What to wear today?

That's the question most of us are asking ourselves once or even several times a day within modern capitalistic societies. For some of us this is a practical common sense question and for others it's a life or dead question. A life threatening question when it comes to the survival of ones identity/image. When we consider this question of "what to wear" for a moment, we can see that it's a question based in luxury for habitants of a capitalistic system and within developing countries it's a question based in poverty and only about what is here to wear.

Wondering what to wear implies choice, but how real is that choice when you can only choose from one garment? How real is that choice when you can only choose from this seasons fashion in order to stay fashionable. Choice and choice without really choosing is directed by one thing, money. Money is what determines our choice of what to wear. Money dictates what it takes to be fashionable. Which strips fashion down to haves and have nots, the ones that have money can buy as much and as expensive fashion as they have money for, the ones that do not have money are designated on charity and donated fashion.

Donating your old clothes that you no longer want, sounds like a good and reasonable idea. It might even make people in developing countries happy that does not have any decent clothes. However, when we have a closer look, we can see that when we bring our old and worn clothes to developing countries we limit or stagnate the local economy. Lets say I bring second hand clothes to Argentina that were manufactured in Asia, I supported for a small portion the Asian workers by buying those clothes. Though with the same purchase I provide people in Argentina with clothes, that means that the local dressmaker or factory had nothing to do with the fact that the people in that area are dressed. The local industry can stop existing when people are provided for through other means. So the action of donating your old clothes might seem noble, but is in fact not considering all within the equality equation. Partially stimulating one industry and denying the existence of another is not in the best interest of all.

"Adriana, an eighteen year old young woman from Argentina, is waking up after a noisy night. All night through she heard the neighbor's kids wandering the corrugated roofs in an attempt to look for stuff to steal. Adriana is awake and ready for her next day, even though she knows that this day will be the same as yesterday and the coming days.
Her family is poor and they live in the slums. Her brothers are addicted to paco (a byproduct from the cocaine narco-kitchens) as wel as most of the young people in the slums.
Though yesterday Adriana experienced this dash of happiness, when an new sending of second handed clothing came in at her work. Adriana works at the "Soup Kitchen", which is an initiative of Margarita, a poor lady herself. The government and private donations make this initiative possible. They feed most of the people in the slums and distribute clothing and other basic needs that were privately donated. Adriana does not get paid, but she has free access to all the goods, which makes up for the work she does.
Yesterday she found this stunning dress with little flowers, on one of the clothing piles, as if it was a winning lottery ticket. So many times she had fantasized about herself walking and dancing in such a gorgeous dress. It was her way of day dreaming and escaping her harsh reality. Now her dream came true.
Carefully Adriana picks up the dress as if it's the most precious thing in her life. She's standing in front of what used to be a mirror and now only consist of a few glass shards. It's enough to see her reflection while she holds the dress in front of her. Her eyes are wet with tears, tears of happiness and a release of all the suppressed anger on her environment. With this dress she is someone and no longer a living dead from the slums.
She wonders if she shall wear it today, she doesn't want to get it dirty at work even though she wears an apron. Yes I'm wearing it, shouts Adriana out loud. Adriana decides, this will be the first day  that I'll be somebody, she'll wear the dress as a turning point in her life to fight her background and stand in life..."

Like Adriana we give power to the clothes we wear. We see ourselves immediately as stylish and having class when wearing classic expensive branded clothes. Without asking ourselves the question how is it possible that we change our identity when changing our clothes. Though we do, a shy girl might be quite out going when wearing sexy lingerie and she might actually feel herself sexually free. How can a pair of red knickers and a bra make you feel like a hooker? It's the feeling and the belief in our identities that makes us act as if it's real, but how real are you when you're changing identity all the time? Are you a doctor when you wear a white coat? Are you a pilot when you wear a pilot suit? Who we are is determined by who we really are and that's a stable state of being. You are who you are and not  that what you desire to be.

"Lian, a twenty five year old woman from China, wakes up amongst her 5 colleagues. They have to get ready for work, they work on the same plant they live on. The women share a room with 6, their bed and closet are their only private belongings for as long as they stay at the plant.
Lian's family is from the countryside and farmers over many generations. She decided to find her luck in the city and that's how she ended up working for a toy producing plant. Her idea was to sent money back home to up lift her family and share in the good life she had found. Reality turned out differently, she gets underpaid and has no life outside the plant. Lian and her colleagues work normal hours and mandatory overtime, she sends money back home to not disappoint her family or even worry them.
As all her colleagues Lian slips into her yellow uniform, they all prepared a well ironed one since today is the day that Wall Mart is arriving to do an audit. The girls are all given instructions about what to say and what not. Jiao, who normally speaks up is sent to her room for the day and will not get paid. Lian knows that speaking up will risk her job, even loosing a job that she hates is a terrible thing to even consider.
Every morning when Lian puts on the yellow uniform it reminds her of the life she's in. The life that she desired, far away from the country side, to make herself into a succes. This uniform to Lian is the very fabric of enslavement and the only way to survive. Taking it of will mean her death eventually and holding it on will take away all her freedom. Many times she's asked herself if this is what life is supposed to be. She never experienced abundance in her entire life that is if misery doesn't count.
At night she's glad to be able to take off her yellow uniform, only for a few hours when she sleeps, to dream about her freedom, a freedom she never has known her entire life..."

Due to the inequality in payment of all the parties that are involved in the making of a garment, when one party is paid less, they will put their effort into gaining more money and corruption is born. Plants or sweatshops have regular audits from their Western clients, but nowadays in China a plant can hire a consultant that makes sure that you pass the audit. The abusive conditions in which the workers do their jobs will not change through these audits. The fact that the client is not paying a realistic amount of money to the plant, makes the plant greedy for more money and they will cut on their workers. A cycle that cannot be broken as long as the inequality exists. A cycle that makes the workers hate their life's and trapp them into a system that will abuse them as long as they allow the abuse to happen. As long as we buy these products and feel good for the low price we pay.

Lian is revolting against the identity that her uniform is providing her. Every time she looks at the uniform or feels the uniform she's reminded of this deep ingrained hate for the work that she does. She knows that she's keeping this life of her in place, on the other hand she knows that when she quits the job she has to return home without a job and no money. We all have certain garments that remind us of the things we rather not be reminded of. The garment becomes a symbol for either a positive or a negative charged memory, which we perceive as real. You no longer wear long wool socks, because as a kid you had to wear them and you were scratching your legs open from the extensive itching. These socks became a symbol of others having power over you and not having control over the outflows. Therefore you didn't store it as a happy memory within your mind.

"Rosetta, a fifty year old woman from Italy wakes up and gets out of bed to put on her tracksuit. She loves to get up early while her husband is still asleep. She then slips into comfortable clothing that suits her while doing her chores in the house. She sweeps the floors and cleans the kitchen.
Around half past nine Rosetta is staring in front of her closet. A big closet where all clothes are neatly put away. Now she only has her summer clothing in the closet and her winter garments are put away. What will she wear today?
Rosetta hasn't bought a lot of new stuff over the last years. Sometimes she finds a sweater or skirt that fits her ideas of nice classic clothing that combines with the garments she already has. Her most favorable clothes are those of ten years ago. Slipping into those clothes makes her feel at home.
Finally she decides and picks the skirt that makes her look so young and the blouse that compliments her cleavage  and breast. She can still look like ten years ago, it gives her this special feeling and adrenaline is pumping through her body.
Rosetta goes out with her girlfriends to have breakfast, so she puts on a little make-up and her high heels. Of course her Gucci glasses and handbag our doing quite well with this outfit. Rosetta is now confident enough to go out and face the world.
While she's walking the streets to meet up with her friend at the cafe, she feels how the summer breeze is playing with her skirt. She's back in time, ten years ago. Back then she was happy and had still her youth and her relationship had still spirit. Things changed over the years and life isn't that exiting anymore. At least she has her memories and who can take those away from her..."

The period in our life's where we felt the most happy and the most ourselves are mostly the periods were our favorable clothes originate from. A person that still dresses him/herself in a hippie way will probably have had his/her happy moments in the seventies. It's hard for these persons to let go of the past, the past that provided them with an identity. An identity that they obsessive hold on to while not having to face their status quo in life today. By wearing old clothes one cannot stop time and one cannot live life in a constant memory of how things were. We give credits to clothes that within reality never can happen, yet we're not willing to see. The urge to not see their current life and instead be limited by the memories that made you happy once is a sad way of living your life. It is totally loosing contact with reality and a constant living in the mind.

"April, a 35 year old woman from the United States wakes up when her four year old jumps on the bed. Her little one is like an alarm clock and likes to relax in mommy and daddy's bed for a little while. April discusses with her daughter what she will wear today for kinder garten. Little Noa has a huge wardrobe and needs some help choosing the right outfit for the day. Noa wants to dress the same as yesterday, but April disagrees. She doesn't want her daughter to go out in the same outfit as yesterday, what would the other moms think?
While little Noa is dressed in a new outfit it's time for April to choose what to wear today. She walks through her closet while going through her hanging clothes with her fingers. A pair of trousers, a dress or a skirt, there is a lot to choose from, but she has been wearing it all for several times. There's nothing new and exited anymore. My God she totally doesn't know what to wear, it's a disaster. She decides to go with the Donna Karan outfit, what else should she do?
While having breakfast with her husband and daughter she informs her husband that it's time to do some shopping, since she has nothing to wear. Her daughter wants to join her, but April has already called some girl friends of her and is making it into an outing. Daddy will get you from kinder garten darling, April says. Her husband urges her to not forget to pay with the gold card.
April is meeting up with her girlfriends down town where the more exclusive shops are. April can take off from work any time. She's her own boss and whenever she feels like shopping all has to adjust to her decision. April has put her mind on some clothing of Donna Karan, since she sees that as the perfect clothing for her job and something she wants to be seen in. April is fitting into a brownish draped stretch-jersey dress when she comes out of the changing room and her friends are literally drooling. She's looking so gorgeous in this outfit and it only costs $2075. April is sure, she already impressed her friends and the shop assistant so this dress is hers, gold card here we come... 

April is a good example of not being in touch of reality while having all the money in the world. She's bored with her life and therefore bored with her wardrobe. She dresses to impress and seeks attention through her clothing. That's something we all do, dress to impress. Whenever we decide not to wear a certain combination like stripes with flowers, we do this only because of what others might say, this is indicating that you want to make people think good of you. Therefore you dress to impress.

To us clothes are magic and can make us behave a certain way, then we buy into the magic and perceive ourselves to be that way. Does a vagabond become a minister when he wears a suit? Does a poor person who suddenly dresses chic through donation clothing, become rich? If this was the case we could easily solve worlds poverty and famine if clothes had these special powers. But clothes are clothes, pieces of fabric hanging on our bodies. The only way our life changes is when we will ourselves to change. The only way the world around us changes is by changing ourselves and being able to change our environment. Clothes are clothes fashionable or outdated and can be processed into new cloths that make up new fabrics. Like all of us clothes will return back to dust of this earth to be reshaped and be of use in the best interest of all. Instead of donating we could recycle within a process that will not pollute our planet,but instead sustain, support and assists.

*the 4 women in this blog are based on factual fiction.

Source:

To Help Third World, Send Cash, not Stuff.

http://www.newser.com/story/130804/to-help-third-world-send-cash-not-stuff.html

The 10p cocaine byproduct turning Argentina's slum children into living dead.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/21/buenos-aires-slum-drugs-paco

www.equalmoney.org