They have pictures of real people and not just skinny models. Every day I browse through a number of those sites and bookmark pictures for inspiration. I've done this for a while and I've come to wonder: where are those real people? I mean all the real people. I see plenty of pretty young folks, sometimes even (gasp!) middle aged or (YIKES!) old folks. What I do NOT see are, for example, overweight people, let alone people with (visible) disabilities or deformities.
Ahemmm, what could be the reason? Don't those people ever wear anything cool? Naturally most clothes aren't made for people whose bodies differ from the norm, so dressing fashionably may be more of a challenge for them. But I suspect the main reason is that they just plain don't meet our petty little beauty standards. Yes, it is disappointing to notice that in the end street style sites are playing by the same old rules.
Well, in fact even high fashion designers have used models that do differ from the norm. Aimee Mullins, double amputee, has modeled for Alexander McQueen. It has been said that "one would never know her legs are prosthetic", and yet that she's stretching our ideals of beauty. Well, maybe a bit, but why is it then so important to note that we wouldn't even know that the legs are prosthetic? 
Also - she is beautiful, period. She just doesn't have legs. It seems that these are the conditions on which someone with a disability can be said to be beautiful: they shouldn't be too far away from the beauty standard in the first place, and better yet if the disability can be conveniently disguised.
A similar yet somewhat different example from closer to home: Kaisa Leka (on the left, picture courtesy of liikekieli.com), Finnish comic artist and graphic designer, author of the comic book I am not these feet which deals with her amputation. She most often wears skirts and her prosthetic legs are not of the kind that look like "real" legs. Which, AFAIK, is a statement in itself. I have seen her a few times, and yes, her legs do look a bit
scary for the untrained eye. But her style is actually very much like those I bookmark when browsing the street style sites. I would totally bookmark this photo if it was on hel-looks. Or the one to the right (from her website), she looks quite adorable in her Nanso dress and cute hairdo.
I do think it shouldn't be too hard for Kaisa to get bookmarked by plenty of people, after all she's a young, cute looking gal with a nice style. Yet even people like her are absent from the street style sites.
People with disabilites don't really post much to the different outfit documentation sites, either. I don't remember ever seeing anyone in a wheelchair at wardrobe_remix. I can come up with plenty of probable explanations for this but still I kinda hope someone would do the dirty job of stretching our boundaries. Because the fashion industry isn't doing that, and apparently not even the street fashion sites.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
You know there's that cool thing about street style sites
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13 comments:
this is a difficult topic i've also been thinking about lately. it's great if people are as brave as leka, still dress up great and have no problem with showing their "disabilities". however, most people aren't - which is probably the reason why there are no photos of them on streetfashion websites. of course i can only speak for me, but i wouldn't have a problem with taking a photo of someone with a disability or any other "problem" for tragflaeche - if only they are wearing something beautiful. of course this is easier said than done, but i will try to remember your words when i think about taking someone's picture because it's important to broaden people's minds. in addition, i would be happy if other people with disabilities took leka as an example: it's a pleasure to look at her - she's just lovely!
agreed, we need more diversity everywhere, especially on street fashion sites, if they purport to photography "real" people.
i have not noticed anyone in a wheelchair/prosthetics in w_r either, but they are certainly more than welcome to post there if they wish.
i have seen people of all shapes and sizes post there, however, and some, quite stylishly. whenever there's a particularly amazing photo of fabulously dressed person of size that has posted in the group in a given week, i try my hardest to include said photos in my weekly round-up, and generally the same for men, and individuals of all races/origins, etc.. representing them all at some point is important to me. i am of course not perfect, but i do and have tried from the beginning to do so.
i have noticed that "hel-looks" tends to, and has often featured a wide range of ages, if not sizes, in their street fashion postings, as i recall seeing some particularly stunning portraits of stylish older folks. and i LOVE that...it shows style is ageless, and when a person gets to be older, it's so lovely how comfortable they are with their own sense of style and who they are as an individual.
i don't see so much diversity anymore in street sites like facehunter or the satorialist, the latter seems to have some older stylish men but fewer older women, very rarely anyone of size, or anyone with any apparent handicaps. the former seems to concentrate on trendy young people.
anyway, sorry for the novel! :) this was an incredibly thoughtful post...this is why i adore your blog so much...it's miles away from most of the similar fashion blogging fare out there these days! bravo. :)
Yes Laura, so true! I agree that's probably one of the reasons why people with disabilities are absent from the street style sites. Even people with no disabilities are often self conscious and don't want that kind of publicity, and if you have a visible disability it might be even harder. But since you're running a street fashion site yourself, that's a great opportunity for you too to see beauty in more unexpected places, how cool is that?
Tricia, thanks for the compliments :)! I agree that w_r has more diversity than many other sites. If and when there's bias that's because it's just so tiring and challenging not to give a rat's ass about something as major as beauty standards. We probably all know this too well. I do love your picks for the remixers of the week, exactly for the diversity factor!
Great post. There's probably a fair amount of self-selecting going on at WR--since people choose whether or not to photograph themselves and post, we really can't "blame" anyone but the participants if there is a lack of representation from people who are older or have a disability or whatever. But out in the world, I think people with disabilities have a certain kind of invisibility that comes from other people trying to avoid being rude or staring. And this invisibility translates into a lack of representation on street style sites or in fashion in general.
I have noticed the same thing about street fashion sites. But I'm actually quite sure, that if Kaisa Leka walked in the streets of Helsinki and was spotted by the Hel-Looks crew, they would definately publish her pic.
Some street style sites tend to be more diverse than others, when it comes to age, size, ethnic backround or even the actual style. I myself have never been particulary fond of Stockholm Streetstyle, because the people usually look like generic copies of each other.
I agree with you that it would be a marvellous thing, if a person with some disability would post on w_r. But that would take a lot of courage.
P.S. Thanks for the wonderful post!
Great post! You've given me lots to think about.
I work with adults with disabilities. Mainly what we now call "intellectual disabilities" (it's so hard to keep up with the latest terminology!) but also some with physical disabilities. I agree with Maven, there is a certain kind of invisibility. I often feel that many people w/o disabilites in the general public feel like there is an "us" and a "them", maybe because they haven't been exposed to such diversity. I come across this attitude all the time. I would like to see that change.
Last summer I had a chance to be a part of a fashion and art event put on by the agency where I was working at the time. People with and without disabilities (different ages, shapes and sizes, too) had the opportunity to model thrift shop outfits (!!!) together on the runway and the public was invited. It was so much fun, and hopefully we got to raise a little public awareness- beauty and fashion have no borders! Maybe a few people had seen something that they hadn't seen before, and that's a start.
I do the work I do because someday I hope that all individuals will be valued, visible, and empowered. I do not want to speak for others or assume to know what their experiences are, so I hope I am not coming across that way. If there are people out there who identify themselves as having a disability, I'd love to hear what you think!
PS- I would also like to see clothing manufaturers diversify more and make clothes that all people can feel good in!
Thanks, all, for the comments, and for pointing out how many reasons there are for the lack of diversity at street fashion sites - the beauty standards aren't definitely the only reason! I worked (for a short period) with some disabled people. Then it truly hit me that I had a tendency to define them through their disability and not as persons. I think a lot of people do this, and this may be one reason why disabled people don't end up on those sites, either.
Ranna, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard for Kaisa to get there! But then again, we also do "know" her a bit as a person, don't we?
Roxanne, that fashion event thing sounds fun, and yes, I think it can be very though-provoking to see disabled people represented in unusual ways. I know someone who's involved in disability arts and hearing about that has been enlightening for me too.
Yeah, Kaisa has a bit more "celeb-status" than most of us, but I'm sure she'd get there regardless of that. She is a beautiful woman with a great sense of style.
(I'm happy that she has the status, though. I think she has done great work stretching the ideas of "normality" and beauty.)
Fascinating post.
great post and highlight of leka. i think about this topic often. with my site, fashionist, i hope to convey a more wholistic image of sf and it's people, i've had people who were as young as 3 and as old as 80 on the site, as well as a wide diversity of ethnic backgrounds, not to mention body shapes. my subjects are very real people and represent a realistic image of the sf bay area.
i think with street fashion, it is difficult to portray deformities and those in wheel chairs because (1) there aren't as many people with disabilties/deformities walking around in urban high pedestrian areas as there are "able" people and many times it is a numbers game (2) we're put in a situation wherein we are asking a favor from people and many people have a fear that they may be made fun of, this is multiplied when a disability is apparent. not to say i wouldn't ask to take a picture of a well-dressed person with a disability, just that i would need to evaluate how socially comfortable they would be with the request. (i've worked with people with disabilities for a year, so i'm not coming out of left field here.)
so, i guess my answer to the question where are the real people? i'd say they were, at least, on my site, stay tuned.
Mai, those are good points. I suppose that many people, disabled or not, can't be persuaded to pose for a street fashion site, and of course there's a myriad of reasons. Ideally people wouldn't have to refuse because they fear they're not respected. But even then disabled persons would have bad hair days like the rest of us, so some would still refuse :)
I've been following fashionist and will continue to do so!
Interesting post since I am a disabled person myself. I sometimes post daily outfits on my blog but not very often cause it does feel a bit scary. I'm very rarely pleased with the pictures taken of me, I critisize my body very much.. I feel that I can't look stylish enough cause I'm "wrong shaped". I'm a bit gealous cause I can't wear all the fashionable stuff they sell in stores cause they just don't fit me. And that makes me feel my outfits aren't interesting enough to show.
http://www.desthea.com
Desthea, thanks for commenting. And good for you for posting outfits at least once in a while, I imagine it can be intimidating (heck, it is for most of us). Re. the clothes shopping - one doesn't have to be much different from the "norm" when it becomes a challenge, and that sucks. The clothing industry is all about selling masses of stuff and not offering diversity - ah well, that's market economy for ya, I guess!
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