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We often hear that fashion as a form of sociopolitical communication is never as apparent as we think. We look around on campus or at the grocery store and see people wearing clothes that don’t seem like they represent much of anything at all. But the reality is, fashion has always represented something larger than what meets the eye. Fashion can inherently represent economic status, religious beliefs, and social stances — and this concept dates back longer than we may think. But, for ease, we’ll start in the last couple of centuries.
Bloomers In The 1850s
At this time in history, women were forced to adhere to modest standards. This took form in “floor-length dresses” and “full skirts.” Because of these standards, pieces such as corsets and petticoats became paralyzing for young women and their desire for mobility in their daily lives. One day, an editor of the Seneca County Courier brought up the idea that women might be able to escape the distress of their heavy accessories by wearing Turkish pantaloons accompanied by a knee-length skirt. Amelia Bloomer, an editor for The Lily newspaper in Seneca Falls, New York, would later cause this idea to boom as a new trend for women, with the followers later associating this style with her last name — “bloomers.” Though this wide acceptance of bloomers and skirts would still be tied to the skirt’s assimilation to feminine standards, it did mark progress that helped normalize and prioritize comfort in women’s fashion.
White Dresses & The Right To Vote
During the suffrage movement in the early 1900s, women used color in their wardrobe to send sociopolitical messages. More specifically, suffragettes wore white dresses during the Suffrage Procession of 1913 — a parade that took place before President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, in hopes of acquiring constitutional rights for women, namely white women. During this time, women who went against traditional standards and wore pants were deemed as masculine and “angry feminists.” The goal of the white dresses was to present the suffragettes as “pure” and “feminine” in contrast to their views being perceived as masculine. I believe that this desire to be presented as pure directly correlates to how the suffragettes only wanted rights for white women. Nowadays, we can directly see how white feminists take this idea of being pure and innocent to contrast racialized and gendered stereotypes surrounding women of color — just some food for thought.
Post-War Consumerism
After World War II, consumerism was thought to be the one thing that could boost America’s economy. This manifested through home, car, appliance, furniture, and clothing sales all across the nation. For clothing, the consumption of such would soon be associated with class status. French designer Christian Dior created a “new-look” for women in 1947. The silhouette included “rounded shoulders, cinched-in waistlines, exaggerated hips, and full skirts.” This style carried on well into the 50s, and was often a sign of opulence and wealth in women, particularly white women, when made with high-quality fabrics such as silk, cashmere, velvet, and taffeta. At a time when the middle class was booming, wearing these luxuries sent a politico-economic message that the white upper class would always be separate from their counterparts.
The Black Panthers
The Black Panther Party for Self Defence was founded in Oakland, California, in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The organization believed in and implemented “Black nationalism, socialist programmes, and their militancy against police brutality through armed self-defence.” Through their time in urban communities, the Black Panthers were not only known for their philanthropy but also for their uniforms. Consisting of a black beret, black sunglasses, turtlenecks, and black leather jackets worn by the men, each piece of their outfits held symbolic context. The most recognizable piece of the uniform, the black beret, held the most significance. It was said to speak “to their militancy and unified commitment to revolution.” Their sunglasses were included to combat the increased police surveillance they experienced as the FBI began to target them. The uniform helped symbolize the Black Panthers’ separation from the Civil Rights Movement and their belief that those included in the Civil Rights Movement were assimilating to white standards.
Tinker v. Des Moines
This was a landmark Supreme Court case in ensuring First Amendment rights for students even when they are in public school. In 1969, at the time of the Vietnam War, students were extremely vocal in their opposition to the war. Some students, in particular, Mark Beth Tinker, John Ticker, and Christopher Eckhart, planned to wear black armbands to their school in Des Moines, Iowa, to protest and demonstrate their opposition. Once their principal got word of the plan, he “warned the students that they would be suspended if they wore the armbands to school because the protest might cause a disruption in the learning environment.” Despite this warning, the Tinkers and Eckhart wore arm bands, which ultimately did result in their suspension. The parents of the Tinkers and Eckhart took their school to court, and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court. With a 7-2 decision, it was ruled that neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.” This case established that political expression, especially through clothing and accessories, cannot be punished.
Slogan T-Shirts (1970s-Now)
Slogan t-shirts weren’t necessarily invented in the 70s. With that being said, English designer Vivienne Westwood was said to have pioneered the use of t-shirts to express political messages. In 1971, Westwood and her partner, Malcome McLaren, took advantage of the punk renaissance to uplift these “nonconformist” pieces. They believed it was crucial to use “fashion as a platform to make political statements.” One of Westwood’s most notable pieces dates back to 1977. A t-shirt with a “bold red Nazi swastika, an inverted image of Christ on the cross, the word ‘DESTROY,’ and Sex Pistols lyrics,” was sold at her SEX store on King’s Road in London. This piece was meant to demonstrate her opposition to dictatorships around the world, more specifically, her opposition to Chile’s Augusto Pinochet. Nowadays, we see political t-shirts every single day, making the idea of such much less taboo. From t-shirts saying “crush I.C.E.,” to “Let’s Go Brandon,” all sides of the political spectrum utilize this form of protest.
So What Does This Mean?
The use of fashion as an extension of your sociopolitical views is something that will most always be protected under the First Amendment. Of course, fashion doesn’t always have to represent something — a simple tank top and jeans won’t inherently say that you swing a certain way. What this does mean is that within the constitution, you reserve the right to express what you want to express, when you want to express it, so make sure to take advantage of it.