Tuesday, July 21, 2009

♥ a sweet tooth does not always need the richest cake..

...sometimes cookies and a glass of milk will do.
rod mckuen





spoke correctly when she pronounced,
"women dress alike all over the world:
they dress to be annoying to other women."

it is this assertion alone that justifies my awful tendency to
mutter profanities under my breath whenever i spot a woman
wearing a certain bag, a shoe, a pair of sunglasses, a dress, a ring,
that i happen to be lusting over at that moment–
(or maybe didn't even know i needed )
not because this nameless girl is such a bad person,
but because i want whatever she's got
and even more.so, now that i have seen
whatever it is
in person.

trust me, i would love to believe that my boyfriend
would really care about or notice the difference between
an authentic chanel 2.55 and the paper chanel bag (shown above)
but the only thing that matters to him in regard to the bag i wear
is whether or not i can fit all of his stuff in it.

so, why is it we have such a proclivity to pine for
particular material objects that others possess?
and why do we invest these possessions with so much
social power that they carry real weight in measuring
whether or not we are worthwhile human beings?

according to professor joanne finklestein
in her fabulous article, chic theory,

"to be fashionable involves having a specific knowledge of the value of goods.
it is not sufficient to desire goods because of their utility.
fashion goods have more symbolic and cultural value than use value."

which is precisely why in this brand infused,
consumer. based society,
women will not settle for anything less
than the real double T tory birch gold medallion
on our ballet flats,
the true symbols and monograms on our ridiculously
overpriced goyard bags,
the inscribed hardware on our gucci sunglasses,

and why these oonag o'hagen tote bags,
which only hint at the kind of bag
you could be carrying
are so freaking necessary.




as finklestein's article so aptly puts it,
labels are what we use to navigate our way through vast
and boundless oceans of consumer spoils.
it is the brands and labels we choose to wear
that stand for who we are and give us an identity
without having to pronounce it.
and these fashions which provide us with scripts and cues for
occupying and understanding our place in the world
and where we belong.



and while most of us do not belong in a world
where owning a real chanel is feasible
(especially in these economic times)
it is important to know that you can fake it
(like in this DIY chanel shirt above)
until you make it.

2 ♥ love notes.:

  1. have i mentioned how much i love your posts? love them! ha. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. what a great idea! a bag with an even nicer bag pictured on the front!

    ReplyDelete

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