Personal Synopsis
“Personal Synopsis” is about my own story as well as my family history shown through clothing. I am hoping that one of the most effective ways to prove the validity of my thesis was to use myself as an example. Being someone that pays close attention to clothing, and especially the archival aspect of vintage clothing for the past four years, I have come across a number of pieces that address topics or events that are near and dear to my heart and to my family's history. Throughout this section of work, there will be references to immigration, issues in North Korea, some Americana, the LA Riots, and the city that I grew up in: Long Beach, Ca. The two pictures above are of my grandparents, my dad, and his siblings; and my grandfather in the liquor store my family used to run growing up in South Central Los Angeles.
on display
Both of my parents as well as their parents are immigrants from Korea. The conflicts that happened from the 50s to the 70’s, as well as the hardships already being suffered beforehand displaced many people in Korea, including my parents and grandparents. While they were thankfully able to somewhat safely emigrate from Korea into the states, many were forced to live under a new way of life in the late 40’s when the Soviet Union gained control of North Korea. Even to this day, the people in North Korea are subject to an extremely unreasonable and corrupt government, with one of their worst events to date being the North Korea Famine, otherwise known as the March of Suffering. The t-shirt on display, from the mid 90’s, is a rare example of a t-shirt made in America addressing the famine at the time that the famine was happening. Documentation of the famine was extremely hard to come across because of how off the grid North Korea was as a country. Throughout the ordeal the government lied multiple times to the rest of the world, as well as made many of the events unfolding the country unclear.
The Levis brand has a rich history in Americana, and it all started with their work pants made for miners in the 1850’s during the gold rush. As the brand grew in popularity, Levis made steady adjustments to their signature pants, some of the most notable changes being the switch from canvas to denim and the introduction of “redlines” on the selvedge lining. From the early 1900s to present day, Levis has cemented itself as the number one denim pant brand in the world, with a worldwide presence built off of their reliability and quality. Throughout the decades, the denim pants, specifically the Levis 501 pant, has become a symbol of the American dream, hard work, and even several fashion statements. To me, Levis 501s are symbolic of honest, hard work and a familiar/ relatable lifestyle. I have never been someone who wants to stand out, and I also have always been someone who would rather let my work speak for me than try to blow up phony work. I think a pair of plain, blue jeans best represents this simple and honest approach to life, and this pair of 1970’s Levis 501 Redlines are a pair that I have been beating up and working in for the past five years, which has been the duration of my vintage career so far.
additional pieces
This t-shirt, featuring Malcolm X and one of his famous mantras: “by any means necessary” is a very important piece to me because it bridges history between my family as well as my love for vintage, specifically vintage’s relevance in history. My dad’s side of the family immigrated into the Nickerson Garden Projects in Watts, and they made their living through a liquor store where they worked collectively as a family. When the LA riots happened in the 90’s my family's liquor store got burned down on the 3rd night of looting, and that event has left a large impact on our family today. This t-shirt is important to me because there is a very short recording of a rooftop korean (Term for the korean-americans in Los Angeles that took arms to defend their businesses from the looting, because the police would not respond to their area), wearing this exact t-shirt, holding a gun in front of his store. I had seen the clip many times because of the school projects I did on the riots as a kid, and once I got into vintage I realized how badly I needed the shirt when I recognized it again around 2020. It took me 3 years to find one in good condition, and is something that I hold as very valuable to me, maybe not because of how others value the shirt but because of my family's history. (Refer to the third picture from the top to see this shirt being worn during the LA riots).
Long Beach Jordan is a highschool in the city of Long Beach that I have a lot of school memories as well as other small ties too. This jacket is a 50’s or 60’s era varsity jacket from Jordan, and is very cool to me for multiple reasons. The first being that I collect things that have to do with Long Beach, and this jacket is associated with a school that I have played sports against many times, that my mother used to work at, and that my highschool basketball coach also used to attend. Aside from the personal connection, this is a great example of a varsity jacket, with many personalized patches and name featured on the front. Long Beach Jordan is a school in a rough area and with a history of gang violence among other problems, the back of the jacket reading: “The Road to Success is Hard and Cold” is a statement that I feel is reflective of the reality for most of the students at Jordan, and that grow up in that part of Long Beach in general.