3.

So its official, I have decided that Street Car may be a little bit.. complex for me to do this essay on. Which brings me back to the listed possible essay topics you may have noted in my first blog.

I choose the superhero!

My favourite comic characters would have to be (drum rolls please) Wolverine or Batman. 

I find their history, how they came to me these super humans really interesting and almost possible. One can relate to them in way oner or another cause at one point they were just as ordinary. Also their story slips perfectly into history and the current state of American culture. Such a person could be out there and i’d never know!!

I’m already getting excited over this because last year in Fashion, Gender& Identity I came across a reading from the New Yorker about superheros and their ‘Secret Skin’ . Chabon, M, The New Yorker, 2008, Vol 84 Issue 4, p64-69. The content was really stimulating but also the way it was written, as a reflection rather than an essay made the reading not only bearable but actually enjoyable to read.

Today covered the idea of clothes in classic Hollywood as; spectacle Vs Mechanism for display.

At one point films became fashion focused. Narrative was rather simple but focused on a display of clothing. The Story line was built around the display. As a result of this, costume designers felt the pressure to be fashionable for the fear of being replaced by couturiers.

This is reflected in Sabrina  were she happily swaps her normal clothes are dropped (costume designer) to allow for a transformation (Couturier) 

By the 1960’s a harmonious relationship between street style and couture had been reached. The movies showed people shopping for the designer clothes, ‘accessible’, rather than one off pieces.. so to speak. 

In the end, it was noted that garments didn’t need to be extravagant to have meaning. Each aspect can be equally important depending on the desired outcome.