Found in contempt.
The verdict is in and is about to be read.
Your palms sweat.
Your heart is racing.
Your eyes open wide and dilate uncontrollably.
What’s going to happen to me? What do they think of me? Why did I wear these hideous shoes?
We judge. We weigh and discern a person’s value based on such trivial things as their shoes. So much so that it is not just a running gag anymore, it is part of music and art, pop culture, Broadway…everywhere we look. In our society, one’s merits are based upon the outer shell, rather than the truly important inner self. I’m guilty here myself. It is February here in Texas; which for the local population, this means flip flops, tee shirts and shorts are appropriate--I’ve already seen my quota of midriffs for the year. Being from New Jersey, I just got my sweaters out a few weeks ago, now they are pushed back into the recesses of my closet still folded from last year. On this particular 70 degree, sunny day, I sat on a bench and joked with a friend about secretly judging the passerbys on their way to class. However, I want to propose a new perspective. Do we truly think that person’s life is affected by how much I like their shoes? We say all the time how shallow we are and how fashion is so paramount in our lives, but I think we are wrong.
From time beyond record, the head of tribes had the most chinks in their belt and the most teeth on their necklaces. Back when god was a woman, the pagan priestess was the connection from the public to the planet. She was always surrounded by symbols and clothing that marked her as eminent among her peers (McColman). Roman senate leaders were garbed in purple, held exclusively for the station. In the Bible, Joseph’s coat of many colors was given to show favor of their father over his brothers (Gen 37:3). Yet, do we think these people were given their places of honor simply because of their fashion sense? I tend to think the leaders and innovators of human evolution would stand out for their prowess in leadership or intelligence, regardless of what berries make the best magenta.
Continuing along the timeline of human history, we enter the Middle Ages to find a society characterized by its inattention to the trappings of fashion, the medieval Dutch. Through historic Dutch paintings and renderings, we have a window into their past; and the view was fairly boring. It has been stated that art from that period sometimes proves difficult to separate the homeowners from the hired help due to everyone’s stoic wardrobe (Rybczynski). This furthers my point--the Dutch revolutionized local government, pushed the boundaries of architecture, and perfected the art of a clean home. Their contribution to European society is profound; they did it all without the assistance of Jimmy Choo’s new men’s line. I on the other hand, can’t seem to breathe without it, but who am I to compete with the entire Dutch nation?
As we continue through our timeline, people that stand out among the crowd like DaVinci, Joan of Arc, Buddha, Einstein, were all less than concerned with their looks. Another prime example, Nikola Tesla, endured absurd hardships and still proved to be one of the greatest minds of our time. Tesla arrived in New York City in 1884 where he secured work with Thomas Edison. However, conflict with Edison and Edison’s recant of financial compensation drove a permanent rift between the two. He then spent a full year digging ditches and working hard labor. However, despite endless difficulties, he continued to be inspired and proceeded to revolutionize the Westinghouse Electric Company, creating the greatest competition for Edison. Tesla constructed a process for unlimited, uninhibited world wide energy, death rays, earthquake machines, remote controls, and a precursor to green power among other discoveries. Tesla was discovering processes and developing concepts that we still strive toward a full century later (Nikola). Doesn’t seem like he was too concerned with fashion--in fact he despised women’s jewelry. Regardless of his hardships and setbacks, he prevailed. He prevailed over hurdles much worse than concerns about his wardrobe.
Today, the media places a great deal of influence and power in fashion. Oprah didn’t rise to her status based on her clothes. Michelle Obama is known to wear moderately priced clothes despite her position as First Lady. Is our society really so naive and superficial to believe that my success and motivation, my intelligence and leadership skills are thwarted because Banana Republic didn’t have my size in a mohair sports coat? Now, I’m not down playing the feeling of pride in a well tailored coat or the boost of energy that comes from looking your best; I understand the importance of showing up to interviews looking like you mean business--but we are giving it more power than it deserves. In current society, clothing trends race so quickly, something can be passe one day and on the runway the next. I was certain that mullets were dead and buried, but heaven help us, they are back. What does this say about humans? How will future generations view us? If an alien race lands on our planet in a couple thousand years and discovers my tivo’d episodes of Project Runway, what will it merit? I think it will prove fashion is it’s own accessory to life and the great minds of humanity will prove our intuition and intelligence. Serial Mom may have murdered a woman for wearing white after Labor Day, but I think the rest of humanity will survive the misdeed. Court is adjourned.
McColman, Carl. "Chapter 14, Tools For Ritual." The Complete Idiot's Guide to Paganism. Indianapolis, IN: Alpha, 2002. 185-86. Print.
Rybczynski, Witold. "Chapter 3, Domesticity." Home: a Short History of an Idea. New York, NY: Penguin, 1987. Print.
“Nikola Tesla." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/588597/Nikola-Tesla>.
Writers Note: This was a paper I threw together in about 2 hours for an assignment that was pushed to the back burner while I worked on art assignments. Please don't judge too harshly, ha ha.
