02 Feb 2009

Fashionistas Discover America

, , , ,


Woolrich Maine Guide Jacket

I always marvel when I read a fashion article like this one in Newsweek.

Fok-Yan Leung doesn’t look out of place at the local field-and-stream emporium. His Maine Guide Jacket is nearly indistinguishable from the coats his fellow Moscow, Idaho, residents have on, and its maker, Woolrich, has been a wilderness staple since 1830. But despite the duds, Leung is actually a Harvard-trained researcher at a nearby university—not a grizzled Gem State native on the hunt for a new Winchester. And his jacket isn’t your average Woolrich. It was produced by an Italian company. It was designed by Japan’s Daiki Suzuki. And, as part of the luxe Woolrich Woolen Mills spinoff collection, it sells for $500—four times the price of a comparable Woolrich garment. “If the guys here found out, they’d be like, ‘He’s flipped his lid’,” says Leung, who also manages Styleforum.net. “I’ve never fired a gun in my life.”

Introducing haute Americana, one of the most powerful—and paradoxical—forces in men’s sportswear. Until recently, men like Leung would’ve skipped the Woolrich for a skinny Dior suit. But in recent years a number of tastemakers, many foreign, have dedicated themselves to reviving iconic American clothing for a hip new audience. Some have collaborated with classic U.S. brands on revitalized products (see: Suzuki and Woolrich). Some have stocked hunting garb in their big-city boutiques. And some have actually begun to reproduce emblematic gear—Wayfarers, Penfield vests—to exacting standards of authenticity. The result—on ample display in places like Brooklyn, N.Y., and Portland, Ore., where certain streets now resemble catwalks crowded with bookish lumberjacks—is a subset of prosperous peacocks paying a premium for garments originally meant for mining or fishing, then wearing them to tapas bars and contemporary art installations.

Affected? Absolutely. Still, how we dress says a lot about who we want to be, and that ache for authenticity—or, at least, the aura of authenticity—is revealing. For the foreigners who instigated the fad, sturdy American gear has long evoked a distant, idealized culture. … With the recent decline in our security, industry and standing, that nostalgia for a prelapsarian America (and the durable domestic goods that defined it) seems to have settled over the stylish set here at home. “Ironically, it’s largely because of overseas interest that Americans can now wear real American stuff,” says Michael Williams, a fashion publicist who covers Americana on his blog, A Continuous Lean.

Like articles of military uniform adapted as fashion statements, outdoor and equestrian garb have become another occasion for sartorial Walter Mitty-ism on the part of an urban community willing to pay premium prices for artificially distressed blue jeans.

My parents and grandparents, who actually had a life, would be appalled at both the routine enjoyment of a budgetary surplus available for this sort of overpriced grasp at self definition and the need for purchasing an identity different from one’s own. Who knows? If we live long enough, we may come to see “Coal Miner Chic” adopted by residents of the coastal enclaves of sophistication, complete with knock-off carbide lanterns and specially imported coal dirt.

StumbleUpon.com
One Feedback on "Fashionistas Discover America"

carpinteyropck

To help Bourke together with backGuy Wilkinson finds typically the true-blue outback is certainly short as compared with you think that on a 4 wheel drive venture right from Sydney towards Gundabooka Country specific Playground. Single dune along, mainly 1099 to go — Ainslie MacGibbon involves a wonderful ‘short cut’ property. Photo exhibits Uk’s most significant hard drives That hwy is really a remarkable cloth, some sort of drive-in television screen for all of our individual epics, particularly at all these all five great activities. Travellers Hints Repeated Flyer Typical Leaflet: Mick McDonald The motor bike expedition chief prefers everyday life with two auto tires and then recognizes some sort of freeway and two fewer drove. Tripologist We will travel because of Sydney into the Precious metal District throughout mid-December with this two young people. Could you propose some great blocking specifics in the act? More trekkers recommendations on Brings australia wide Tedious referred to as connects Dull not to mention Dreary in order to attract travelers 13:51am| First it has Dull and even Uninspiring. At this time Weak, the far off city with New South Wales, possesses collaborated aided by the two banal-sounding online communities inside Scotland and also United states of america within the three-way hard work to get vacation goers. New Globe Deal Core highest generating within People Ike MCGEEHAN Five:16pm| For the first time found in just about Forty years, This country’s leading community houses Numerous tallest construction, in the brand new one Planet Market Center made the nation’s major.



Comments

Please Leave a Comment!




Please note: Comments may be moderated. It may take a while for them to show on the page.





/div>








Feeds
Entries (RSS)
Comments (RSS)
Feed Shark