on Jane Austen’s (1775 – 1817) novel, Emma (1815), with its “positive[,] handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and a happy disposition” main character Emma Woodhouse, provides an alternative universe for those wanting to declutter.

My notes tell me that several categories, including bags and accessories, are missing from the lists.

Bags include: clutch, handbags, backpacks, pouches. Some women may even want to include suitcases, since the origins of Didion’s list seemed to be travel. In the past people also had wallets, used to store pieces of identification, as well as money – bills in addition to coins. One of my official driving licences is stored as an app on my hand-held device. There is also talk about having passports as apps, in the coming years.

In terms of currency, it is several years since I have used any. I have an app, and bank cards. Yet, about one month before the publication of this post, a booklet (yes, something printed on paper) arrived in our postbox. It was about beredskap = preparedness, how to survive a war or other crisis. One of the main recommendations was to have cash on hand. Despite this, Trish and I have decided not to bother. We will remain cashless!

At this point I should mention, that when bank cards were first introduced in Norway, ca. 1985-6, we were paid to use them, NOK 1 for every transaction. That stopped, after about six months. However, there are coins in Buzz, that can be used at stores that still require a deposit to use a shopping buggy/ cart. We are deliberately visiting those stores with diminished frequency.

Bags

Men have fewer choices when it comes to bags, the backpack has eclipsed more prestigious bags, such as the attaché case and briefcase, or further back in time, the Rosebery, Gladstone and carpet bags, at least in the circles I frequent. It can be embarrassing to witness someone open one of these elitist bags, only to discover that all it contains is a lunch wrapped in a paper bag! Prior to a trip to Newfoundland, I bought a Samsonite Securipak backpack. It cost about NOK 1 500. It worked OK, but when Alasdair’s identical backpack was damaged, I decided he could take over mine. I replaced it with a Clas Ohlson Asaklitt Casual Business backpack, that cost less than 1/3 that price.

On the friday, a week before the scheduled publication of this post, Trish and I visited a physical store in Steinkjer, with the aim of purchasing two suitcases. We are visiting Oakland, California at the beginning of November, and have more to carry than comfortably fits in a backpack. Epic has been recommended as a brand. Here is a summary of it: Materiale = 100% Polypropylene; Volume = 67 liters; Dimensions = 66 x 45 x 25 cm; Mass = 3.0 kg; Wheels = Dobble AirSpeed™X4; Water repellent zipper; TSA combination lock; Adjustable handle; Best in test!; 7 year guarantee. It is available in pink, green and yellow. We bought yellow, as depicted above.

Accessories

Fashion also involves accessories. These include: eyewear: glasses, sunglasses, protective eyewear in clear and darkened versions; earwear: headsets, earbuds, hearing aids, ear defenders; headwear: sunhats, tuques, hard-hats; neckwear: scarves; wristwear: watches; handwear: canes. There should probably be something called anklewear, but am unsure what it could consist of, apart from an ankle-bracelet, used to register the unauthorized movement of criminals serving house arrest. I am not certain if a belt should be categorized as an accessory, because I find them a necessity, since I need one every time I wear trousers, which is most of the time. Yes, I have four, including one bought in Seattle ca. 1970, that is no longer used but kept for sentimental reasons. The three others in use are identical. They are typically found on 1) chinos, 2) work trousers and 3) hiking trousers. I am uncertain if a hand-held device (smartphone) should be included as an accessory, or put in some other category, or just ignored. Perhaps it is just a type of content that gets stuffed inside a bag, like a pen or handkerchief.

Wardrobes

Apparently, I came across some information about wardrobe subdivisions. A module is a small collection of clothes within a wardrobe. In a module, every top goes with every bottom, at least that was the wording in feminist literature. Consider two pieces of clothing that can be used together in malespeak as a shirt and a (pair of) trousers. If that is all one has, they can only be used in one (1) way. If the number and shirts and trousers are doubled, becoming two (2) pieces each A, B for shirts, N, O for trousers. Then there can be four (4) combinations: AN, AO, BN, BO. Allegedly, this is important. If one doubles the number again so the module consisting of 4 shirts (A, B, C, D) and 4 trousers (N, O, P, Q), there are 16 combinations: AN, AO, AP, AQ, BN, BO, BP, BQ, CN, CO, CP, CQ, DN, DO, DP, DQ. Double this again to 8 shirts and 8 trousers, and one ends up with 64 combinations. Ideally, it seems, one should never be seen in the same combination, more than once.

In some source I learned that there are people who don’t bother to follow a modular approach. One subculture within this group are minimalists. I am assured that minimalists are ruthless, yet chic. I am advised that they refuse to work in an office with a formal dress code, yet manage to avoid working from home. A café is their ideal work location during the afternoon, with parties (referred to as meetings) occupying the remainder of the working day. Originally, in the last decade of the 20th century, they owned two white blouses (females)/ shirts (males) that allows them to be washed at weekly intervals with the obligatory white sheets. No, I do not know what they wore during the washing process. As duvet covers replaced sheets, and pastel colours followed by dull grey tones replaced white, more exotic tops (for lack of a better, more inclusive term) could be worn. Within this framework, minimalists opt for the simple life. Potentially one without Paris Hilton, and her pink GMC pickup.

A pink Alibaba EV pickup, shown with Micah Toll at the wheel, comes at a price under US$ 2 000 (in China). This article appeared in Electrek, 2022-02-26. It was claimed that a production version should be available in 2024, with seating in a crew cab for four (4) adults. Power? a 1.5 kW motor provides a top speed of 45 km/h. Yes, it was claimed that it would be available in any colour, as long as it was pink! It is amazing what one can find on the internet while searching for: pink gmc pickup, Paris Hilton, the simple life.

Off topic note: By 2025, Micah Toll was promoting a new Chang Li Explorer electric pickup with a maximum range of 100 km, a 50 000 km battery warranty, LED lights, leather seats for two, compact format: 3500 (l) 1360 (w) 1680 (h) mm.

Personal stylist Colomba Giacomini tells people to pack an imaginary suitcase with the clothes they want to wear for the next two weeks. The purpose is to edit out nostalgia. “Keep a photo of yourself in the beautiful dress that is no longer worn, but recycle the dress. Avoid the sunk-cost fallacy. Forgive yourself for buying clothes that are never worn, or you didn’t wear, forgive yourself,” says O’Connor. “To clear out your closet, you need to clear out the self-criticism first.”

There is room for individual tastes in clothing storage, but in terms of hanger type and spacing. My own tastes include 50 mm of spacing, between wooden hangers. Some of the hangers even match.

Some people feel that there should be a set number of items across clothing categories to create a functional wardrobe. How many? Yes it varies, with some people suggesting from 20 to 60 pieces in total, excluding under garments. I have now visited my closet and chest of drawers, and discovered I have the following bespoke items: 18 shirts, 10 sweaters, 2 workshop coats, plus many store bought items, 7 chinos, 3 work trousers, 4 work jackets, 1 fun jacket (depicted at the beginning of this post), 1 hiking trousers, 4 suits (in permanent storage), 7 pairs of Allbird shoes. The dark green pair purchased in 2019 is now used where appearance counts, the dull green pair purchased in 2015, are beginning to show signs of wear. Others: turquoise (still in California), pink, red, blue, yellow, work shoes with safety toes (replaced biannually), hiking boots, gum boots. Depending on the counting method, that is either 63 or 72 items, excluding socks and underwear.

At this point I will have to interject a comment about gum boots. This west coast Canadian name for what others call rubber boots, probably has its origins in Norway. However, at Norwegian outfitters for commercial fishers, plastic boots with insulation have replaced rubber varieties. Our son Alasdair has a pair in black. I would also like to invest in a pair, but would prefer them to be yellow.

More fashion advice, from some forgotten source. Begin with a backbone of ten basics items. These should be dependable, versatile, and pair well with all the other items. Add five statement pieces, with bold prints and patterns. Select 5 layering items to add interest to your outfits and serve a functional role too. Shoes alter the whole mood of an outfit. Choose pairs that cover a range of occasions. This advice gets repeated in several other sources, with minimal changes to prevent plagiarism complaints.

I do not understand the use of statement piece. None of my trousers make statements, but are fit for purpose. All of my sweaters make statements. In terms of shirts, none of my work shirts make statements, because they are too busy working. However, most of my other shirts do, at least on some occasions. That is why I spend so much time selecting fabric for them, and have them made for me.

These journalists further advise using a well-defined colour palette with a small selection = 4 to 6 colours. I am not sure I can construct a colour palette for clothing. Most of my shirts are green or red, but with some deviation. I refer to it as individuality. The greens are better at being coordinated with each other than the reds. I have even bought some blue chinos, used judiciously to show that I have survived the excessive blueness of my childhood wardrobe.

A travel wardrobe should suit the destination climate. For a moment I think hot, with temperatures peaking above 30 C. Start with 5 shirts with a focus on versatility. While some people may want a combination of short and long-sleeves, this is not really versatile, because long-sleeved shirts can be rolled up. Once again legwear must reflect the destination. Some people may think shorts, but I remember back to my childhood years in the Okanagan, and avoid them because that would require the application of additional sunscreen. It also presented large areas of skin to marauding mosquitoes. People who exercise in gyms may have a valid reason for using shorts, and no need for additional sunscreen or insect repellent. It may be appropriate to have a pair of swimming trunks, but these should only be worn while swimming, water skiing or engaged in other water sports. Thus, I am firmly addicted to long trousers but have different types for: 1) Casual activites; 2) manual labour, Trousers are fitted with straps for carrying tools, and pockets for carrying fasteners; 3) hiking. There probably should be other categories. I have a Donegal tweed suit for more formal occasions. It was bought sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s.

Virilization

Yes, virilization is a word that generally refers to the biological development of adult male characteristics in young people, male or female. Most of the changes of virilization are produced by androgens. This is not what is being talked about here. Rather, the wardrobe of a male is very different from that of a female, although the two sexes appear to be approaching each other, in terms of some items.

One fundamental difference is how buttons are aligned. Male shirts have buttons on the right side of a garment, while button holes occupy the left side. Unisex clothing follows the male convention, while female garments have buttons on the left side, and button holes on the right.

My own approach is to divide clothing into the following categories from the skin and outwards: underwear, innerwear and outerwear. Then there is sleepwear.

Male underwear consists of underpants, undershirts and footwear (socks). Long underwear (tops and bottoms) also belongs in this category. I make a distinction between cotton socks, worn in the summer, and wool socks, worn the rest of the year, in light and heavy variants.

Innerwear consists of shirts and trousers. Some might want to add sweaters, but I find them tweenwear, somewhere between innerwear and outerwear. However, it might be better to regard most innerwear as daywear, with several different categories, including workwear, officewear, sportswear and funwear. With so many categories adding tweenwear should be easy. Then there is eveningwear which is usually associated with more formal events. Again, there are some difficult categories, such as funeralwear. If it is funeralwear for one’s self, it is a unique situation, but with long-term consequences beyond the control of the wearer. My Donegal tweed suit may have its final use here.

Outerwear

Outer clothing is used to protect the body outdoors from the elements including: excessive cold or heat, rain or snow, and wind. There are two important items: a green spring through autumn jacket; and a purple winter coat. Both are Swedish. The jacket is probably close to end of life, since it was purchased in 2008 and worn daily in season. I intend to find a replacement in California in November. The coat is just starting its career. It was purchased on sale in San Francisco in 2020.

Counting

Clothes are difficult to count. Some articles of clothing come in pairs, because some body parts also come in pairs. Right and left hands result in pairs of gloves and mittens that mirror each other. Right and left feet result in pairs of socks (that are made without mirroring) and shoes (that are). Personally, I find it impossible to count two shoes (or socks or gloves) as one item. They (note the plural pronoun) are always one pair = two items. Except, we also have pairs of trousers and shorts. These I count as one item, as in one pair of chinos = one item. Gender differences add further confusion. A woman may have one bikini, which has two parts, a top and a bottom, while men may have a pair of swimming trunks, which is a single garment.

Note: This weblog post was originally given the title: Wardrobe, Male, Adult. It was to be published 2024-11-22. As the original publication date approached, that date was changed to 2025-10-11, approximately one year after Fashionista (1) was published.. On 2025-02-15 it was re-titled Fashionista 2. I am not so addicted to fashions that I can produce more than one fashion post a year, and still attract interest. More content about Harry Palmer, and others associated with him will be published 2025-11-11.

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Fashionista

The writer of this weblog post dressed in a shirt from Thunderbird design. This was a bespoke replacement for a black shirt with geometrical shapes (triangles, rectangles and circles) in bright colours, purchased in the late 1960s, referred to then as the jazz shirt, that has disappeared in the intervening fifty plus years. This jazz shirt 2 is nothing like the original, but is appreciated for its organic patterns, bright colours and black background. It is 50% recycled fabric. Photo: Trish McLellan.

This post is about people who are ardent followers/ consumers of fashion trends. Yet, I also wanted it to include fashion producers, especially those working as artisans in studios, or serfs in factories. The title is Fashionista, despite the title being a letdown from my aspirations. It refers to avid leaders and followers of fashion. It has nothing to do with a modern line of Barbie-brand dolls with more body-shape options (curvy, petite, tall) than the originals.

My wish for those unfortunate fashion industry serfs, in Bangladesh and elsewhere, is that they be paid a living wage, hopefully more, and have a better work-life balance. The artisans could also appreciate these same benefits. For the individuals/ majority shareholders who own the large fashion houses, and some of their patrons, have more than enough income, I hope some form of limitarianism will reduce their incomes, wealth and indifference to human suffering.

People who do not fit into traditional social roles can suffer from outbreaks of mental illness. One category of problems involves deviant behaviors. Labels have led to people being given different forms of care (read: inhumane treatment), depending on the time and place, and social status. At the back of my mind, I recall reading about the situation in nineteenth century Britain, with asylums overfilled with a mixture of people. Some would be struggling with mental illnesses. Others were dumped there because their social or economic problems led them to being alienated from society. Later, in the 20th century, these patients would be subject to horrifying levels of abuse: typically lobotomies and electroconvulsive therapy. These therapies led to many other issues. Unsurprisingly, mental health (of workers or of clients) has rarely been covered by the fashion media.

Most work in the fashion industry is competitive. It allows fashion corporations to pay their employees less. Many participants are struggling with mental illness, especially trauma. Yet, it is difficult to find truthiness about this in the media. For some, fashion trauma is nothing more than a click bait term, to increase the sale of products and services. I came across one writer who thought that her poor mental health was her own fault for not buying the right things, garments especially. I think she imagined that having good mental health, was like being in good physical shape. The answer to a less than perfectly performing body is a gym membership. One does not actually have to work out in the gym, because everyone knows how much time-press people are subjected to. One does not have to measure one’s mass, because everyone knows there will be periods where that mass will increase. In the long-term, fat will be traded in for muscle mass! Deluded Belief 1: Gym membership is an important first step, towards possessing a new improved body.

Fashion, can assist on the journey to increase muscle mass. Some clothing items are more flattering than others. So, in addition to a gym membership, it is important to buy some stop-gap clothing that will conceal flab and other temporary imperfections. Deluded belief 2: When one has attained that more muscular body, clothing can be discarded, and real fashion items purchased.

Being a fashionista requires a re-disposition of time. One should show an interest in fashions, either be attending assorted fashion weeks, or watching videos about them; reading or, preferably, writing fashion books; attending fashion exhibitions or museums or even art galleries, where one can find historical fashion items either on display or totally lacking, depending on the art being viewed.

One learns that it is especially important to follow micro-trends. Otherwise, others might question one’s sincerity. Making frivolous purchases can be expensive, and whimsical, but real fashionistas will explain that this is precisely why credit cards were invented.

Relaxation is not a term used in the fashion industry. The fashion world doesn’t allow for downtime. Despite this, burnout has become a systemic issue, but perhaps not an approved discussion topic between fashion employees. Designers experience panic attacks since there is never enough time to complete a collection in the allotted time. Models have their eating disorders. Garment workers typically suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to unsafe working conditions. Others experience this mental and behavioral disorder from enduing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a person’s life or well-being. Fashion school students are exhausted, while their teachers are depressed from having to deal with them. Only the mannequins seem to be resistant to mental health issues.

Fashion as a system means that those in the higher echelons of the fashion world are God’s gift to humankind, but those immediately and further below will never ascend, or even be good enough. Social media contributes by intensifying insecurities and by encouraging consumerism. An alphabet soup of people seek employment in the industry, but face additional challenges, some related to personal safety.

I also came across some interesting statements. For example, one person claimed that fashion was supposed to make people happy, and even encouraged people to dress-up at home! It was almost as if people were dressing for themselves, and not others. Sara Ahmed in The Promise of Happiness (2010), examined happiness through feminist, queer and racial study lenses. She questions if the popular conception of happiness is actually worth the sacrifices made. In particular, she explored how, now as well as in previous generations, the ideal of the happy housewife had been and still is being used to justify forms of gendered labour. According to Ahmed, the crisis of happiness is not the failure of traditional social ideals, but the failure to follow them.

When I look at my life in Norway, and compare it with my earlier life in Canada, I am a happier person. It is acceptable to be a mediocre person, and to do an adequate job. There is no need to excel. Six out of the top seven happiest countries in the world for 2024 were Northern European. Five of them Nordic. Finland was at the top with an overall score of 7.741, followed by Denmark (7.583), Iceland (7.525), Sweden (7.344), Israel (7.341), the Netherlands (7.319), and Norway (7.302). Other countries where other readers of this blog live (or have citizenship) include Australia: 10 = 7.06, New Zealand: 11= 7.03, Canada: 15 = 6.90, Ireland: 17 = 6.84, and USA: 23 = 6.73. With the exception of Iceland, that remained the same as in 2023, all of the countries mentioned here were on a downward trend.

To construct the index, researchers analyzed comprehensive Gallup polling data from 143 countries for the previous three years, specifically monitoring performance in six particular categories: gross domestic product per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make your own life choices, generosity of the general population, and perceptions of internal and external corruption levels.

Janteloven (Danish & Norwegian) = The Law of Jante (English), is a code of conduct used to express social disapproval of individuality and, especially, personal success. It comes from the work of Danish-Norwegian author Aksel Sandemose (1899 – 1965) first formulated as ten rules in his satirical novel En flyktning krysser sitt spor = A Fugitive Crosses His Tracks (1933). The attitudes are older.

Copenhagen Fashion Week

The Law of Jante is used to explain why, starting in 2018, Copenhagen Fashion Week announced that designers would have to adhere to a set of minimum sustainability standards, starting in 2023. These are:

Strategic Directions

  • We work strategically with embedding sustainability and international standards on human right
  • We include diversity and equality in our management approach and actively consider these aspects when hiring staff, especially for management positions
  • We do not destroy unsold clothes from previous collections

Design

  • We design to increase the quality and value of our products economically and materially and inform our customers about the value of longevity
  • We find a second life for our samples
  • Smart material choices
  • At least 50% of our collection is either certified, made of preferred materials or new generation sustainable materials, upcycled, recycled or made of deadstock
  • We have a preferred materials list in place
  • We have a list of restricted substances in place, following the requirements of the EU REACH Directive, and engage with our suppliers to ensure compliance
  • Our collection is fur-free

Working conditions

  • We are committed to exercising due diligence in our supply chain according to international guidelines and standards, and work with our suppliers to ensure e.g., freely chosen employment, secure employment or no child labour
  • We are committed to operating a safe, healthy and respectful working environment for all our employees, free from harassment and discrimination and where everyone enjoys equal opportunities regardless of gender, ethnicity, age, political/religious/ sexual orientation, physical appearance and ability

Consumer engagement

  • Our in-store and online customer service staff is well informed about our sustainability strategy
  • We educate and inform our customers about our sustainability practices on multiple platforms
  • We do not utilise single-use plastic packaging in store or for online orders but offer recyclable, recycled or repurposable alternatives

Showcase

  • Our set design and showcase production is zero waste
  • We do not utilise single-use plastic packaging backstage during fashion week but offer recyclable, recycled or repurposable alternatives
  • We offset or inset the carbon footprint of our showcase
  • We are signatory of the Danish Fashion Ethical Charter and consider diversity and inclusivity when casting models

In 2024, Copenhagen Fashion Week made updates to the framework. It still comprises the six focus areas attempting to implement a holistic approach. Marie Busck, responsible for the framework, commented: The revisions of the requirements are important. We need to ensure that the framework reflects the developments of the legal landscape for fashion and textiles which currently is unfolding from the EU. In addition, we are also keen on integrating the valuable learnings from applying the framework and the input received from other stakeholders, making actions more clear and concise.

Some of the things I have noted are the absence of fur, along with discussions of the appropriateness of faux fur, made of petroleum products. There was also recognition that women, including models, could become pregnant which could affect their appearance. To be relevant, fashion has to incorporate people of all ages. This means that the family, as well as the individual, has to be taken into consideration. This means making products for children of assorted ages from birth onward, and even spouses. I think it was already acknowledged that women worked, and that people lived in climates that experienced winters.

Manifestations of sustainability included: the elimination of waste, unrecyclable seat cards or set pieces that can’t be reused; and, designs should use at least 50 percent recycled materials.

An anonymous crusader set up a scarecrow-like sculpture wearing a Make Less t-shirt and a grumpy frown outside several shows. The most sustainable approach would be to shut down Fashion Week. Eszter Áron of Aeron integrated her sourcing team into her design team so the two could be intertwined from the start, ensuring that material considerations were given equal weight to the designers’ imaginations. Rotate shifted 60 percent of the sequins in its latest going-out lineup to preferred materials that sparkled just as much. It’s creative directors Jeanette Madsen and Thora Valdimars, tapped Danish and Dutch universities to help them research new production techniques that won’t dim their sparkle. OpéraSport cofounder Awa Malina Stelter said her label’s first collection in 2019 already met Copenhagen’s 2023 standards, with organic, GOTS (The Global Organic Textile Standard)-certified cotton and other fabrics made from 90 percent industrial waste. Stine Goya of her namesake label, commented: If anything, moving toward more sustainable practices makes the design process more exciting and brings a new dimension to our work.

Copenhagen Fashion Week may be well-intentioned, but the result is more nuanced (read: less than perfect). Responsibly-sourced materials is a vague term, and can be interpreted in many different ways. Similarly, 50 percent recycled materials says nothing about the appropriateness of the materials used.

Chana Rosenthal, principal and founder at reDesign, commented: The vagueness actually makes it more appealing in a way to brands, because part of the [sustainability] challenge has been brands saying they’re doing something and then they’re not actually doing it. But also, it takes time. This isn’t something that’s easy to transition.

Lisa Bergstrand, founder of Bergstrand Consultancy, a firm that advises brands on sustainability initiatives, said: For there to be meaningful change in the long term, I think a closer look needs to be taken at fashion’s focus on trends, which is one of the biggest drivers of overproduction and overconsumption.

Standardized environmental checks seem the most promising path to encourage suppliers to shift their priorities in a way that makes more eco-conscious production accessible.

One of the major problems is that of scale. Fashion houses are wanting to produce profits for shareholders. That is not a concern of mine. I am more interested in workers being able to live off their work, without mental health issues. Thus, I am a supporter of the 国潮 (Chinese) = Guochao (English) movement, a trend of preferring homegrown designers which incorporate aspects of Chinese history and culture. This applies specifically to Gen Z buyers, but there are caveats, and pushback that impede its wider adoption. Issues include subpar quality, plagiarism, and high prices.

Closing notes

My fashion career began early, as a child model, with photographs even appearing in some forgotten Vancouver area newspaper! These days, my aspirations never exceed a faint hope that someone, anyone will regard me as being unusually, but pleasantly dressed, as I enter the local co-op. My current aspirations never exceed the geographical boundaries of Inderøy municipality, and its population that has finally reached 7 000 residents.

As my more intimate friends know, I faced taboos about wearing assorted colours in my childhood. It might be easier to list those I was allowed to wear: blue, grey and brown, with white shirts and undergarments. I had ample yellow rainwear, since it was visible. In strictness order, I was forbidden to wear: green, black, purple, red and orange, In general, these sanctions were not applied to tartans.

Since I live in Inderøy I attempt to support local companies: Husby Optics (founded 1854-10-04 – 170 years ago, last week) for eye wear, Thunderbird Design, for most of my clothing needs, and Kornelia smykker og design, for jewellry.

Lately, I have begun to question if I really am a normcore person. Wikipedia tells us: Normcore wearers are people who do not wish to distinguish themselves from others by their clothing. This does not mean that they are unfashionable people who wear whatever is easiest, but rather that they consciously choose clothes that are functional and undistinguished. The “normcore” trend has been interpreted as a reaction to ever-changing fashion trends, as normcore clothes are generally seen as timeless and unaffected by trends. Normcore clothes are unisex and are usually casual items such as hoodies, T-shirts, polo shirts, short-sleeved buttoned shirts, sweatpants, chinos, jeans, shorts, and sneakers; items such as suit jackets, ties, blouses, boots, and dress shoes are avoided.

On that list I only wear chinos regularly, but I also wear long-sleeved buttoned shirts (with two pockets). That said, I have several suits that have spent my retirement years hanging in a closet. My favourite is made of Donegal tweed, tailored by Kevin and Howlin, Nassau Street, Dublin, some years before the new millennium. I have no objections to being buried in it, along with a shirt recently made by Trish, but without a tie, I don’t know if dead people wear shoes in their coffins, but I have a pair of bright green Allbirds that will do nicely, if required. Yes, burial clothes are a person’s last opportunity to make a fashion statement. Select the garments wisely!

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Cockades & Roundels

The National Cockade of India = The National Cockade of Ireland. They are identical! Sharing a national cockade is a common occurrence. Source: Tibetan Pop Rocks, Wikimedia.

A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular, sometimes oval, symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat, cap or lapel. In addition, women traditionally had the option of wearing one in their hair. The noun, cockade, dates from 1650 – 60; It comes from French cocarde = a knot of ribbons, (from its resemblance to a cock’s crest), from Middle French cocquard = boastful, silly, cocky = the boastful behavior of a rooster, from coq = a rooster, and especially to the bird’s crête (Fr.) = comb (Eng.) = fleshy growth/ crest on the top of its head. In modern français québécois, the term cocarde is an identification badge.

Starting in the 15th century, these were originally derived from identity ribbons used by medieval knights. By the 18th and 19th centuries, these became common, and showed: the allegiance of their wearers to a political faction, their social status or rank or (by wearing colours of a particular livery) their subordinate status. Because of the confusing multiplicity of military uniforms, cockades became a de facto and cheap mechanism to show a person’s (national) identity. Colours are listed from the centre to the outside ring.

Colours

In pre-revolutionary France, the Bourbons used white cockades. Their Jabobite supporters in Scotland, also used white. Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom, the Hanoverians had taken over the monarchy, starting with George I, in 1714. They used black cockades. Periodically, after the French revolution, and since 1830, French cockades have been blue – white – red. The Hanoverian dynasty ended in the UK at the death of Victoria in 1901. Her eldest son Edward VII, was a member of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, which later changed its name to Windsor. At some time after the adoption of the Union Jack/ Union Flag in 1801, British cockades became red – white – blue, the opposite of the French. Since its independence in 1922, Ireland has used cockades of green – white – orange. India has used the same colours, in the same order, although India refers to its green as India green and its orange as saffron.

Until the Russian revolution in 1917, Russia has used cockades of black – orange – black – orange – white, featured in the Order of Saint George, originally from 1769, but with the Russian Federation revival dating from 2000. Modern Russian cockade colours are black – orange – black – orange. Ukraine uses light blue – yellow.

American Cockades

During the American revolutionary war (1775 – 1783), the Continental Army was the army of the thirteen American colonies. They had no uniforms. George Washington (1732 – 1799) attempted to use cockades to differentiate ranks: red/ pink = field officer; yellow/ buff = captain; green = subaltern. Several sources note that there was a substantial use of black cockades, identical to those used by the British. When France allied itself with the Americans, the Bourbon white cockades were added to create a black and white cockade. The French reciprocated, adding black cockades. This is generally referred to as the union cockade.

Yet, the term union can be confusing in an American context. During the American civil war (1861 – 1865) there were both confederate and union cockades. There was no single standardized design. Confederate/ southern versions tended to be one color (often red or blue). Union/ northern cockades often incorporated red, white and blue. Some designs were embellished with buttons depicting palmettos = fan-leaved palm trees, eagles, Union president Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865), Confederacy president Jefferson Davis (1808 – 1889). In Texas, they often incorporated a metal star.

Nordic Cockades

In Sweden, the military used yellow cockades, while civilians used blue and yellow. This contrasts with Denmark, that used red – white – red. Norway used red – white – blue – white; Iceland: blue – white – red – white – blue; Finland: white – blue – white.

Roundels

France began the first Aéronautique Militaire = Air Force, in 1909. Roundels were mandated on military planes, starting in 1912. They were based on the blue – white – red of the French national cockade. In addition, aircraft rudders were painted the same colours in vertical stripes, with the blue forwardmost. During World War I, other countries adopted national cockades and used these as roundels on their military aircraft.

Some of the more interesting roundels include Australia, Canada and New Zealand, with the centre red of the Royal Air Force replaced with a kangaroo (Family Macropodidae), sugar maple leaf (Acer saccharum) and kiwi (Apteryx sp.), respectively. In the Nordic countries, Sweden has three yellow crowns displayed on light blue background, with an outer ring of yellow.

Swedish Air Force Roundel

Corporate Roundels

Corporations/ organizations that have made use of roundels in their branding, include: Transport for London, and the London Underground specifically. It was trademarked for the London General Omnibus Company, in 1905, but was first used on the Underground in 1908.

London Underground Roundel.

Use of the BMW roundel required both the circumvention of laws, as well as the creation of myths, to become successful. The Wikipedia article section on BMW’s logo and its slogan – The Ultimate Driving Machine – tells the story.

The Tide trademark is an orange and yellow roundel, sometimes referred to as a bull’s eye. It was designed by architect and industrial designer Donald Deskey (1894 – 1989).

The Tide Roundel, dating from 1946.

The London rock band, The Who, formed in 1964, used Royal Air Force (RAF) roundels on stage. Later, this roundel symbolized British Mod culture, with its emphasis on fashion and Italian scooters.

Sabaton

This weblog post was inspired by the Sabaton music video, The Uprising, about the Warsaw Uprising = powstanie warszawskie (Polish) in the summer of 1944. It was the single largest military effort undertaken by any European resistance movement during World War II. It unsuccessfully attempted to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It involved 63 days of fighting in the summer of 1944, and it was led by the Polish resistance Home Army = Armia Krajowa (Polish). This operation extracted a massive human cost. It is estimated that about 16 000 members of the Polish resistance were killed and about 6 000 badly wounded. In addition, between 150 000 and 200 000 Polish civilians died, mostly from mass executions. This is mentioned in part because the Allies refused to offer military assistance to Poland at this decisive moment in history. In contrast, Poland is offering massive support to Ukraine in the current war, and illegal occupation of Ukraine territory by Russia.

In the Sabaton video there are glimpses of the Polish two-finger salute, as well as of improvised red and white replacement of the cockade, shown on Polish helmets and other military headgear. These are similar to the blue and/ or yellow marking used on Ukrainian military headgear in 2022.

The rogatywka, sometimes translated as peaked cap, is an asymmetrical, peaked, four-pointed cap used by various Polish military formations. Some people see it as forming the basis for the Polish roundel, which is anything but round. Warszawo Walcz = Warsaw fight!

Polish Air Force Roundel.

Notes:

Sabaton = part of a knight’s body armor that covers the foot. The Swedish power metal band Sabaton is noted for their albums about wars and battles. It originated in 1999 in Falun, about 600 km, and 8 hours driving from Cliff Cottage (depending on the specific route). It involves an eastward journey on the E14, across the Norwegian – Swedish border, and then onwards, almost to Östersund, followed by a southern leg on highway 45 to Falun. Falun’s Great Copper Mountain area has been designated a World Heritage Site since 2002.

If anyone should wonder why I take an interest in Warsaw, and Poland more generally, it is because it keeps asserting itself into my life. Historically there is: Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543), Frédéric Chopin (1810 – 1849), Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski (1857 – 1924), Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie (1867 – 1934), Grażyna Bacewicz (1909 – 1969), Henryk Górecki (1933 – 2010), Wayne Gretski (1961 – ), Olga Tokarczuk (1962 – ), Kinga Baranowska (1975 – ) and Agata Zubel (1978 – ). Alasdair spent six months living in Warsaw. One of our closest neighbours is from Poland. One of our friends specializes in relationships with Polish women. My only sister-in-law has Polish origins.

I have previously written about redneck(erchiefs), that have a similar function to cockades.

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World Goth Day #14

On the left, Philip Burne-Jones’s (1861 – 1926) painting, The Vampire (1897), that inspired Rudyard Kipling’s (1865 – 1936) poem, The Vampire (1897), on the right. The painting and the poem were exhibited side by side at tenth summer exhibition at the New Gallery, London in 1897-04. Rudyard Kipling and Philip Burne-Jones were cousins. The poem was also published in the Daily Mail on 1897-04-17, and in the New York Tribune 1897-05-09. Bram Stoker’s (1847 – 1912) Dracula, with numerous vampires, including Dracula himself, was published on 1897-05-26. The original painting was in monochrome. Despite the text (shown above), the painter is Philip, not Kipling’s Uncle Ned, Philip’s father Edward Burne-Jones (1833 – 1898). All works are now in the public domain.

This is the third consecutive year that a weblog post has been published for World Goth Day, potentially celebrated by tens of people, throughout the world! This year it arrives one day early 2022-05-21, with a focus on fashion. The two other weblog posts were: World Goth Day #12 which looked at some of the origins of the day, and #13 with a focus on music. Future efforts: #15 is planned to look at Gothic architecture from the mid-12th century to the 16th century; #16 will look at the historic origins of the Goths in Scandinavia and their dispersal southwords; #17 will examine will look at their relationship with Rome.

Goths as outsiders

More than seventy years of living, and years as a teacher, has taught me that people do not choose to become outsiders. Rather, social forces – outside of their control – largely determine it. They become victims, and the victim is left to deal with the consequences of their victimhood. One way of coping with their situation, is for these victims to visibly display their outsider status. This display takes many forms, but one prominent way is in terms of clothing.

A fashion statement cannot be made alone, it takes place inside a context. That context may be temporal, geographical or cultural, but often involves all three elements.

A. Insider

Haute Couture

Charles Fredrick Worth (1825 – 1895), from Bourne, Lincolnshire, England and his partner Otto Gustaf Bobergh (1821 – 1882), from Bernshammars bruk, Västmanlands county, Sweden, established Worth & Bobergh, in Paris, in 1858. This company is regarded as the first haute couture establishment, with Worth the first fashion designer, and Bobergh the business manager. Some of its innovations included transforming the salon into a meeting point when clients came for consultations and fittings; advanced client selection of colors, fabrics, and other details; replacement of fashion dolls with live models; sewing branded labels into clothes. By the end of Worth’s career, Worth & Bobergh employed 1 200 people and its impact on fashion taste was far-reaching.

Haute couture has a legally protected status, defined by the Chambre de commerce et d’industrie de Paris, an organization started in 1868. Rigorous rules were implemented in 1945, which required: made-to-order design for private clients, including at least one fitting; a workshop (atelier) located in Paris, employing at least fifteen full-time staff members; at least twenty full-time technical people, in at least one workshop (atelier); and the presentation of a collection of at least 50 original designs to the public in January and July of each year, with both day and evening garments.

For those wanting to read more, Wikipedia provides an extensive number of links to both existing and former haute couture fashion houses: Balenciaga, Callot Soeurs, Pierre Cardin, Chanel, André Courrèges, Christian Dior, Mariano Fortuny, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, Jeanne Lanvin, Ted Lapidus, Mainbocher, Hanae Mori, Thierry Mugler, Patou, Paul Poiret, Yves Saint Laurent, Maison Schiaparelli, Emanuel Ungaro and Madeleine Vionnet.

Traditional Crafts

Being an insider is not synonymous with being urban and rich. Sometimes, it can be associated with traditional values in a rural environment. In Norway, the first handicraft schools were established in 1870, becoming mechanisms for promoting Norwegian cultural values.

The Norwegian crafts association = Norges Husflidslag, was founded in 1910. Its purpose was, and still is, to strengthen Norwegian crafts. In 2017, the organization had 24,000 members, 360 local groups, 36 shops that are wholly or partly owned by county/ local groups. It is a member of the Norwegian Cultural Conservation Association. In 2014, the organization was accredited by UNESCO as the third Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with expertise in intangible cultural heritage. As a member of the Study Association for Culture and Tradition, it joins other organizations that work with popular cultural expressions, including folk dance, theater, cultural heritage (including the preservation of the maritime environment) and local history.

After the end of World War II, crafts (and schools to teach them) came into focus as a means of increasing women’s contribution to farm income. The Ministry of Agriculture appointed a committee in 1946 to look more closely at craft training. This resulted in a proposal, to establish (mostly) publicly run handicraft schools in all counties. Courses were adapted to the needs and interests of young women, especially, and the schools offered both half-year and full-year programs of study. In 1955, the handicraft schools were transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Church and Education. In 1966, the Oslo Industrial School for Women = Den Kvindelige Industriskole i Kristiania, established in 1875, became a vocational teacher’s college, and changed its name to the State Teaching College for Crafts = Statens lærerskole i forming . Two other colleges for crafts were also established. These were essential for recruiting teachers for the handicraft schools.

By 1976, the teaching of handicrafts and aesthetics was now incorporated into the upper secondary school system. An introductory course with a focus on drawing, and aesthetics more generally, formed the basis for advanced courses in weaving, sewing and wood and metalworking. A third year course trained people to become activity therapists. While students used to be older, the schools gradually adapted to teaching younger people, most between 16 and 19 years of age.

Starting on 1980-08-20, Patricia, my wife, studied one year of weaving followed by one year of sewing, at such a school in Molde, while I took a half year introductory course, starting in 1981-01 followed by a year of wood and metal working. At the same time, we learned Norwegian. The school had 120 students, some in their late teens, many in their early twenties, but with some older people. I was one of two male students at the school. Attending this school gave me insights into traditional Norwegian cultural values, but also labeled me as an outsider.

This was not my first excursion into textiles, in 1978 Patricia and I both took a spinning course at the Deer Lake Art Centre, in Burnaby, adjacent to New Westminster, British Columbia. Later, I purchased one of the first electric spinning wheels made by Kevin Hansen on a visit to Port Townsend, Washington. Apart from a few minutes of experimentation, it remains unused.

This tuque, along with some mittens no longer in existence, were knit by me while taking the introductory course at the Husflidsskole in Molde, Norway, in 1981. Yes, I had to learn to knit in order to make it. Later in my teaching career, I would knit more complex garments during breaks both at a conventional secondary school, as well as a prison school. Most male teachers were expected to have at least some proficiency in knitting, if only because pregnant teachers often received a baby blanket consisting of squares knit by their colleagues.

Modesty

To gain insights into modest fashions, I started to read Hafsa Lodi (ca. 1988 – ), Modesty: A Fashion Paradox (2020), further described as a work that uncovers the causes, controversies and key players behind the global trend to conceal rather than reveal. Despite my attempt to suspend disbelief, as Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834) advised, and to read the work as the author intended, I found it difficult to understand the author’s perspective.

Her primary consideration is that garments conceal, although the extent of concealment varies. The minimal amount varies “by culture, class, ethnicity and generation” (p. 17) but usually means that the garment(s) cover the knees and shoulders. Some want to extend these to covering ankles, elbows to wrists. So far, so good.

However, the fashion she was advocating was not modest in my interpretation of the word, which would include characteristics such as sustainable, durable, comfortable and moderately priced. Instead, the garments she promotes are prized for their designer label and extravagance. She even uses the term luxury modest wear. They may have concealed some skin, but revealed a pretentious origin in haute couture.

Within her world, these garments may be modest. Dubai, and other countries in the Middle East, have the least economic equality of anywhere in the world. Thus, there are some people who can enjoy a luxurious life, because they subject others to a life of servitude and drudgery. It is also the area of the world where patriarchy excels.

Admittedly, having matured in the 1960s, my sense of modesty is tempered by that eras fashion trends. There are modest, and not so modest, mini-garments. In the debate about the inventor of the miniskirt, I am inclined to accept the judgement of Marit Allen (1941 – 2007), half-Norwegian fashion journalist and costume designer, who credits John Bates = Jean Varon (1938 – ) with its conception, and execution in 1965 in outfits for Diana Rigg (1938 – 2020) for her role as Emma Peel in The Avengers. His work included not just skirts and dresses, but Op-Art mini-coats. I have discussed Rigg and Bates in a previous weblog post. I find most of these garments modest! Both André Courrèges (1923 – 2016) and Mary Quant (1930 – ) have been designated the inventor of the miniskirt, by others. I will acknowledge Courrèges role in promoting/ introducing jeans for women.

While there is an attempt to create a gender divide, especially with respect to the use of trousers, there has been fluidity in the use of garments throughout the millennia. An introduction to insights into this topic, can be found in one Wikipedia article on Trousers as Women’s Clothing. Divided skirts were used in the late-nineteenth century for horse- and bicycle-riding. These were rebranded as culottes in the mid-20th century. These have increasingly replaced skirts in many situations. One of the first being that skirts worn by female medical personnel were incompatible with the wake produced by helicopters.

B. Outsider

In Fear and Clothing: Unbuckling American Style (2015), Cintra Wilson (1967 – ) advises: Your closet is a laboratory in which you may invent astonishingly powerful voodoo. It may be used as a tool to direct yourself toward your own ideal destiny. It’s geomancy—portable feng-shui, right on your body. Style is one of the most remarkably fast, proactive, and gratifying ways to change your mind, change your mood and—as a surprising result—change your circumstances. It is one of the most direct ways of exploiting the Socratic adage “Be as you wish to seem,” or, more slangily, “Fake it till you Make it.”

Most outsiders lack the resources to purchase bespoke/ haute couture clothing, or to make their own traditional clothing. Many are a product of a cycle of poverty, forcing them into unskilled jobs at an early age. Many have also suffered various types of abuse, making participation at school or in the labour market difficult.

Lingerie

In 1913, Yva Richard, transformed himself from Paris photographer, to the proprietor of a lingerie boutique, run either by himself or, more likely, his wife Nativa Richard. Their unique creations became increasingly daring/ avant-garde/ erotic, and by the late 1920s, they had develop a successful international mail-order business, based on a catalogue of photographs taken by Yva, frequently modelled by Nativa. It lasted until 1939. Léon Vidal, a tailor and owner a chain of erotic bookshops, was encouraged by the success of Yva Richards, to open a competing boutique, Diana Slip. It, too, lasted until the start of World War 2. Numerous not safe for work (NSFW) and some more socially acceptable photographs of their creations can be found using a search engine.

Vampire

If there is one element that unites the young goths that I have met at secondary schools and in prison, it is their fascination with vampires. The vamp(ire) has become a symbol of an extreme outsider. The first poems with a vampire in English, was Robert Southey’s (1774 – 1443), Thalaba the Destroyer (1801). This was followed by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 – 1834), Christabel (written 1797 – 1801, published 1816). There are shorter references to this theme in George Gordon Byron (1788 – 1824) in The Giaour (1813). The first modern vampire prose work in English was John William Polidori’s (1795 – 1821), The Vampyre (1819). At this point, the representation of vampires in literature explodes.

The height of vampiremania is reached in 1897. Philip Burne-Jones’s (1861 – 1926) paints, The Vampire (1897). This inspires Rudyard Kipling’s (1865 – 1936) to write his poem, The Vampire (1897). Then Bram Stoker’s (1847 – 1912) Dracula (1897) appears, and the world has never been the same again.

Fast forward to the present and vampires are still with us. On Goodreads, I encountered a list with 1 669 (at the time of writing) best vampire books! At the top of the list is Stephen King’s (1947 – ) second published novel, Salem’s Lot (1975). This work is expected to reappear soon as a film with the same name, directed by Gary Dauberman (ca. 1977 – ). Of course, there are numerous other films and television series that have vampires as an essential plot element.

Black

As a sign of their outsider status, people often opt to dress provocatively. Karl Spracklen and Beverley Spracklen, The Evolution of Goth Culture: The Origins and Deeds of the New Goths (2018) describe this provocation, and fundamental characteristic of Goth fashions in one word – black (Chapter 11: Goth as Fashion Choice). Many of the Goths I met teaching were consumers of Gothic Beauty, from 2000, and/ or Dark Beauty Fashion Magazine, which appeared from about 2010 to 2020. These offered a slightly broader colour pallet.

According to Cintra Wilson in an article You just can’t kill it (2008), this blackness has its origins in the Victorian cult of mourning. Thus Steampunk and related fashions with origins from this time period are embodied into the dress code.

Beyond this darkness there was a fascination with hair, typically dyed. The mohawk represents one of the most admired, if less frequently used, hair styles. It involves a narrow, central strip of upright hair running from the forehead to the nape, with the sides of the head bald. Variations include: the nohawk, a shaved strip from the forehead to the nape of the neck, with hair on either side of that strip; the Eurohawk, where the sides are not shaved, but with shorter hair than on the central strip; and, the fauxhawk, a hairpiece in the form of a mohawk.

Boots

Yet, as a sign of their outsider status, some people often opt to dress protectively. Perhaps, the best display of this is characterized by Doc Martens boots, made at Wollaston in Northamptonshire, England. These boots originated with Klaus Märtens, a doctor in the German army who had injured his ankle towards the end of World War II. Standard-issue army boots were too uncomfortable, so he designed improved boots, using soft leather and air-padded soles made from tires. In partnership with Herbert Funckt in 1947, footwear based on these improvements were made at a German factory, and sold primarily (80%) to older (40+) women. In 1959, British shoe manufacturer R. Griggs Group bought patent rights to manufacture the shoes in Britain. Here they the name to Dr. Martens, slightly re-shaped the heel, added yellow stitching, and trademarked the soles as AirWair. It took until the late 1970s for the brand to become synonymous with youth subcultures, including Goths.

Sewing

In a house filled with books, my estimate is that about 100 of them are related to textiles, in some form or other. Topics include: spinning, weaving, fashion design, pattern making, sewing, knitting and other forms of manipulating yarn. Then there are binders and boxes filled with patterns. Some of these works are older than the residents in the house. One was purchased a week before this comment was written.

I have tried to go through these to find one suitable book that will provide sufficient insight for beginners to learn to sew clothing. This book is by Alison Smith, The Sewing Book: Over 300 Step-By-Step Techniques (2018). It costs about US$ 21 in hardback. This can be followed by her Sew Your Own Wardrobe (2021). It costs about US$30 in hardback. Once basic skills are developed, additional insights can be developed, for example, using Claire Shaeffer, Couture Sewing Techniques (revised edition, 2011). It is about 250 pages in length, shows the history of couture fashion, and is available in both paperback and digital versions for about US$ 17. All prices are at the time of writing.

An electric sewing machine is a necessity for any normal person wanting to make garments. There is no need to purchase the most expensive models. They offer a lot of features that will probably go unused. The most important characteristic is that it has capabilities for making button holes. Our household has a Janome Decor Computer 3050, which costs about US$ 700.

Goth Day

This weblog post was published on 2021-05-21, one day prior to World Goth Day #14.

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Clothing Colour Preferances

This story involves Richard. He tells many stories about colour and clothes, related to himself and near relatives. His grandmother did not appreciate anyone wearing green. Her reason was simple, understandable and emotional. All of her bridesmaids wore green at her wedding, and all died within a year of it. They were all victims of tuberculosis, as was Richard’s aunt, who died in childhood. His grandmother, Jane, escaped the north of England and moved to Canada in 1911, because of this disease. His grandfather had arrived a year earlier. Richard’s mother, Janet, was born in Canada in 1916.

Janet enforced Jane’s unwritten rule. Green was not worn. Richard can’t remember anyone in his family wearing green much before his grandmother’s death in 1972. The one exception was that Richard had acquired a green sweater, knit by his first flame, Joy, in 1966.

In addition, Richard remembers that he was prohibited from wearing black. Black would have been acceptable at funerals, but as a child he was not allowed to attend funerals. All of his shoes were brown, yet his dress trousers were grey. They did not seem to match, but no one else seemed to notice. This mismatch has bothered him for sixty-five years. There was also an over-abundance of powder blue in his childhood wardrobe: mostly shirts, but also sweaters and socks, and one pair of Hush Puppy shoes. He felt strangely content wearing blue shoes. He regarded their purchase as a measured act of rebellion, one that unified a wardrobe consisting of blue and grey. When he outgrew his original Hush Puppies, he was irritated that he could no longer buy blue shoes.

As he grew older, beige and brown were added to his wardrobe. With these he felt that his brown shoes were no longer so out of place.

After he completed secondary school, one of his first acts of clothing defiance was to buy a black outfit: shirt, jeans, socks and shoes. He thinks the under garments were still white. Unfortunately, the quality of these black clothes was not especially good. The shoes soon wore out, and white started to show through the jeans. This taught him that jeans were not the ideal material to project a colour preference. His next clothing adventure was to purchase what he referred to as a jazz shirt. It was black, probably synthetic, but with colourful, large geometrical patterns.

At his wedding to Trixi, he wore a light blue suit, her favourite colour. She wore an off-white gown, with purple trim, suitable for a person entering a second marriage. Afterwards, he acquired an increasing number of clothes, that Trixi made for him. In particular, he remembers the khaki leisure suits that she sewed for their adventure to Europe. Later, she helped him dye white jeans to transform them into pastel coloured jeans: mainly green, blue and yellow. Gradually, the variety and intensity of colours has increased. Through the years, Trixi has knit him innumerable sweaters, socks, tuques and other garments.

Richard’s favourite suit was tailored by Kevin & Howlin, Dublin. It was made almost thirty years ago of Donegal tweed, green with distinctive lines of red. Today, it is not worn often, so it should last another thirty years!

Richard became a late convert to a range of reddish colours, in clothing. If asked for a rational explanation, he would probably resort to mentioning something about crimson representing tests and sacrifice. He would also suggest that red is the colour of blood, a product necessary for animal life.

In his early seventies, Richard discovered All Birds, shoes that were available in a wide variety of colours. This was through the help of his daughter, Sharon, who had suggested this brand, and a few other colourful brands. He bought pink All Birds, but referred to them as salmon coloured to carnivores, or peach to vegetarians/ vegans, to make the colour more socially acceptable. He is awaiting another pair to arrive, in a deeper red.

As he aged, Richard also extended his colour preference more towards purple. He thinks of the purple trim on his bride’s wedding gown, and suspects that this too has had an influence on colour choice. Now, his favourite reds include: carmine, a saturated red, with wavelengths longer than 600 nm, close to the extreme spectral red; crimson, another deep red colour that combines some blue/ violet, so that it approaches purple; madder, named for a dye produced from plants of the genus Rubia; He would not object to any one referring to some of these colours as maroon, but tries to avoid its French chestnut origins, that emphasize the muddiness of brown.

Richard takes an interest in sports. Yet, he is not interested in playing any games, or even in being a spectator. Rather, he is interested in the symbolism, used by teams: names, logos, flags, uniforms, souvenirs and effects. In terms of soccer/ football, Richard was an enthusiastic supporter of Canada’s women’s soccer team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, held in 2021. Canada’s final game was held just hours before this post was published. In a conversation with his nephew, Brian, Richard commented on the deep red, with white, uniform of the Canadian team, that personify his current personal taste in clothing. He told Brian, “I never watch sports, because I get too emotional when the wrong team scores.” Brian replied, “I understand. It’s stressful. It’s more enjoyable sometimes when you don’t care as much.” After the game ended, giving Canada a gold medal, Brian commented, “This is one of the most entertaining/stressful games I’ve ever seen. Stephanie Labbé is a certified legend.”

Reflecting on football/ soccer in Cascadia, Richard is uncertain if he could ever be a Vancouver Southsider, a supporter of the Whitecaps, who are encouraged to wear white and/or a darkish blue to differentiate them from Seattle Sounders FC Alliance supporters, who could be encouraging people to wear lighter blues and/or lighter greens. The distinction between light and dark is important because arch rival, Portland Timbers Army use a darker green, with yellow as a contrasting colour. Rose City Riveters, and other supporters of the Portland Thorns, women’s soccer team, may want to wear red. Richard, in fact, is such a supporter. He chose the Thorns as his team based on his colour preferences. , rather than starting with a team, and then wearing their colours.

Today, Richard wears a variety of colours, including blue and even beige, but seldom grey. Yet, every time he puts on something green, he thinks of his grandmother, her loss and the ravaging of tuberculosis. He is very happy that the world has vaccines to prevent disease. With good friends who have suffered their entire lives from the effects of polio, Richard is a pro-vaxer, seeing vaccinations as a cheap and effective means of preventing misery in the world, especially now in these Covid-19 times. He is impressed at the speed with which vaccines have been developed to reduce deaths during the current pandemic.

Colour in Context

Does biology have much to say about colour preferences? While there are two genders that often show some distinctive/ differentiated colour preferences, this may be attributed more to socialization than to biology. At a more general level, people who wear a particular colour influence other people. If one identifies in some physical way (age, gender, eye/ skin/ hair colour, body size) with someone else, and that person wears particular colours, these will in some limited way become acceptable. If one differentiates oneself from that person, these colours will in some limited way become less acceptable. Fertility may play a role in encouraging some people to select colours that signal this, or give them higher visibility, although not necessarily in the form of high-vis vests.

There are also temporal issues. People are impacted by seasons and the time of day. Sometimes, even the day of the week may influence colour choice. These may be related to thermal considerations. It may be prudent to wear black, and darker colours, in a cold, snowy landscape, or white, and lighter colours, during periods of extreme heat.

Social markers are commonly used to identify a person as belonging to a particular group, for lack of a better word. Social class, education, occupation, sports and cultural interests and dozens of other affiliations may influence colour choices at particular times. Thus, the high-vis vest, previously mentioned, may be important in an occupational context. Pink is often cited as an inappropriate colour in a business context. Janet, Richard’s mother, had bought him a blue school sweater with white stripes, possibly because she liked that colour combination the best. What she seemed to have missed was that the school Richard attended had black and orange as its school colours.

In 2018, Quartz had an article about black as a fashion’s favourite shade. This title is both technically and politically correct, in that black is not a colour, but its absence. However, black has been a significant factor in the design and production of clothes.

Closing Comments on Colour and Clothing

If this weblog post has any purpose, it is to encourage people to wear colours that make them happy!

One example of a colour Richard appreciates could be described technically in any of three ways, as Hex: #7A0019; as RGB: (122,0,25); or as CMYK:(0,27,76,0). A colour picker is a tool that could help people visualize colours. On the same site, other tools are shown on the left. Color RBG, for example, allows one to input RGB colour codes, and see the result. It should be pointed out that buying fabric by colour code is a risk sport.

NRK = The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, featured a story about Hanna Breivik, from Steinkjer. Now, in 2021, she is 28, but has had serious problems with glaucoma since her birth. In addition, she has synesthesia. For most of her life she tried to remain invisible by wearing grey clothing. About five years ago, she went in a totally opposite and more colourful direction. She is now referred to as the rainbow woman.

There are a lot of questions that can be asked, regarding clothing colour and age. Do colour preferences shift/ transition with age? If they do, Why? If it is associated with other tastes and preferences, Why do tastes change? That, in turn begs the question, Why do colour tastes/ preferences emerge in the first place? How much does an individual’s childhood, culture and the imposition of arbitrary rules have to do with it? Do identical twins raised in divergent environments, develop the same colour preferences? What about non-identical twins of the same or different genders?

Note: all names in this weblog post have been changed to protect privacy.

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Stylists

The new Nuno R1 autonomous delivery vehicle has arrived, and if all goes well, it will soon be making grocery deliveries from Kroger to a house near you. Not near me, unfortunately, as the distance to my closest Kroger store is measured in thousands of kilometers.

Nuro R1 Autonomous Delivery Vehicle (Photo: Nuro, 2018)

While the Nuro may have OK styling, its design is not great. Take the hinged (gull-wing?) door openings. They are much wider and thus heavier than necessary to provide full access to the storage areas. There is no reason for these doors to open as widely as the do. The vehicle rakes, unnecessarily, front and back. Why isn’t this area being used to house navigational equipment, instead of the centre of the vehicle, which could be designed to include more storage space?

In contrast, here is my own attempt at a delivery vehicle design that does address some of these issues, although the purpose of this vehicle is transport of building materials, rather than groceries. Even the colour is an improvement on dull beige-brown.

Autonomous delivery vehicle for construction materials, with vehicular control mechanisms at body ends. Battery pack is located under floor.

There are too many stylists at work, masquerading as designers. In the 1950s,  stylists knew they were stylists.

1957 Ford Fairlane 500 Club Hardtop at weekly Garden Grove, California car show 2004-05-14. (Photo: Morven CC-BY-SA-3.0)

Nineteen Fifty Seven represented a high point for American car styling, but not for car design. This is seen particularly in low-end brands, such as Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth. In contrast,  facelifted 1958 models are regarded with less esteem, although not quite as low as the 1959 models.

The 1957 Fords were all about styling, one that dramatically changed passenger car appearance the most since 1949. There were 20 different models, on two separate wheelbases. Body styles included two- and four-door sedans, hardtops, wagons, a convertible, a retractable hardtop and a sedan/pickup. These were all available in more colors and two-tone combinations than ever before. There were six engine options, five of them V-8s.

The challenge with making so many different products is that there is no place for design. I will not be buying a 1957 Ford, or any other heritage car. They are just too impractical – too low, too long, too extreme in styling language.

There is a similar situation in the world of fashion. Fortunately, in my world many of my outer clothes, especially shirts and socks, are bespoke. Material is selected specifically for each garment, sleeve length is cut perfectly, each shirt has two pockets, buttons are placed where I want them. Not every man, has a wife who has such abilities and interests. Without being too disparaging, I would say that I have one shirt design, that is then styled to meet specific requirements in each garment.

There may be a few more variations on designs for chinos and jeans, but most of these differ only in terms of their styling. I have learned to live with a particular off the rack style of chinos. They come in more or less standard design, with components that can be traced back to the 19th century. The original watch pocket has been repurposed many times. A Levi-Straus blog comments about many of these same components in jeans:   http://www.levistrauss.com/unzipped-blog/2014/04/17/those-oft-forgotten-pant-parts/

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Protective Gloves

While everyone knows that a glove is a garment covering the whole hand, not everyone is familiar with gloves as Personal Protective Equipment. There are 3 categories of gloves specifying levels of risk. Category 1 is for simple gloves, for minimal risks only. Cleaning and gardening gloves are often found here. Category 2 is for intermediate risks, those that are neither minimal nor deadly/ irreversible. This includes gloves offering good puncture and abrasion performance. Category 3 is for irreversible or deadly risks, and gloves in this category must be designed to protect against the highest levels of risk.

Work gloves for woodworking are classified in category 2. Some of the functions that that can be important are: protection against cold, protection against cuts, and water protection – either water resistant or waterproof. Durability and versatility are also important considerations. In addition, gloves should fit! Poor fit can reduce performance and/or protection, and increase the risk of chafing and injury.

The Guide 5002 glove for outdoor workers in fields as divergent as construction and kindergartens.

Glove size is dependent on hand width and length. To find circumference, wrap a measuring tape around dominant hand (without thumb) just below knuckles, and make a fist. To find length measure from the bottom edge of the palm to the tip of the middle finger. Despite standards, measurements don’t always help.

Personally, I have a circumference of 275 mm (EU-10), but a length of 210 mm (EU-11). However, after spending an hour at a local store selling PPE and attempting to try on several pairs, the results were: Size 10 was hopeless; size 11 felt tight; I ended up with a size 12, as shown in the photo below.

These red gloves, suitable for woodworking, were only available in one colour combination red and black. They were the only work gloves sold by the shop in size 12.

 


In Europe, there are a number of standards (EN = European Norm) for gloves. EN 420 provides general specifications, EN 388 defines levels of protection against mechanical risks (abrasion / cut / tear / puncture) and electronic discharge, while EN 511 addresses cold and wet issues. Other standards extend requirements for special uses, such as welding EN 12477.

EN 420 specifies some general requirements for protective gloves. For example, it requires that the gloves themselves should not impose a risk or cause injury; that their pH be as close as possible to neutral. It also addresses allergy issues. For example, chromium content is limited to a maximum of 3 mg/kg (chrome VI). It also specifies hand size requirements.

1. Resistance to abrasion

Based on the number of cycles required to abrade through the sample glove (abrasion by sandpaper under a stipulated pressure). Performance level 1 to 4, depending on how many revolutions are required to make a hole in the material. The higher the number, the better the glove. See table below.

2 Blade cut resistance

Based on the number of cycles required to cut through the sample at a constant speed. Performance level 1 to 4.

3 Tear resistance

Based on the amount of force required to tear the sample.
Performance level 1 to 4.

4 Puncture resistance

Working with electronic components can require that gloves be used to reduce the risk of electrostatic discharge. A pictogram will indicate if gloves have passed the relevant test.

EN 511 measures how the glove’s material leads cold (first digit, convective cold with performance level 0-4 where a higher number is better ), as well as its the material’s insulating capacity, with contact (second digit, contact cold with performance level 0-4). A third digit shows if water penetrates the glove after 30 minutes.

Many glove manufacturers have detailed information about their products, and protection standards. This is true of Australian Ansell Limited and the Swedish, Skydda Protecting People Europe AB, which markets products under the name Guide.

Living in Norway, I try to support Scandinavian companies.  Skydde PPE has its own YouTube channel. Most videos on the channel are in Swedish, unfortunately: http://guidegloves.com/en/guide/film.html At least two of their videos are made in Bergen to emphasize gloves that protect against wet and cold (in a kindergarden) in addition to mechanical injury (carpentry). Here the spoken Bergen dialect is texted into Swedish.

 

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Workshop Tools: Gloves

Take a close look at the following photo, and you will see the hands of an idiot who was not following safety procedures. He was not wearing gloves.  Yes, he can find extenuating circumstances to explain away both incidents. The injuries are minor. That is not the point. Both incidents could have been avoided if gloves had been used.

Unnecessary injuries caused by not wearing gloves.

People who work with sharp tools should wear gloves. It should be part of the kit!

A glove, part of the safety equipment every woodworker should learn to wear.

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Redneck(erchief)

In my own unique way, I am attempting to rehabilitate the term “redneck”. On Tuesday, 2018-04-17, my wife, Patricia, made me a red bandanna. She also made herself a blue headscarf. These do not indicate political differences between us, but rather personal colour preferences.

Because the red cotton material is heavy, and identical to that used on my labcoat, it was difficult to knot. Thus, rather than tying it, I  constructed a Turk’s Head woggle that was ready on Saturday, 2018-04-21. It is made out of 4mm white parachute cord.

Redneck(erchief) with Turk’s Head woggle aka slide.

Redneck History

One of the earliest recorded uses of Redneck dates from the 1890’s. It refers to “poorer inhabitants of the rural districts…men who work in the field, as a matter of course, generally have their skin burned red by the sun, and especially is this true of the back of their necks”.

​In 1921, the term became synonymous with armed insurrection against the state, as members of the United Mine Workers of America tied red bandannas around their necks during the Battle of Blair Mountain, a two week long armed multi-racial labor uprising in the coalfields of West Virginia. This has been noted in an earlier blog post.

​From the mid-1950s, and forward to today, the term has become increasingly demeaning. This is one way in which an economic elite can “divide and conquer”. They not only dehumanize the working class poor, they try to create ethnic and racial divides. “Redneck” is part of a trilogy of degrading names to describe rural poor, the others being  “white trash” and “hillbilly”.

In much the same way that the term “queer” was rehabilitated by homosexuals, “redneck” is meeting its own renaissance. Redneck Revolt was founded in 2016 as an armed, anti-racist, anti-fascist community. Personally, I won’t be joining this revolt, if only for two reasons. First, the term “anti-” creates unnecessary divisions; second, my commitment to pacifism means that I won’t be carrying a weapon.

 

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The first rule of working from home: never wear pyjamas

Today’s Guardian offers insight into what to wear when working from home. Anything but pyjamas, appears to be the answer, but you can read the article itself here: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/apr/11/rules-working-from-home-never-wear-pyjamas

This article had such emotional appeal to me, that I felt compelled to offer the following comment:

I have a 20m (60 foot) commute from the house to the workshop (converted garage). This requires that I dress. A few months ago I bought new glasses, with red frames! Now, almost my entire work wardrobe is red from a toque (winter) or baseball cap (summer) down. The last item I put on is my lab-coat complete with embroidered name tag. It is a bit difficult to mention this in front of a bunch of fashionistas, such as yourselves, but I have a couple of areas where colour-coordination has failed me. My safety-shoes are dark blue. Fortunately, they are so old and worn that the metal shows through. The same also applies to my hearing protection which is signal yellow. Yes, I know that this is a bit off topic, but ask forgiveness for mentioning that the workshop itself is OSB, painted white. Most of the stationary machines are signal blue, while more portable machines are signal red. My 60 cm x 40 cm desk is signal yellow.