Fashion Statement

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The 19th Century French writer Marie-Henri Beyle, or better known as his pen name Stendhal wrote,

“Only great minds can afford a simple style”.

I was reading about him earlier on today and remembered some photographs I took from the recent Miri trip. These photographs were taken from the archaeological museum, about 1.5 hours walk away from the Niah Caves.

I did Ancient History of China for A levels History long ago and I came across this feet binding culture amongst the Chinese. To them, small feet reflect a dainty maiden, walking with small delicate steps. If present day horror stories about women hospitalized and going into comas etc, due to cosmetic surgeries gone wrong–is an indicator at all for the things people would do all in the name of beauty, underneath this pretty tiny shoe is a…

I was startled when I first came across this and quickly fished my trusted camera out. I thought wow.. that must have been painful. Until I saw…

In a culture where big earlobes are funky!… OR…

where long necks will guarantee better suitors.

Beauty is to the eye of the beholder, aye? Fashion and the idea of beauty is always evolving. One moment it is in fashion and everyone thinks it’s beautiful. The hippies flower power era made a comeback once in the 90s and teenagers in that era all so suddenly wanted to be floral, UNTIL the new fad came in. Once the new beauty/fashion form has been defined, all the world’s fashion sheep will start labelling outgoing ones as ‘OBIT‘, a term we use in my hometown to denote something which is off beat tacky ( OBIT ).

Likewise, a long, long time ago, when the Europeans first came into our region and colonized our land, they called our ancestral prebumis, who were then wearing cawats and the women wearing what were enough to cover their bosoms ( some not even ) and their simple loin clothes, uncivilised. With all their mighty judgment, they labeled our ancestors as uncivilized because with their full tuxedos and their women in big skirts, corsets, bonnets and gloves where nothing else could be seen but their sunburnt faces, our ancestors’ idea of beauty/fashion was not their cup of earl grey tea.

But alas, the uncivilised ways of our forefathers proved too irresistible. Much, much later in this day and age, that uncivilized fashion of covering up just what was necessary, became imperatively cool revolutionary fashionwares called the bikini and the g-strings. And those who are dressed like their women back then, with only the faces shown are now labeled ‘oppressed.’

But again, the idea of beauty is always revolving, and defined by traditionalist, modernist, imperialist, colonialist and whatever other ‘ist’ there are in this world. It would be ticklish if one day in my grandchildrens’ generation, the burqa suddenly become a cool outfit to wear to the Grammy Awards.

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