Epistemological violence in America

A specter is haunting America – the specter of the Gray Jumpsuit…

Today is another gray jumpsuit day, which are occurring with increasing frequency. On these mornings, I get up, look at my clothes, think about fashion’s role in our society, and it occurs to me that the very concept of fashion is completely absurd. Only since the advent of modern industrial society has fashion served as a status symbol for the masses, and more recently has its importance as a sign of individuality come about. Almost any clothing article or accessory is consumed conspicuously, in that the item cannot be decoupled from the social significance it carries. To wear a retro Adidas jacket is to declare your fashionista/Europhile identity; to carry a Louis Vuitton handbag is to flaunt your membership in bourgeois culture. Today on the train, I saw a woman wearing an asinine pink coat and fuzzy white hat ensemble accompanied by a pin-bedecked messenger bag, which announced her uniqueness by adopting extreme hipster fashion clichés. Sitting just in front of her was an apparently well-to-do guy wearing a Labor Union stocking cap with the apparent intent of declaring his working-class solidarity (which is uber-hip in some sets these days), while in reality the closest he’s probably come to a Union laborer is the guy who installed his Jacuzzi bathtub.

My point is that fashion is ridiculous, unnecessary and the perpetrator of much deceit. Thus, I boldly declare the beginning of the Gray Jumpsuit era. If we all were gray jumpsuits at all times, there will be no confusion or anxiety with regard to fashion and significantly less in social situations. One need only look at the visions of the future given by science fiction: in the utopian world of Star Trek, any regular civilian wears a non-descript jumpsuit, as is the case for anyone in the dystopian classic Logan’s Run. Let’s stop living with our antiquated notions of appearance – designer labels, exotic fabrics and conspicuous consumption are out; the 24^th century peasant look is in! For those of you worried that the Gray Jumpsuit era will quash all individualism, I offer a token of lenience: small, colored armbands may be worn to denote one’s mood.

My affection for Socialist culture is based primarily on aesthetics: the imposing public monuments of faceless workers and the uniform look of gray and brown wool. We have much to learn from these examples. The gray jumpsuit’s presence will improve any setting: it can easily replace the current professional standard – the business suit. Society only considers the business suite more respectable or less ridiculous than the gray jumpsuit because the former is the current norm; we can easily transform the latter into the hallmark of our society. Despite fashion’s stated purpose as a signifier of status and individuality, uniformity ultimately results from washed-out, mass-produced trends – then why shouldn’t we accelerate the process a bit?

Think of a packed bar on Friday night in which every patron wears a gray jumpsuit. There are no lies in this place. There is no hiding unsightly bodies or creating the illusion of false beauty. If we all wear the same thing, then the bullshit and uncertainty of meeting people disappears. If you look good in a gray jumpsuit, then good for you because you must be pretty damned hot. If you don’t look good, it doesn’t matter because hardly anyone else will. The gray jumpsuit is the great equalizer.

# posted by workplex @ 15:36 0 Comments