Brian Hawkins Cultural Aspects of Clothing Mondays 9-11:30

Generational Clothing Comparisons and Influences

Personal style is developed through many contributing factors including outside influences and certain perceptions of the world. Considering this, my mother and I have grown up in two very different eras; she is of the baby boomer generation, while Im from Generation Y (the children of the baby boomers). This causes our clothing choices to be vastly different, yet she has managed to instill some of her style with me. Throughout my mothers life she was very trendy. No matter the decade, she liked to keep up with the styles of the times. My mother, born Diane Susan Watson, came into the world on March 1st, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was born to Ethel and George Watson, and was the youngest of five. Ethel was 40 years old when she gave birth to my mother and so she seemed old fashioned growing up to my mother, and coincidentally my mother had me at 39 and had the same effect. Her father was an electrician for the Frankfurt Army Installation and her mother a payroll manager at the same installation. She was raised in a very strict upbringing in a middle class family. The Methodist Church was a huge part of this familys life and defined her societys non-material culture through the religious mores and values. Where she lived, in the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia, this religion and church was the focal point of fashion and dictated what would and what wouldnt be worn. Therefore, the clothing was very conservative and never too promiscuous or revealing. With the dictation of church on Sunday, everyone in town had Sunday clothes, and this included a nice tailored suit for men and varied for women but usually included a hat, gloves, a coat specifically designated for church, a pair of flats or small pump, and a circle or A-line skirt extending below the knee. According to my mother, the church coat was also used as a school coat until about 9th grade and then was solely dedicated for use as a

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church coat. She wasnt given any hand-me-downs due to her next sibling being seven years her senior and there were none to give, but her mother decided on everything she wore until about seventh grade. This included her first grade poodle skirt, which was a long full circle skirt in a solid color with a chenille poodle applique on the fabric. This is one of the most iconic fashion trends from the fifties, which recurs as a theme for my mother as she liked to stay in style with trends. As she grew up through the fifties until about 1963 her mother chose for her various dresses, blouses, skirts, flats with nylons, and kept her hair long and straight. Always keeping in mind her Sunday clothes would be considered of higher caliber in fashion than anything worn on any other day, but always modest and conservative. At about 13 or 14 she had started to pick out her own outfits, which coincided with the mid 1960s. She was influenced by magazines and department store displays, the most notable on Cotman Avenue in Philadelphia with John Wanamakers, Gimbels, Sears, Kleins, and Strawbridge & Clothier. The trends she saw influenced my her fashion, she was wearing tunics with peter pan collars, button down sweaters, loafers, baby doll shoes, A-line skirts and dresses, and started to set her hair at night with curlers in her new bob. The bob is a short haircut that frames the face usually with fringe, which was the case with my mothers hair. She also started using hairspray and cosmetics, including powder, mascara, and blush. She was growing up into the independent woman she would become, but her style was always dictated by the trends. At around 16 or 17 she began rebelling, with ear piercings and cigarettes. The influence of rock and roll, the Vietnam War, feminism, racial tension, and the Cold War caused American society to develop a counterculture movement. Many teenagers, including my mother, started to experiment and explored their own potential and develop their own self that was free from traditions and ascribed status. She still wore many of the things she had in her wardrobe during this time and continued going to church with her church clothes, but after she graduated she got married at 18 and her style was 2

Brian Hawkins Cultural Aspects of Clothing Mondays 9-11:30

drastically changing. During the beginning of the 1970s when she turned 20 she had her first child, a son, and her first pair of jeans. This was the time of flower power and the lived-in look. Her style changed from dresses and skirts to bellbottoms, cut-offs and jeans. The blouses and button down sweaters were replaced with t-shirts and tank tops. Her adorable baby doll shoes were replaced by clunky platforms. She obtained a diaper bag as her new accessory, but she continued to wear earrings, usually hoops or studs only in gold. Her second child, a daughter, came during the late 70s and her style remained trendy. Not much had changed in my mothers wardrobe until the oversized look of the 1980s came into play. Her hairstyle changed from a short pixie cut to a perm, and hairspray was her favorite accessory. As she matured, so did her style with cowl neck and batwing tunics. She still wore jeans as casual wear with either boots in winter or sandals in summer, usually candies. Shoulder pads became her go to look as was the trend of the 80s. Shortly after I was born in 1989 she became an agent in the IRS for investigating tax fraud. Her wardrobe was flawless for the time: pantsuits, dresses, and blazers, all with shoulder pads of course. Spike heels became her new footwear paired with a pair of stockings. My father was able to spend money on my mothers clothes and accessories, including new gold bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. She was the epitome of a trendy career woman for the late 80s and early 90s. She continued the tradition of Sunday clothes which was passed onto me; I wore a three piece suit from three until I was five. She eventually left the IRS around 1993 and went to cosmetology school and had a small career as a hair stylist for a year or two. Her style would continue to be trendy and on point up until my father passed when I was seven. My mother would end up stopping the Sunday tradition of going to church around the time my father died, and her style started to become less trendy. She would end up wearing a lot of casual wear

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and for the first time in her life sneakers around the mid 90s. She however still instilled a lot of her fashion choices onto me, dressing me in contemporary clothing that was considered en vogue. She dressed me in the now defunct Cosby sweaters, or suspended garments enclosed at the neck, wrists, and waist with elastic that was knitted in a geometrical pattern, at around age four. Everything at this time was extremely matched and coordinated, such as matching pants and shirts. I remember wearing this tie dye sleeveless t-shirt that matched my windbreaker pants in the same tie dye pattern; it was anything goes in the 90s. T-shirts and jeans was a mainstay in my life after my dad died, however, while fashion took a hiatus. My mom started moving around a lot figuring out where to go after the death of my father, and we ended up settling in Wisconsin in 2000. This is around the time I started getting back into fashion, at age 12, wearing aviators and anything with an argyle pattern. My style was a vital part of my tween identity until 9/11 hit and it suddenly seemed less important. My brother was a police officer, and I started to wear a lot of red, white, and blue related apparel in support of the troops, police, and firefighters of America. I had American flag t-shirts, and 9/11 sweatshirts which werent chic but related to the post 9/11 American. Then the frenzy of patriotism subsided around a year or two later and my fashion sense didnt kick back in until my junior year of high school in 2005; up until then it was again jeans and T-shirts. I started wearing boots, tighter jeans, and button-up shirts. Vests became popular near the end of high school and I remember finding an Armani vest at a thrift shop that was my favorite piece in my wardrobe. I started to become trendier and my friends and I went through the Hollister, American Eagle Outfitters, and Abercrombie and Fitch phase. But I would soon get a taste of what fashion can do to you. My mother was always giving me tips on what she thought I needed in my wardrobe, insisting on a winter coat; we lived in Wisconsin in 2007 so this was understandable. I purchased my first expensive piece of clothing, which was a 120 dollar coat with faux fur lining. It was my first taste of 4

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feeling fashion empower me, I felt invincible in that coat. Ever since then Ive loved fashion, and the way it makes you feel powerful. My mom has been such a huge influence on my fashion sense, whenever I see shoulder pads on a woman I think of a diva, a powerful woman with authoritative command able to do anything; even at 61 shes still influencing me! The other day, I was looking for something in my moms closet and came across a myriad of blazers and leather jackets. I havent seen her wear these things in years and I was in awe at how amazing some of the pieces were so I tried some on. They fit perfectly and she gave them to me! I imagined how my mom felt twenty years ago wearing these with strong shoulders and a tailored edge, empowering her as they empower me today when I wear them.

Brian Hawkins Cultural Aspects of Clothing Mondays 9-11:30

References Joanne Weston Thomas. (2007). 1950s Timeline Chart [Data File]. Retrieved from http://www.fashionera.com/1950s/1950s_9_timeline_chart.htm Eicher, J. B., & Evenson, S. L., & Lutz, H. A. (2008). The visible self: global perspectives on dress, culture, and society (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Fairchild Publications, Inc. Bob Batchelor. (2011). Fashion in the 1980s. In Pop Culture Universe: Icons, Idols, Ideas. Retrieved September 18, 2011, from http://popculture2.abc-clio.com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu/ D. Hawkins (personal communication, September 10, 2011)