By Monica Sklar,
June 21st, 2007 at 3:44 pm
(Uncategorized)
tcritic is a fun blog all about t-shirts. Yeah people say the ironic or funny t-shirt is tired, but not me-I love ‘em. There is something so classic about a cool t-shirt, even though paying top dollar for vintage can get absurd. I recently dropped out early of Bauhaus t-shirt eBay auction that got well over $100. Sure it was original, but it seemed a bit much. Anyway, I agree a grown man in a Care Bears shirt and jean jacket is a pretty lame, and whether he’s Mr. Ironic or Mr. Sensitive it just doesn’t work. However, a good niche reference, or funny one-liner goes a long way, and for the usual $20-$30 I think you can get a lot of style mileage out of a well designed t-shirt.
Of course the obvious academic line would be to go on about how if you get the inside joke on my shirt we’ve bonded and it’s nonverbal communication of group identity etc etc…all true, all interesting, but the OZ Scarecrow shirt of the most recent tcritic post is just hilarious, simple as that.
I’ve been really fond of the shirt above for quite a few years now. Seems like a perfect example of what I’m talking about. A brand I don’t mind being associated with, an insider band reference for Ska fans, cute animals, and pink-can’t go wrong with pink.
2 Comments
By Monica Sklar,
June 21st, 2007 at 12:54 pm
(Uncategorized)
I’ve been checking out Detroit Fashion Pages and so I thought I’d encourage you to give it a look-see. I applaud anyone who is trying to get things done regarding art/design/music/culture in a city where there isn’t the built-in machine to make it happen.
Having spent many years in Metro Detroit, much of which busting my hump trying to accomplish anything and everything I could blending fashion/music/retail/design/art/culture and then some, I can emathize with people who are trying to get something off the ground. I think cities without the infastructure to support such efforts drain people of all their energy as viturally everything is DIY, however, they also create a no rule, nothing to lose attitude which can have amazing and mostly uncompromised results.
Here in Minneapolis I was especialy blown away a few months back by Voltage, which was a fashion/music/video explosion, that although independent, was glossy in all the right places to make it a really smooth and enjoyable evening.
So anyway, check out the Skate Party photos in the You’ve Been Shot section (funny or not funny Detroit reference?!) and you’ll see some fun Motor City flavor.
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By Monica Sklar,
June 20th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
(Exhibitions, Uncategorized)
The Goldstein Museum of Design (where I work) provided some pieces for a show at Kent State University in Ohio that is currently up on 20th century design legend Charles James. It runs through Feb ’08 and if you’re in the area it’d probably be a fantastic show. His elegant, highly constructed pieces inspired Dior among others so how can you go wrong taking some time to see them up close. I’ve never had a chance to check out the Museum at Kent State but word is it’s a real gem.
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By Monica Sklar,
June 20th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
(Conferences and Calls for Papers, Uncategorized)
Textile Society of America is planning their ’08 conference for Hawaii-now that’s a conference! A real vacation that you can write off! It’s Sept. 24-27, 2008 with a submission due date also Oct. 1 of this year. I’m especially torn about this one as the modern crafter paper might work here as well, but I’m not a TSA member anymore as (obviously) they are more focused on textiles than dress specifically and that would be really expensive. But, as I’ll probably write more about another time, I travel every summer with a friend slowly covering all 50 states and we are yet to do Hawaii with only 4 to go after ’07 so it would be a double whammy sort of thing. Doubt it though as my friend works in the public school system and getting of mid-Sept. seems a little unrealistic.
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By Monica Sklar,
June 20th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
(Conferences and Calls for Papers, Uncategorized)
Costume Society of America’s next conference is in New Orleans May 20-25 and it sounds like they’re planning some unique activities regarding a behind the scenes look at Mardi Gras and some dedicated time to help Hurricane Katrina issues. The due date for submissions is Oct. 1. I haven’t decided if I’m going to send anything yet. I wrote a paper on modern crafters this past school year that would probably fit the bill, but honestly CSA is frequently over Memorial Day weekend which is a tough choice between an academic conference and something of leisure. I think my big conferences I’ll try for in ’08 will be ITAA (not sure where but it’s pretty much a MUST to submit something for ’08 as I missed ’06 and ’07) and the Pop Culture/American Culture conference happening in San Fran (which I’m long overdue to visit).
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By Monica Sklar,
June 20th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
(Uncategorized)
Uniwatch: The Obsessive Study of Athletics Aesthetics is a pretty interesting blog that Harlo pointed me toward when they had a recent discussion about tattoos in sports. In all truth I hadn’t thought about the subject too much. I’ve been reading up on dental and medical uniforms for a research project, and often think about military and social uniforms, but being a fairly non-sports oriented person athletic stuff slips me by usually. There is a good section in Jennifer Craik’s Uniform’s Exposed on sports styles and she expands on how they became daily wear. Anyway, you might want to check out Uniwatch regardless of whether you’re much of a sports fanatic.
1 Comment
By Monica Sklar,
June 19th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
(Uncategorized)
The NY Times featured a recent article describing the process of tattoo removal and the new innovations to make it more accessible. The talk about how 36% of people age 25-29 have at least one tattoo, but 17% of all tattooed Americans have regret about it-particularly women. I can’t say I’m surprised about the focus on removal technology and ease, with removal facilities popping up in strip malls and at your friendly doctor’s office. Part of me wonders if the getting rid of tattoos validates the fact it was a trend gone wild, or the idea that deep down they’re still controversial and deviant even if your kindergarten teacher sports some. At the same time there is an increased frequency of mainstream pieces on the popularity of tattoo removal and how sorry people are to have made a “bad” decision to mark themselves, there are just as many articles about how the workplace is going “alt” and those same tattoos are becoming more socially acceptable. So I wonder which is it in the judging eyes of the mainstream populace? Seems to go both ways-bad college beach town trend of lower back flowers and upper arm tribal marks that cause regret while simultaneously a growing tolerance for neck bluebirds and love/hate knuckles.
Here is the NY Times article
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By Monica Sklar,
June 19th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
(Uncategorized)
The Renaissance Society of America’s Annual Meeting next year will be in Chicago, April 3-5, 2008 with the theme of: The Communication of Appearances: Dress and Identity in the Early Modern World. The due date for submitting papers recently passed, but it might be an interesting conference to attend if you’re into historical perspectives.
Here’s a link
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By Monica Sklar,
June 19th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
(Uncategorized)
i’ve been gathering a few pieces of interesting fashion news in the weeks leading up to launching my blog, so please excuse if you’ve already read some of the following articles or heard about these subjects already….
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By Harlo,
June 18th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
(Uncategorized)
Well I’m finally starting this blog I’ve been saying I would start for the past two years. I swear my posting rate won’t be as slow.
It seems like in the crowded arena of fashion blogs there still remains a void for news and discussion about social-cultural, academic, historical, and critical thoughts on dress. So you can look here for info on everything from smart textiles to museum exhibits to global trends to scholarships–as long as it’s about apparel.
My name is Monica Sklar and currently I’m in a Ph.D. program about Apparel and Culture and have my Master’s and Bachelor’s in Design, Textiles, and Merchandising as well. I’ve survived many aspects of the retail world, taught a handful of university classes, worked at museums in varied capacities, wrote fashion articles for the local hipster paper, and wardrobe styled rock stars, comedians, mannequins, and grandmas, among others.
But that is enough about me….let’s see what’s up in the world of fashion…
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