Living Through Clothing
“Living Through Clothing” is in reference to the idea that all humans end up putting their own personal touch on the clothing they wear, as well as the idea that the clothing we put on our own bodies immediately becomes personal for us whether we have our own personal touches or stories on it or not. The direction of this theme can go many different ways, and thinking in that direction is definitely encouraged. I will be representing this idea through various pieces that involve personal customization, trends for young people from certain decades, hand made pieces, personal art on pieces, and more. The most important thing to draw from this topic is the awareness that clothing can be something that further accentuates our individuality, our story, and our personal timeline. People either make customized clothing or used clothing that becomes sentimental for all ranges of events and situations, from good to bad and everything in between.
on display
Personalized clothing has always been a trend, and as means of customizing become more accessible and affordable, there will be a growing number of examples of very personalized clothing. One of my favorite aspects of personal clothing is that if you do not know the direct history of a piece, it becomes something that is up for interpretation, within whatever topic the piece may be in. The example on display is a simple quarter sleeve t-shirt from the 1970’s that reads: “36 IS BEAUTIFUL”, with the name “Barbara Nahas” written on the back. Personally, I interpreted this piece as a shirt worn by Barbara when she was possibly at school or some event where the players/ participants are wearing numbers. Perhaps Barbara had a boyfriend, and he played a sport like football and wore the number 32? Trying to connect pictures on intimate little pieces like this show the personal factors of clothing, even if when compared to the rest of the world that moment or piece is insignificant.
Senior chords, skirts, vests, and jackets were a tradition that originated from the state of Indiana in the early 1900s. The corduroy material was liked by the students at Indiana and began wearing it as a fashion statement meant for only seniors about to go into the real world. In the beginning, the designs were a lot more plain and maybe had a couple signatures from other seniors. But by the 1950’s and 1960’s, “Senior Chords” were a full blown trend with even “expert” artists offering to blast chords with art. The pair on display here was found at a donation center in Sacramento, and belonged to a student from Springfield College, Massachusetts. The pair dates back to about the 1950’s to the 1960’s, and from the drawings and words written we can tell that the student was involved in an opera workshop, the golf team, ping pong, orchestra, and the psych club. The trend of senior chords is a fantastic example of the personalization of clothing for individuals.
additional pieces
Outside of drawing, painting, and the usual printing on clothing, another way of customization and personalization was embroidery, and for a time, chain stitching was the way of doing things. In Western culture it began to get popularized in the early 1900’s to add detail/customization to pieces or to differentiate work clothes from “fancy” clothes. This sweatshirt features the original owner’s name, Candy, chain stitched on the front, as well as her school or team, the Arcencielles, chain stitched on the back.
This piece is an example of finding something where the story is incomplete because the original owner is unknown, but still having something interesting or thought provoking about the shirt and knowing there is at least something behind it. With a blank front, and the back reading “LOST BALLET”, perhaps the owner lost a bet to their competitors in a ballet? Maybe it was a piece for a play? There is no way for us to know.
Knitwear was/ is another strong example of personalized clothing, because of the handmade and time intensive nature of it. When fast fashion was not as present, and people still had to put effort into craft durable clothing, it was very popular for people to know how to knit and at base level make simple garments like socks and beanies. This 1940’s cowichan jacket is an amazing example of knitwear made by someone very skilled with their hands. The amount of detail and precision in each image is something to commend the original maker for.
A t-shirt has been the canvas for so many different people, organizations, purposes, and uses. Perhaps one of the most literal representations of a t-shirt as a canvas is one that was hand-painted and clearly crafted with intention. This t-shirt features an immaculate image and the mantra: “Face the DAY”. The back reads nice and subtle in the corner “NO DEPOSIT NO RETURN”, whether that is to continue the message on the front, or the artists signature, or something else, little can be found about the piece in general. However the artistry is undeniable.