Thursday, April 15, 2010

YSL & Le Smoking

by Ariane Ankacrona

YSL with his muses. Betty Catroux on the right and Loulou de la Falaise on the left.

The name Yves Saint Laurent conjures up both a highly successful star brand and an incredibly talented designer with a powerful social presence. It was his talent that led him to success at an early age but his later glamorous life and beautiful entourage that helped shape the image of the brand. Saint Laurent had an acute awareness of the atmosphere and desires of the time he was designing in and this gave him his elevated and successful position in the fashion world. Although his designs instantly became the fashion of the day, Saint Laurent himself was more interested in the lasting style of his creations.

Iconic 1975 photo of Le Smoking shot by Helmut Newton

Testament to this fact is the re-occurring appearances and interpretations of many of his original designs throughout the last fifty years; his female tuxedo, �le smoking� is one of his most powerful creations. The 1960s was the decade in which Saint Laurent really flourished. This time period coupled with his endless talent and glittering social circle enabled Saint Laurent to become one of the most powerful and influential designers in the world.

YSL's last show, 2002 at Centre Pompidou. Final bow taken with models old and new, all in Le Smoking.

Conflicting Hegemony

by Sam Shaw

by Tommy Ton of Jakandjil.com

The concept of androgynous fashion has been largely ignored, marginalized, and criticized over the past two centuries. While most contemporary theorists suppose that the idea of androgynous dressing is an idealist concept at best, history shows that androgynous fashion is neither a new concept, nor an unexpressed contemporary aesthetic. In current French fashion, androgynous fashions are becoming increasingly relevant, as designers such as John Galliano, Stephano Pilati, and Jean Paul Gaultier present androgynous-leaning styles. Furthermore, androgyny is more and more evident in the streets of Paris, as both men and women adopt gender-neutral garb.


The connection between androgynous style and the masculine hegemony is particularly interesting when considered in the context of contemporary French �high� fashion and Parisian street style. The bilateral occurrence of an androgynous trend indicates the presence of societal reflection on conceptions of gender, sexuality,
and the male hegemony. In the twenty-first century, men�s and women�s fashions have become nearly interchangeable, leading one to question if, after centuries of sexualized clothing, we have arrived at a period of de-sexualization, as evidenced by a new form of androgynous dressing.




The Horse: A power symbol in the French fashion industry

by Isabella E. Isbiroglu

�For a long time, moreover, the status of the horse stimulated strong feelings because it endorsed the identity of socially dominant groups and symbolized wealth and power, and also owing to the horse�s place at the heart of rituals and social differentation. All this made it the focus of interests both intellectual and affective, both passionate and partison.� (Roche, p. 2)

Hermes flagship, Paris

Andrew Roche explains in his quote the horse�s role in French society. He believes this figure symbolizes wealth in dominant groups. The Horse has been a part of French history for centuries and has remained to be a significant code in French culture that can be seen in the French fashion industry through design and symbols today.

Tom Roche explains that there are three main reasons as to why the horse has been significant in France. He states,
First, there was the need throughout society for the performance of numerous horse-related services; second, there was the pleasure produced by activities such as hunting, dressage, the schooling of horses and (slightly later) horse racing; and thing, there was the way that power was express in war.

Roche�s main goal of the article is to explain the horse�s relationship with France between the 16th and 19th century. Through this quote he points out that the horse has had many purposes in French culture including transportation, leisure, and war. He believes that understanding the relationship between horse and man helps us understand the world of social order through our own understanding of materialism.


The horse has had many functions in French culture such as hunting, dressage, the schooling of horses, horse racing, use in war, and for transportation (Roche). Horse racing is a momentous part of French culture. One region of France, Chantilly, is sometimes referred to as the �Capital of the Horse�, or at least according to journalist Jade Dalleau.

Horse competitions, hunting and horse racing have always considered to be prestigious sports. Why? Because these sports are expensive. Riding gear, horses and housing horses will cost a handsome sum of money. So it is only natural that the participants and spectators would attend and participate in these events in style. In many cases only the elite take part in these events, so they dress the part and use only the nicest of equipment.

Hermes and Gucci both started out as companies focused on horse equipment.Both companies branched out into the fashion industry expanding their luxury image. Even though they are mostly recognized today as luxury brands for apparel, they still have their image of traditional equestrian heritage intact. Both companies have sponsored horse shows and Hermes also still to this day sells horse gear.

Hermes horse gear

Any sport or occasion involving the horse usually has a certain dress code. Usually a rider of a horse wears riding boots, tight pants with chaps, a crop in hand, on occasion a quilted jacket, and a helmet. I should know because I used to ride horses myself. Due to France�s strong powerful and prestigious relationship with the horse, it is no surprise that the horse became a part of French fashion. Equestrian style is associated with aristocracy and wealth. The horse being the face of the equestrian world, along with its own attire (the bit, the saddle, etc), speaks to its audience.

Consumers want to feel like they are part of this elitist class, so naturally attire styled after the equestrian style or merchandise with a horse on it, makes them feel that much closer to that particular class. An example of this can be seen through John Galliano, the designer of Christian Dior. Galliano not only designed equestrian inspired pieces for his Spring 2010 couture show, but in his most recent Fall 2010 Ready to Wear show as well. Galliano took elements from the dress code associated with the horse rider and combined it with his own personal modern designs to create two beautiful collections. Models came out wearing side saddle skirts with crops in their hands in the Spring couture show. In addition, the Fall ready to wear show presented woman dressed in thigh boots, equestrian inspired capes, baker boy caps and blanket coats. (Mower)

Equestrian inspired Dior, S 2010

The horse itself is represented in numerous places. A horse and rider is the symbol for the brand Longchamp. Longchamp is actually a horse race track in France and has been called the �flagship� racecourse. In addition, we can see the horse on many of Hermes� products like its ashtrays, bracelets and scarves. Hermes uses its history with the horse as a its main symbol because of the meaning behind this symbol. The horse to Hermes is tradition, luxury and ultimately power. It holds the traditional expensive ideals that horse riders and luxury consumers share.

Through examining the French labels Hermes, Longchamp, Dior and Gucci (French owned) it is evident that the horse is a symbol represented in French fashion. France�s history with the horse has been significant on its culture ranging from sports to leisure to war. Even in some cases, designer houses such as Hermes and Gucci, started out as caterers so the horse rider. The bridge between fashion and the horse is a strong relationship embodied through such brands and the representation of the horse they still carry with in their fashion brands. The horse is a dominant creature, assisting the French from transportation to fashion.


Eco Fashion in Europe

by Elizabeth Barthelmes

Kami Organic blouse and skirt, made with organic cotton and low-impact dyes. Kami, formerly operated under LVMH, became independent in 2008 to produce this organics under the design leadership J�r�me L'Huillier, who has worked with labels such as Givenchy, Pierre Balmain, Lapidus and Junko Shimada (KAMI Organic)


In the past decade, a subculture of eco-fashion designers has emerged, who are driven to recreated the standards of the fashion world, but evolving their designs and practices so that they are sustainable. In the current culture of fast fashion and accessible luxury, eco-fashion designers are challenged to work not only upon redefining the industries production processes, but educating the consumer on product�s impacts, as well as maintaining price points, style, and comfort that satisfies their customer�s desires.
These efforts have shaped the development of eco-brands and stores within Paris, and throughout the world, slowly revolutionizing the preexisting mindset and establishing legislation to secure these ethics. While the existing seat of power in the fashion industry is comprised of only a select few, their decisions and impact are global, with its textile manufacturing accounting for �10% of the world�s productive energies�, just behind food (Oakes 1). With the introduction of �eco-labeling�, for clothing generated under specific low-impact criteria, the consumer will be able to more effectively utilize their purchasing power to shift the paradigms of the existing fashion structure. Already eco-fashion is stepping into the mainstream, but it will only establish itself within the coming years through effectively combining and utilizing power, within images and terms through media, the consumer�s choice, government and celebrity endorsement, and of resources of environmental organizations.


Emma Watson�s line from PeopleTree, a progressive UK sustainable and fair-trade fashion brand, demonstrates both Eco-Fashions utilization of celebrity power and the need to explain the concept of eco-fashion to the mainstream consumer.

Eco-Labels certify that the labeled product has followed a specific and environmentally conscious criteria within its material and production. Top: Certification seals of Made-By (UK NGO), and the Global Organic Textile Standard (NGO developed by US, UK, Japan, France). Bottom: H&M organic clothing label and the EU-flower green certification for over 3,000 products (Governments of European Union).


Princess for a Day: The Power of the Wedding Gown

by Samantha Goodman

Figure 1: Henry Roth, Style No: 31655772. Photograph. Kleinfeld Bridal. Web. 13 Apr. 2010.

�Fashion, a naturally ambitious princess, tried to dethrone Usage and turn his kingdom upside down,� so wrote Antoine de la Roque in 1731 after seeing a ballet of twelve vignettes entitled �L�Empire de la mode� (Benhamou, 35). While the summary was certainly pertinent to the ballet, it can still be applicable today when regarding the wedding dress and the spectacle of the wedding, as the wedding gown, an element of fashion, usurps the necessity of usage as an expensive item that is only worn once. Today�s wedding gown, or bridal couture as top designers such as Vera Wang refer to it, is an example of eighteenth century finery still in use for the representations of extravagance and hierarchy it possesses. Though the large skirt and small bodice of the traditional gown might not be favored by all women, the idea of the gown still seems to hold an element of courtly power only attainable to the bride, playing the role of queen for a day. Where does this power come from? Why is it attributed to a dress that is only worn once in a woman�s life? And why does there appear to be an almost mythical reverence embodied in the wedding gown? To answer these questions, one must look to the past in an examination of the haute couture of the eighteenth century, specifically in the court of Marie Antoinette, as well as observe how deeply the Queen�s style has or has not influenced the bridal couture of today. A look at the modern wedding ceremony and reception is also necessary in understanding the themes of courtly power that are still present, even if only for a day.

Figure 2: Example of gowns at Cymbeline, Paris. Personal photograph by author. 2010.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Vogue Paris March 2010

by Katherine Hom

Cover by Mert & Marcus from "L'Allure, pas la guerre"

Power is indicated and negotiated in all aspects of Vogue, from its place in the fashion world, down to the images that are displayed in it. Specifically I looked at the editorial of the March edition of French Vogue.

The first of the series is call "L'allure, pas la guerre" translating to "The look, not the war." It was photographed by Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott. The two were both born in 1971 and came together in 1994 and started doing fashion photography. They're known for spending a lot of time on make-up and hairstyling and this kind of scene with the model against a neutral background in common in their work. They have done 7 covers including this issue's for French Vogue. The shoot was styled by Carine Roitfeld, who has been the editor in chief of French Vogue since 2001. Before finding her place at Vogue she worked as a model, writer and stylist for French Elle, as well as freelancing.


The next series is called "Commando," above. The photographer here is David Sims, a British fashion photographer. He won the Young Fashion Photographer of the Year Award at the Festival de la Mode in France in both 1996 and 1994. He has done 9 covers for Paris Vogue since 2002. The stylist/director is Emmanuelle Alt who has been the head fashion editor of Vogue Paris since 2000.

"Lady Cops" was photograph by Bruce Weber, an American photographer who was born in 1946 and also makes films and music videos. The stylist here was, Joe McKenna. This spread was interesting, it seems to be a parody of American cop shows, with actresses acting as models, in overly sexualized scenes a bit ridiculously. "With a lipstick or a gun, they get their man!" I would say that this exhibits mockery, one of the 3 styles that Roland Bathes outlines in "Fashion Photography".

The next is "en Permission" photographed by the British photographer Alasdair Mclellan. He gets more creative in using the format of the double page spread, often using this technique of placing a color photograph opposite a black and white photograph is a common theme in his work. Jane How is a London based stylist.


"Mission Lanzarote" above was photograph by Cedric Buchet. He was born in 1974 and specializes in landscape photography as well as fashion. The stylist was Anastasia Barbieri.

The photographers and editors/stylists are both figures of high status and neither of them are emphasized over the other in the print. However, while the make-up artist, and hairdresser and assistants are noted in small print on the last page of the spread, nowhere is the name of the model to be found. She becomes this unidentified figure, though she is essential in realizing the vision of the director and photographers. She simply embodies femininity and takes on the attitude and role dictated by the director, but is bleached of any particular identity. Except in the case of celebrity/actresses turn models in "Lay Cops" in which their names are plastered everywhere.


Models go without recognition


If you look at the past work and clients of these photographers and stylists, they often work with magazines and brands. By looking at who exactly is working on these photographs and the clothing that is being featured, you can see that the magazine works with a set of high caliber photographers and stylists who are familiar with and often work with each other. I think collaboration happens from time to time but I'm sure it depends on the renown of the photographer, the editorial vision and the relationship between the editor and photographer.

The interjection of an editor/art director might compromise the photographers vision. I spoke with the photographer St�phane Bourson who said that sometimes an art director will tell you exactly what they want and need and you just control the light and take the picture, while others will just tell you the subject they want and let you do whatever you want. You might not agree with the direction that you're given at all. But direction isn't necessarily a bad thing, cause as with art its easy to fall into doing one specific thing that you like and the art director can push you to try things you normally wouldn't that look good.

The editor really has a strong influence over everything that happens in the photographs and everything that happens in the magazine in general. In deciding what goes into the magazine they decide what is worthy to be looked at and celebrated. Vogue itself is published in over 18 countries an was declared by NYT book critic as "the world's most influential fashion magazine".

What might seem like a simple glossy photo is connected to and is a product of this whole other social hierarchy where most of the power rests with the magazine editor within a network of other fashion elite in which power is constantly being negotiated.


Beyond the Glass: The Role of Window Displays in the French Fashion System

by Diana Vassar

According to Tom Beebe, the creative director of Paul Stuart�s menswear, �Stopping traffic is the goal for any window designer worth their salt.� (Droganes) Retail shops allot a significant amount of thought and, typically, money to the design of their window displays for good reason: would we as potential customers be inclined to venture through a mysterious, impenetrable door without first getting a peek of what is available inside? Would we even be able to discern a clothing boutique from a supermarket without store-front advertising? Windows offer a glimpse, a snapshot, a quick summary from which we can form the fateful opinion that determines our pursuing actions. To enter or not to enter is the question and window displays offer the answer. They wield power to reel us in, but the final decision is within our own control.

BCBG Paris 2010, What does this window say?

What is it that makes a shop window speak and customer compelled to act? Is power concentrated in the corporation, the brand, the shop space, or simply the windows themselves? Is power invested in the hands of the consumer? These are the questions that have led my study of shop window displays that frame the streets of Paris. The answers, I have discovered, rest in the inherently dynamic nature of fashion and shopping: the power of the window depends on the active participation of consumer, commodity, and place. As part of the fashion system, each constantly moves, changes, and negotiates power as quickly as fashion re-dresses itself.

Le Pantheon, rue Soufflot, 1877 and today

Beginning in the mid-19th century, both Haussmann�s physical redesign of and the World Expositions held in Paris contributed to the city�s new identity as the culture capital of the world. Vast changes had a profound effect on the everyday lives of Parisians who, in an attempt to reconcile the unrecognizable city, took to the streets walking. These walkers were fl�neurs, as Baudelaire called them, engaging in an active, evolving relationship with their surroundings. Thanks to mass production, displays of fashion proliferated both in shops and on the streets. As the surroundings and fashions became familiar, they also began to change, thus trapping the street walker into the fashion cycle of differentiation and equalization, defamiliarization and familiarization.


The Louis Vuitton flagship in Paris, displaying a dream

Shops play a significant role in this cycle by means of their displays: they attempt to lure walkers and shoppers inside with a clear message, a spectacle, a dream. In response, the commodity and the consumer negotiate power between the panes of the glass window. The walker and the shop engage in a moving dialogue and the cycle begins again.


Fashioning the Self

by Angela Marzan

Marie Antoinette�s clothing was social currency to her during her life at the Court of Versailles. It oftentimes, like this pouf in support of the American Revolutionaries, had a political agenda as well.

How does one fashion the self? Indeed how does one fashion the political self? Was not, after all, Marie Antoinette merely a young girl, young wife, young mother? Was not Diana, Princess of Wales, the same? And what of Carla Bruni, former beauty queen, now current queen to France�s president? Is she not also just a woman? To define these women is impossible, but to define them through their fashion is dangerous. For clothing, as Oscar Wilde writes, is not a symbol of a nation but rather, it is its own political entity, carrying a power so explosive, for women particularly, that one seldom knows what to do with it. To begin, one must uncover in dress its implications of ladyhood � that ever elusive, surreal embodiment through dress of what it is to be a woman. Then one must regard these marks through history. It is only after that one can begin to witness the place in history that Marie Antoinette, Princess Diana, and Carla Bruni hold. And through an understanding of female dress, on these women in particular, is one finally able to postulate to the why and how of political dress and how it has come to hold such power.

This picture, taken during her tour of India in 1992, reveals the strength and power of Diana, Princess of Wales, as she worked side by side with Mother Teresa to help the poorest of the poor, despite the unraveling of her marriage. All of which, I might add, she did in style.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Official Preppy Handbook



In society, fashion is used to assert, affirm and refute power. Prep helps sustain status quo style. In the The Official Preppy Handbook (1980) writer Lisa Birnbach uses semiotics to de-code preppy subculture. Prep is based on economic resources for a life of advantages emphasizing college preparatory education. It is also associated with American aristocracy, WASP subculture, and traditional values expressed through classic outward aesthetics. Because is it largely about socio-economic status, it is promoted in consumer culture as an achievable style that drives many brand visions.

Prep subculture was originally about quality education in the classics and could be recognized by accent, through region and schooling. Now it is the clothing that serves as index.


The Preppy Handbook is based on Britian's Sloan Ranger Handbook and has been followed by the Filthy Rich handbook below and also below a Japanese version.




Historic northeastern prep, the Kennedys, and in LA Robert Evans at home in the 1960's.


Prep is evident in many fashion brands and campaigns.


Brooks Brothers 2006 above & JCrew 2008 below



Italian heritage brand Marina Yachting, 2010

Juergen Teller, Washionton DC, W , 2009

Some suggest prep subculture is increasingly irrelevant. The following ad for alcoholic tea was targeting the American collegiate audience but the product did not succeed.



Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Subcultural Power

by Emily Kearns


Dick Hebdige �Style�
Dick Hebdige is a British media theorist and sociologist who is most well known for his studies of subcultures. He wrote a book on the subject called Subculture: The Meaning of Style, which was published in 1979. He is currently a professor of film, media studies, and art at the University of California, Santa Barbara. These excerpts of Hebdige�s writings were written in 1979.

In this selection, Hebdige looks at style and subcultures, specifically the style of punks. He begins broadly, by defining the meaning of style in relation to subcultures. Subcultural style is very intentional and thought out. Additionally, members of subcultures dress themselves in a way that sends a message. Their ensembles are �obviously fabricated,� �display their own codes,� and �go against the grain of mainstream culture.� The goal of the style of subcultures is to communicate a difference and a group identity.


Next, Hebdige looks at �Style as bricolage� and begins the section by noting that, aside from the fact that many members of subculture are working class, they are also �cultures of conspicuous consumption.� To further explain this idea he illustrates the concept of bricolage and offers the following definition of the term: �the means by which the non-literate, non-technical mind of so-called primitive man responds to the world around him� (258). Bricoleurs change and subvert the meanings of signs that normally have a certain meaning.

Sex Pistols

In the next excerpt, Hebdige closely focuses on the punk subculture. The punks chose ordinary objects and made them a part of their style, giving these objects new meaning in the process. For example, they removed safety pins from their context as useful and utility and chose to wear them instead as facial ornaments through the cheeks or lips. The main goal of the punks was to go against convention and to make a statement. Both men and women wore makeup, contrary to standard practice, and parts of school uniforms were �symbolically defiled� (260).

Vivienne Westwood

Hebdige also explains how the punk subculture went beyond just clothing and wardrobe. It went against every �relevant discourse� at the time (260). The dancing style of the punks was deliberately different from every other relevant style. Dances like the robot were popular among the subculture because they were very far from mainstream dance moves. They were a reaction to what was mainstream and popular at the time. Similarly, punk music was very different from typical pop and rock music at the time.


In the last section, the author examines how although the punk culture signified chaos, it was actually extremely orderly. He explains this paradox with the concept of homology and uses the skinhead subculture as an example. Finally, he talks about the significance of the swastika as a symbol in the punk subculture. Punks did not wear the symbol because they necessarily agreed with the beliefs behind the symbol. They wore it because as one punk said, �punks just like to be hated.�

Appropriation is the gesture of taking an object and reusing it, as in the swastika or safety pin. Homology is when a group appropriates and makes sense of those aspects as one group, such skinheads who repeat the style among one another and in then end look conforming. We have also seen that almost all previously rebellious signs have lost potency and are used freely among youth and alternative subcultures in mass.

Sophie Woodward �The Myth of Street Style�
Sophie Woodward is currently a research fellow and lecturer at Nottingham Trent University in the School of Art and Design. She is also a faculty member in the sociology department at the University of Manchester. Woodward�s research interests include feminist theory, material culture, fashion and consumption. Her article �The Myth of Street Style� was published in Fashion Theory in March 2009.

In her article �The Myth of Street Style,� Woodward examines the mythologization of street style and the relationship between street style and many parts of fashion industry, including fashion magazines and high street retailers. Through her research, she explains the myth of street style, its emergence, and examines the relationship between the myth of street style and actual street style. She begins her article by talking about Andrew Hill, who wanders around the streets of London and observes what people are wearing. He expects to find people in quirky outfits that express their individualism. However, he finds that's people dress �boringly� (84). This anecdote sets the framework for Woodward�s further investigation into street style. The �quirkiness and sartorial expressiveness� that Hill expected to find are major elements of the myth of street style (84).


The article is based on Fashionmap, which is a research project at Nottingham Trent University. The study is based on two key components: the documentation of fashions and styles at high street stores and photographs of people taken on the streets or in bars. These photographs were collected over a four year period in Nottingham, England and tend to feature young people between the ages of 18-26. By comparing these photographs, researchers can determine any �common trends� and �potential areas of innovation� (86).


Next, the author explains the origins of the myth of street style. It began in the 1940s with Polhemus� observation of defined style groupings, starting with the �Zooties� in Harlem. Groups like this, as well as other subcultures like punks, dressed as �a reaction against established mainstream fashion design� (87). Although these distinct style groupings are less present today, they are still an important part of the history of street style in that being �alternative� is a major element of street style. In Woodward�s research project, nearly 78% of the people interviewed pointed out that part of their outfit was from an �alternative source� such as a second-hand store.

Terry Jones created street photos for i-D magazine and later Fruits magazine developed in Japan

Woodward also explains how the idea of street style trickles down into the mainstream, thus becoming �sanitized� (88). She gives the example of the magazines The Face and i-D, which claimed to offer authenticity, but photograph ordinary people. The styling of these shoots soon appeared in mainstream fashion magazines like Vogue and Elle. However, in these magazines the styles appeared on models wearing a �fantasized imitation of The Real Thing� (88). The depiction of street style in magazines has continued to evolve and today the street style pages feature images of people on the street. She then introduces the idea that current street style is paradoxical, as it claims to show something other than the mainstream, but it features people wearing lots of garments from high street stores.

The high street stores play an important role in street style according to Woodward. These stores, like Zara, Topshop, and H&M, are particularly present in the UK. They are able to provide their customers with constantly changing goods as opposed to �predetermined seasonal collections� (90). This has led to the term �fast fashion.� Although there is a rapid turnover in stock at these stores, Woodward�s research shows that the styles change subtly over time and some styles keep reappearing. In high street store windows and in fashion magazines, fashion is presented to consumers as looks and every season there are distinct new trends. However, if trends in fashion are considered through what people actually wear, then it is evident that these shifts occur much more gradually. This is a result of people buying new pieces but then appropriating them into their current wardrobe. In summary, Woodward argues that although fashion is supposedly faster than ever, fashions actually evolve very gradually, so perhaps �fast fashion� is not an appropriate term.


The fashion industry absorbs styles and street style has been used as a basis for editorials and campaigns above model Agnes Dyne and below Juergen Teller


Woodward then focuses on observations made at a bar in Nottingham. All of the people at this bar have a very clear �look.� These looks are identifiable at this particular bar, which is less mainstream than many others. Although the people at this bar are more alternative, Woodward notices that many of the women are wearing items that were from high street stores, carefully mixed with clothing from vintage or alternative sources. She reaches the conclusion that many people dislike high street stores in theory because the clothes are mass-produced, not because they dislike the styles of the clothing.

Therefore, an important element of street style is where specific elements of an outfit are sourced from and how they are combined with other articles of clothing. Many of the people interviewed for the research project expressed a desire to appear �different.� As a result of the street style pages in magazines, the current idea of street style is �now characterized by the ordinary person that manages to set themselves slightly apart� (92). Young people then internalize this idea and, even if their outfit is from the high street, talk about their love of vintage clothing and the importance of wearing secondhand items with high street items.

In her conclusion, Woodward summarizes the article by arguing that street style should not be looked at as those possessing �quirky individuality,� but as �the intersection of different arenas� of fashion (99). She ends by noting that, despite the omnipresence of the term fast fashion, the rate of change in fashion today is really no faster than it was in past centuries.

The images above and below are from Scott Schuman�s street style blog The Sartorialist. While Schuman is known for shooting people on the streets, these images were styled and shot specifically to appear in a magazine editorial (British Elle 2007). According to Woodward, editorials like this further propagate the �myth of street style.�


 
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