Clothing brands being unwittingly taken over by Neo-Nazis is a problem that never occurred to me before. But of course that would have to happen somewhere along the line. Social groups use clothing to help define their image - just thinking back here to my amazement at the brand fascination of teenagers when I spent a year in public school to earn my high school diploma, back in the twentieth century. It’s ubiquitous in sports from football to golf, social strata from street youth to white-collar professionals, and so on. This is so ingrained in society that one seldom realizes its importance until one is on the outside looking in: not knowing how to dress appropriately for one’s social position immediately reveals a person as an outsider, with unpleasant consequences that may include being shunned or having one’s competence questioned, for example.
So it makes sense that even (or especially) extreme groups would want an unofficial uniform, and that this could become a problem for their unwilling targets because clothing is about image.
As are cars, coffee mugs, bags to briefcases, and many other things in our daily lives that we unconsciously match to our personal identity even when we’re not actively trying to convey a message. It can be subtle: A shy person might button their shirt all the way to the top. Trust in someone else might be conveyed by not feeling the need to keep everything perfect around them. Etc.
Good for companies like Lonsdale and Subaru (and my old favourite, NB) for successfully figuring out this delicate balance.
You never know when you might be taken for a Nazi just for being punctual. :p
Being a father that's a bit larger than normal, the Neo-Nazi takeover of Hawaiian shirts really burned my biscuit! Now I come to find out (after reading this) that they've taken over New Balance shoe wearing too? I always thought New Balance was the "Official Shoe of Dads"! My dad uniform was a Hawaiian shirt and white New Balance 608's. (newer ones for dress, grass stained ones for casual). What am I to do now? Any suggestions for brands that us Big Dad types can take over? On a more serious note, it was very interesting piece.
Clothing brands being unwittingly taken over by Neo-Nazis is a problem that never occurred to me before. But of course that would have to happen somewhere along the line. Social groups use clothing to help define their image - just thinking back here to my amazement at the brand fascination of teenagers when I spent a year in public school to earn my high school diploma, back in the twentieth century. It’s ubiquitous in sports from football to golf, social strata from street youth to white-collar professionals, and so on. This is so ingrained in society that one seldom realizes its importance until one is on the outside looking in: not knowing how to dress appropriately for one’s social position immediately reveals a person as an outsider, with unpleasant consequences that may include being shunned or having one’s competence questioned, for example.
So it makes sense that even (or especially) extreme groups would want an unofficial uniform, and that this could become a problem for their unwilling targets because clothing is about image.
As are cars, coffee mugs, bags to briefcases, and many other things in our daily lives that we unconsciously match to our personal identity even when we’re not actively trying to convey a message. It can be subtle: A shy person might button their shirt all the way to the top. Trust in someone else might be conveyed by not feeling the need to keep everything perfect around them. Etc.
Good for companies like Lonsdale and Subaru (and my old favourite, NB) for successfully figuring out this delicate balance.
You never know when you might be taken for a Nazi just for being punctual. :p
Being a father that's a bit larger than normal, the Neo-Nazi takeover of Hawaiian shirts really burned my biscuit! Now I come to find out (after reading this) that they've taken over New Balance shoe wearing too? I always thought New Balance was the "Official Shoe of Dads"! My dad uniform was a Hawaiian shirt and white New Balance 608's. (newer ones for dress, grass stained ones for casual). What am I to do now? Any suggestions for brands that us Big Dad types can take over? On a more serious note, it was very interesting piece.