Occupy Your Closet: The Revolutionary Costume

Maybe it's the act of people rising up in the streets to challenge the Status Quo; maybe it's the handmade signs or incredible dialogues I've heard on the front lines; maybe it's the newly strong calves of people who have added "marching" and "standing in the cold for hours on end" to their exercise regimen, but there's no doubt about it:

This Revolution is Sexy.

This power, for the first time in a long time, has to do with the ideas of the people- not what they are wearing. Not to discount looking good...even a Catholic Priest looks sexy when holding a sign that says Death To Capitalism. But as with anything, certain cliques develop, and a "new" style trickles to the masses at the mall. The first drips cannot be far off.

[To Bay Area readers: the look I go on to describe may seem much like our own beloved "black-hoodie mafia", only homogenized. But these new hoodies are clean, cleaner than even our skin. Plus they've added perpetual, unnecessary face-hiding.]

It is only a matter of minutes until the "Occupy Look" reaches the global runways (I could even be late on this; I'd imagine Hot Topic is already selling those horrid white masks, as well as buttons and t-shirts emblazoned with "99%").

Yesterday, on the way to the Port, the fashion choices of of a small group of protesters became more apparent than I had previously noticed. Sitting at General Assemblies, I don't see any of these kids. Most people are older, wrapped in blankets and puffy jackets, protecting themselves form the cold during the arduous process of Direct Democracy (the wrapped-in-a-blaket look being a personal favorite). But aside and apart from all the blankets and wiggling fingers, a certain aesthetic has been picked up on from the suburbs.

I don't know what to label it. Anarchist Chic? Black Bloc Vogue? Either way, it's spreading, so don't be surprised when your kid comes home from Pleasant Hill High School wearing a full on gas mask.

Yesterday, I noticed countless young people (this post is only about the teens. anyone over 24 doing this is a whole different issue) working the same look, while thousands marched on, ignorant to their fashion.
Huddled in small groups, looking busy, the distrusting sneer they give is the first indication that they are not only part of an altruistic, larger movement fighting for Social Change, but are foremost part of a pack of kids fighting for Fashion Acceptance. Which is fine, the bodies are needed, but as the story of my life goes, I never do well with costumes, dress codes, or sneering packs of teenagers.

[If this post was in The Ironing Board Collective, a wonderful fashion blog, there would be a series of pictures showing examples of what I am talking about. Since I'm not that savvy on this here blog, I'll have to use words. Fortunately, the look is the same for all genders, so I won't have to break it down in binary. Everything is in black unless otherwise indicated. One look fits all...]

Let's start below the ankle and work our way up:

Blackspot Sneakers (made by AdBusters): Costing about $80. USD, Blackspots are made from hemp and natural rubber in a Fair Trade factory in northern Pakistan, making them the first choice for the socially-aware revolutionary.
I won't get into the politics of sneakers here. They are designed by John Fleuvog (one of my all time favorite shoe guys, truly...no wonder they're so cute and I secretly covet them but won't buy them because I'm often too poor and always too old).
On Adbusters website, it says: "This is your chance to unswoosh Nike's tired old swoosh and give birth to a new kind of cool in the sneaker industry..."
Now you know where to go if "giving birth to a new kind of cool" is your reason for marching.

If these are out of price range, a pair of Chuck Taylors ($40-$50 USD) in red or black, seem to be the next best thing. Despite that Converse is owned by Nike, rendering them not that revolutionary on the surface, they apparently work just fine. You can walk in them. I saw people doing that, walking in them. Just know that you are an evil re-swoosher.

Try and avoid leather when choosing shoes (for some reason the same doesn't always apply when picking a jacket).

Above the shoes and to the knee is where joyful individuality can creep into the costume. The bicyclists, bless their hearts, will wear one leg rolled up with a stripey sock ($7.50 at The Gap. Hey, Adbusters doesn't sell socks, and I'm certainly not knitting you any).
I doubt many kids in Emeryville are seeking out sweatshop-free socks, where throngs of holiday shoppers push each other around to feed cash registers on sacred Ohlone Land.
The one leg rolled up/ stripey sock look, besides feeding expression, is a measure taken for keeping the bike chain from grinding your skinny jeans into pilly nubs. Careful, now. And remember to always have the leg rolled up, even if you're driving a car or riding the bus. It let's me know: "that person rides a bicycle." The same way a single match floating in a public toilet tells me, "that person just took a shit".

If the bike leg is not rolled up, we can see the whole of the skinny jean (Levis, $75-$150 USD) without the chaos of the stripey sock. How the cyclists get it rolled up so far in the first place is beyond me. It's like a tourniquet...

For a moment I must jump straight above the neck to the fashion face mask. I can't bear to wait.
The bandanna -worn- tight- around- the- face is the new tribal tattoo/tramp stamp. An all-purpose face cover, the fashion mask is to be worn in all situations, even especially when tear gas is not present or threatened.

Dependent on weather, you can use different types of fabric so you don't have to be the fashion victim who needs to pull down their mask when talking to other masked friends, or sliding it to one side to smoke a clove cigarette- a mortifying faux pas, to be sure.
Proms, weddings, Senior Pictures, I predict the face mask will be the next big hit with the Twilight Crowd.

Until then, I'll try to learn how to post pictures.
More in part 2, which may not be directly after part 1.

[Full disclosure: I do know the importance and value of carrying a face mask soaked in apple cider vinegar during protest/civil disobedience. Right pocket, in a Ziploc...I'm jaded, not stupid.]