It’s so interesting, I actually work as a hairdresser and I just started this job where I primarily work with black girls and they all have their nails done, and I wonder how are you running your hands through so much hair without losing a nail? I just don’t know how you live your life in those things!
Definitely, and I would say that is a very Black-Americana thing.
It’s an art form.
It is an art form in itself. I’ve had many family members or just people I see who may not have as much, but it’s nice to see them still priding themselves in how they look. And they should. I can invest in this, and again I think you have that respectability aspect of it too. But at the end of the day, it’s just like “Do you sis!”
I wonder how much of it is connected to self-esteem and joy, or the aesthetics of yourself? You could be poor, but at the end of the day at least you could look good and feel good about yourself.
I also think that it is about having freedom and agency within your body. Luxury to me is about agency. If you look at an urban area, like Detroit, it is the complete opposite of whiteness. Of course certain things are appropriated into mainstream culture, however that is very important because it insinuates a sense of protest. There is something very radical about being able to occupy certain spaces, for example with your hair or nails. It’s protest, and it’s about being unapologetic about your existence. Sure we assimilate, because that’s part of life, but I respect the people who just give zero fucks about it.
It’s a very weird, touchy area. I feel there is such a thing as white culture and black culture, and they exist next to each other, but are not necessarily working together and everyone is okay with it, in a way. It’s okay, but it also feels weirdly not okay to acknowledge it.
Exactly, I think so. I lived in the suburbs of Washington D.C., and at a lot of events that my children would attend, they would be the minority because it is predominantly white and Asian. My son had a concert, and a young man asked him if he had khaki dress pants but called them a different word, and I had to Google it. We were both baffled why we hadn’t heard the word before, but I told my son that it’s just language. Another example is that in black culture we say ‘triflin’’ like, “Oh, you’re triflin’!” And I was working with this guy and he was like, “What is triflin’, I’ve never heard that word before.” It was very funny. And I think this language difference translates back to the fashion component as an interesting line. Especially with black elders, they understand the importance of assimilation and respectability within a culture, for example with dreads. Even with the hairstyles my girls are wearing - those are very Black Americana hairstyles - it’s an ode to that culture of being who you are and being able to celebrate it with agency.
Something I’ve noticed living in NYC is that many high-fashion designers seem like they just walked around Harlem and just pulled from what they see on the streets. It’s so weird how these looks are characterized as “low culture,” yet these designers pull them into high culture and it becomes very confusing on where a style even originated from.
Well, you have Dapper Dan, who was this guy from Harlem in the ‘80s who would take Gucci patterns and would make them really ‘ghetto fabulous’ and hook it up. He would take luxury fashion and make it even more luxe. He had all these beautiful pieces he made for rappers and celebrities. But they cracked down on him and shut down his shop. However, two years ago, Gucci took one of his ideas and put it on the catwalk. Twitter went crazy, and Gucci hired him to work for them, and now he does.
That is so good!
Also, Google “ghetto prom dresses.” There’s this huge thing in the Midwest for customization, which was really big when black people migrated to big urban areas and received these jobs, and it was the first time we were really able to participate in the middle class. But we weren’t allowed to shop at those stores, so we would have to remake our own pieces. That’s how customization became such a big thing. I was a prom dress designer while I was in high school, so I was designing these ghetto prom dresses that were pretty much haute couture.
So you sew and know how to make clothes?
I do not, I would just design them and take them to a seamstress.
That sounds like a super intelligent life hack!
It is! But now we also have to talk about the bootlegger within the community. There are a couple types of bootleggers - I had friend who’s father would go to China, purchase a lot of knock-off designer handbags and then resell them. But then there are also those who would just have really bad knock-offs or steal them. But the role of the bootlegger within urban communities was a very major role. Still, look at “Sex in the City” - everyone is wearing bootlegged things. We’re not immune to it. But within the hood, it became really important to have access to this ‘luxury.’ It’s very fascinating and convoluted. Now that I left teaching, I’m really getting fresh, and when I go back to the hood, I love it because black people are like “I see you sis!” But I feel like when a white person notices, they’re just like “Okay, cool.”