Fashion Statements

It has finally dawned on me why every era is so distinct in its styles and fashions from previous eras. The change in style is not merely a desire for something new. It's a rejection of the past. The new style is to some extent born out of necessity. It draws a line between those that desire to cling on to the past and those that desire the liberty to do something else. Fashion becomes in this way more than mere style. It becomes a statement of intent.

This occurred to me due to my constant need to defend myself from unwanted attention. There's an army of hobby fascists patrolling the streets these days, and I'm particularly targeted because of my foreign appearance. Those who resent foreigners go for targets like me. All they need is an excuse, like me not wearing my mask properly. In the face of this, I can choose to conform to the wishes of the fascists, or I can signal through my clothing that I'm fully prepared to stand up for myself. My changing dress code is not born out of a desire to be different. Rather, it expresses my desire to be left alone.

Others in similar situations may come up with dress codes for themselves with similar messages. A common message is thus created through clothing. Picking up on the signals of likeminded individuals, we home in on a common code that puts us apart from the rest. If sustained and successful, it becomes a fashion statement. But no-one set out with fashion in mind. The statement wasn't crafted in an office somewhere. It came about spontaneously out of a need to break away from something unpleasant.

With this in mind, we can now see the contours of a future style. This style will contain references to violence. Walking with a cane, as the dandies did in early Victorian England, might come back into fashion. Skull and crossbones insignias may become a hit too. Jackets will carry references to armour and war. T-shirts may carry messages of death and afterlife.

None of this needs being very gloomy. The dandies were well dressed guys. Their style was radically different from the super-feminine style of late 18th century. High heals, lip stick and wigs for men were all rejected in favour of something much more masculine. The fact that their style carried on with a few references to the past, such as lace trimming on shirts and silk bow ties, may make the dandies appear feminine by today's standards, but they were in fact radical machos.

Similarly, we'll see people like myself break away from the current style of humble worker meets gay man-bun hipster. I plan to update my wardrobe with garments that carry the right message. If I can't find the desired garments in stores, I'll add the message myself by embroidering or affixing the desired symbol onto what I have.

I don't plan to wear uncomfortably warm clothes for summer, so I will have to device some way of combining the desired message with the comforts of a casual wardrobe. However, one thing is fairly certain. I'll be carrying a cane (or a whip!) on my walks. I don't want any more people stopping to tell me off for not doing what they happen to have heard on TV.

Dandies with cane and whip

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