American Mullet

Mullets.
You've seen these haircuts.  Short on the top, often with buzzed sides, and left long in the back or with just a small tail of hair (often called a rat tail).  If you still don't know what I'm talking about you can click here to see photos.
Though the mullet was most popular during the 80s and early 90s, this hairstyle has developed somewhat of a cult following in pop culture over the past few years.  Do an Internet search for "mullets" and a handful of websites turn up which in turn glorify and mock this utterly unique hairstyle.

The documentary film American Mullet explores this hairstyle phenomenon by addressing topics such as:
What is the origin of the mullet?
What kind of people have mullets?
Why do they have mullets?
How is the mullet perceived by others in our society?

The makers of American Mullet travel the country seeking out those with mullets as well as soliciting the opinions of pretty much anyone who will talk to them in an attempt to answer these questions.
It's safe to say that the mullet will probably never be accepted by most as an attractive hairstyle, but the most interesting thing this film reveals is that, contrary to the (seemingly popular) belief that people with mullets are just cluelessly out of date, the mullet wearer often has very specific motivations for their choice of hairstyle.  Whether it's simply to be unique, challenge social norms, or identify with a particular social group or ethnicity, the mullet wearer is probably far more aware of the politics and social repercussions of physical appearance than most people- after all, it takes a certain amount of bravery to choose a look that most people would consider anachronous at best.
What is also discovered is that this particular hairstyle is not limited to one specific type or group of people.  There seem to be as many different people who wear mullets as there are styles of mullets:  rock music fans, country music fans, lesbians, children, artists, soccer players, wrestlers and bodybuilders, Native Americans and Latinos, and even a mullet-sporting doctor are interviewed.
Some see their mullets as practical- a way to have long hair without the maintenance or a way to appear professional while still maintaining a unique identity. A twenty-something female artist wears a spiky pink-tinted mullet- she sees it as form of self-expression, of being different and unique.  She says she likes to wear things that don't quite go together, as she wears a blue and silver 80s formal with ballooning cap sleeves and a tiara. A man in a sleeveless denim shirt and short brown mullet is a deadringer for the country singer Billy Ray Cyrus (in the 90s), though he says that he had his mullet first.  Nevertheless, he boasts about the look-alike contests he's won.  In Las Vegas a woman in a sleeveless t-shirt wears a black spiky mullet resembling that of an 80s rocker.  She laughs about being mistaken for Joan Jett at a concert and says she likes both the music and the aesthetic of 80s women rockers.
The film delves into the popularity of the mullet among many lesbians.  A lesbian woman in a suit and brightly colored polka-dot tie talks about how the mullet as neither a predominantly "male" or "female" hairstyle is a way of using appearance to challenge the gender binary.  Among lesbians the mullet can also serve as a means of identifying oneself or others as a lesbian, as well as creating a sense of unity within the lesbian community.
The mullet is also a popular hairstyle among Native Americans as well as some Latinos.  Native Americans often wear their hair long in the back as a tribute to their ancestors.  And in Latin America, the mullet hearkens back to the indigenous Mayan and Aztec peoples, although one man says with a wide grin that he keeps his because women love his long hair.

And now, courtesy of YouTube, I bring you a fun little song all about mullets from the Beastie Boys.

Click below to hear "Mullet Head"

(*Disclaimer: This is not an actual Beastie Boys video. I'm not sure that there is an actual Beastie Boys video for this song.)

And here are the lyrics, in case you're wondering:

You're coming off like you're Van Damme
You've got Kenny G, in your Trans Am
You've got names like Billy Ray
Now you sing Hip Hop Hooray
Put your Dakleys and your stone wash on
Watching MTV and you mosh on
#1 on the side and don't touch the back
#6 on the top and don't cut it wack, Jack

Shiny chrome rims never rusted
Driving through the tunnel, you might get busted
Never trusted, Mullet head
You know you took that girl to bed
Cruising 8th Street Saturday night
Trying to find a head shop, looking to fight
You've got that stonewash derriere
Spike the top because the week-end is here

You wanna know what's a mullet? well
I got a little story to tell
About a hair style, that's way of life
Have you ever seen a Mullet wife?

Yo, take a chill B, check out my Spillbee
'Cause you don't know about the Mullet head
Cruise in my Iroc, stonewash on my cock
Got it like that 'cause I'm the Mullet head
Put me on trial 'cause I'm worth your while
Pass me the comb 'cause I'm the Mullet man

Read the New York Post, read a story
About Joey Buttafooco in all his glory
They said he tried to freak it with a high school girl
Pimpin' Amy Fisher to the rest of the world
A real lover man, a real Cassanova
Joey got horny and now he's over
Amy got pissed, shot his wife
Joey gest to jail for the rest of his life

Cut the sides, don't touch the back 

The real price of cheap fashion

Forever 21 peddles trendy clothing at bargain basement prices, but what are you really paying for?

1. Forever 21 sells sub-par quality clothing, poorly constructed with cheap materials.

Yes this dress, top, skirt, pant is cute… but it’s not going to look so cute after a couple of washings when the fabric pills, the dye bleeds, and the seams tear and fall out.

You’re saving money now, but you’re actually paying more over the long term by having to continually replace shoddy clothing. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-black/boycott-forever-21_b_147973.html

From consumeraffairs.com:

“The poor quality of clothing this chain offers has gone from acceptable to waste. What this chain sells is junk clothing, which falls apart or shrinks in the washer after its first use. I purchased over $100 worth of clothing. First sanitary thing I do is wash them before wearing. After pulling them out, every single garment/sweater/top had shrunk. After complaining about it to the store, they would not take it back since its been "used", meaning washed. What is worse, there is absolutely no returns on any merchandise for original payment type. Meaning, I will never get my money back on any return except for store credit in the form of a gift card. Why? Because they know the stuff they sell is junk; and they are ripping consumers off, knowing that what they purchase in their stores will not last one day.”

Forever 21’s junk quality clothing coupled with a no refunds return policy means you are being blatantly and unapologetically ripped off.

2. Forever 21 supports unethical, unfair, and illegal labor practices.

How do you think they can afford to sell their clothing so cheap?  In addition to using poor quality materials and construction, Forever 21 subcontracts the making of their garments to third-party garment manufacturing companies.  In turn, these third party manufacturing companies outsource their work overseas to poor and developing countries where manufacturing and labor costs are dirt cheap and workers are abused and exploited.  This means that…

In a time of serious economic uncertainty and rampant unemployment, Forever 21 and similar companies are essentially giving the middle finger to the American economy and by extension to the American people.  Instead of paying a little more to keep manufacturing in the U.S., thus providing jobs and supporting the domestic economy, Forever 21 chooses to send much of its manufacturing overseas.  Maybe this wouldn’t even be so bad if the garment workers in Bangladesh and other countries were actually being paid a realistic living wage

and didn’t have to work in sweatshop conditions, at least then one could say they were perhaps making a positive impact on the economy and way of life in the “third world”.   

      Of course, even if Forever 21 were to move all of its manufacturing to the U.S., it wouldn’t mean that they wouldn’t continue their intolerable labor practices. 

     

Even in its U.S. factories in Los Angeles, poor and immigrant women are being exploited in the name of cheap fashion. 

     

From http://www.39thandbroadway.com/hate-21/:

      ‘…Forever 21 has been taken to the California Supreme Court regarding its unfair labor practices repeatedly.  As one factory worker Guadalupe Hernandez explained she earned, “$4 per hour working 10 hours a day 6 days a week in a factory with no running water and no bathroom.”’

      Of course Forever 21 has tried to claim ignorance about its flat-out unconscionable labor practices because it outsources its manufacturing, but clearly Forever 21 hired the third party manufacturer.  Should they not bear some responsibility for researching the manufacturer’s labor practices before contracting with the company?  This is what a responsible company would do, but obviously Forever 21 and companies of its ilk DO NOT CARE.  And why should they care as long as they continue to turn a profit?

            http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=792

3         Forever 21 blatantly rips off other designers.

There’s a difference between imitation and flat-out copying of another person’s work.  Anna Sui, Diane von Furstenburg, and Betsey Johnson, are among those whose designs Forever 21 has blatantly carbon copied (albeit with much poorer quality).  Now this may not seem like a big deal in regard to prominent and successful fashion designers who already make scads of money, but…

Forever 21 has also ripped off the work of smaller, independent designers.

            Forever 21 has been sued multiple times for intellectual property violations.

However this really hasn’t put a stop to the company’s practices since Forever 21 is a multibillion dollar company.  Forever 21 has been sued approximately 50 times and because they have the money, they simply settle out of court and continue with business as usual.

           

http://jezebel.com/5822762/how-forever-21-keeps-getting-away-with-designer-knockoffs

http://jezebel.com/5821563/forever-21-gets-sued-for-copying%E2%80%94again

4. Forever 21 does not practice what it “preaches”.

By now most people are aware of the ubiquitous “John 3:16” covertly printed on the bottom of each of Forever 21’s bright yellow shopping bags.  

From http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/23/business/fi-forever23:

‘The inscription is "evidence of their [the company owners, Don and Lin Sook Chang] faith and their commitment to God," Senior Vice President Larry Myer said.’

The Changs have given millions to their church and attend services and they have gone on mission trips to several different countries, but there seems to be a disconnect when it comes to their faith and their business practices.  It doesn’t seem that blatantly ripping off consumers with inferior goods, exploiting workers, and unapologetically violating intellectual property laws by copying other designers is a very Christian way to conduct business.

Conclusion:

Forever 21 is not the only company guilty of unethical business practices and by law corporations can only be driven by profit.  Right now this is how they profit.  

But you and I don’t have to buy into it.


---------------------------------------
Epilogue:

As stated above, Forever 21 is not exactly unique in its business practices; however I chose to single out this particular clothing retailer because never in my history of shopping have I encountered such a proliferation of cheap, poorly made clothing being marketed as "fashion" as at Forever 21.  It was during the rainbow-colored acid wash jeans trend of a couple years back that I was lured in with the promise of trendy clothing for cheap (specifically purple straight-legged jeans).  I bought a few other things from there: a black sweater-coat that pilled after one wash, a gray and black long-sleeved tee printed with an ornate fleur d' lis-esque leaf pattern (also pilled). Then one day I bought a black lace slip with built in bra without noticing that only one cup had underwire!  That was the last straw.

By the way, the aforementioned purple jeans are now buried in the back of my closet.  They never did fit quite right.    

How to do it #1: Original hems

How to shorten a pair of jeans while retaining the original hem.
It's really not as difficult as it seams. (Hardy har har.)

1. Put on your jeans.  While wearing the shoes you will normally wear with your jeans, fold up the cuffs of your pant legs to the desired finished length. You'll probably need a full-length mirror to double check your work-stand on a box or step stool to get a good view of your feet.  A good hem length is about a half-inch from the floor at your heel.

2. Once you determine the correct length, pin the cuffs in place.  Take your jeans off.  Find some other pants to wear. (Or just sew in your underwear!)

3 Using a seam gauge, measuring tape, or ruler, measure your pant leg from the fold to the original hem, but DO NOT include the original hem in your measurement.  Divide this measurement in half.

4. Unpin each pant leg and refold using this new measurement. (Example: if you folded up 2 inches of pant leg, your new fold will be 1 inch.) Make sure your cuff is folded with right sides together- you want the original hem on the outside of the pant leg. Pin the leg all around, using your seam gauge, measuring tape, or ruler.

5. Using a nice hot iron and lots of steam, press the fold closed.  Make sure to match up the side seams.

6. Sew around the circumference of each pant leg* keeping your stitches as close to the original hem as possible without sewing into the hem itself.  Use a zipper foot and preferably a machine needle specifically intended for denim.  When finished you should have a fold of excess fabric around the inside of each pantleg.

7. When your pants are right side out, the original hem will still be in place and there will be a seam just above it. Press everything down, then put your jeans back on and go back to the mirror to make sure your pants are the correct length.

8. If everything looks ok, go back to your iron and give everything one good press. You may wish to trim or tack the excess fabric left on the inside of your pants.  If you trim, make sure you leave enough fabric to allow for fraying- a half inch is probably plenty, or just zigzag or serge around it.  If you've messed up (which happens to everyone sometimes!) take a few deep breaths or grumble a few curse words, grab a beer, some chocolate, or smoke em if you've got 'em, then rip out the seams and try again!  Don't get dismayed.

9. Congratulations, you're done! Admire your handywork and go brag to someone that you now know how to professionally hem your own jeans!    

*Helpful hint:
Stitching over those giant seams sucks!  Lots of pressing with heat and steam helps. Lowering your machine tension and tugging Ever So Slightly as the fabric leaves the machine will also help.  If you get stuck and the machine keeps stitching over the same place, stop and raise the presser foot and needle and advance the fabric manually about one stitch length or so- usually that helps get everything moving again.  One trick I learned online is to use a hammer or mallet to flatten the seams down before you sew.   You may even wish to gently tap around the entirety of each of the seams you've made when you're done to really press everything together.

Additional resources:
http://sketchee.com/blog/2008/7/8/hemming-jeans-like-a-pro.html
http://www.denimblog.com/denim-101/how-to-hem-your-jeans-with-the-original-hem-2/

Random Essays: Dressing Up by Nancy Bean Foster

Re-posted from her blog:  http://nancibeanification.com/tag/nora-ephron/

I remember as a little kid sitting around reading National Geographic magazine and being fascinated by all them foreign people and their interesting customs. There were women with dozens of rings elongating their necks, men in loin cloths with sticks piercing their ears and noses, Chinese girls with feet tightly bound, children running naked and unabashed through the streets of dusty villages, grandmothers gnawing on chicken feet.
I always thought these people were weird, strange, odd, or crazy because their customs and traditions were so completely different from the ones I grew up with. It didn’t occur to me until I was much older that if a photographer from a tribe in Ghana or a villager in the mountains of Peru had visited the United States to photograph the natives, they might have had their own bizarre pictures to share.
Raise your hand if you think hairy armpits on women are gross.
(Did you raise your hand? Now take a sniff. If you think body odor smells bad and wearing deodorant is normal, keep your hand up. If not, put your hand down. You stink.)
I’m pretty sure that most American men and women believe that hairy armpits on a woman are gross. Now of course there are a few naturalists who love to rub their noses in their lover’s locks, but these people also tend to be stoners and stoners think everything is awesome, even stinky pits. But the rest of us are put off by underarm hair, aren’t we?
Why does pit hair bother us so much? Does it spread disease or make us ill or put us at risk for weird sports injuries? Nope. There is no medical or hygienic reason for the adoption of shaving – somebody in the early 1900s simply thought a chick looked better in a sleeveless dress without the little Bob Marleys poking out from underneath her wings. Women have only been shaving in earnest since the 1920s and the practice didn’t become mainstream until after World War II.
But when we Americans see armpit hair on women, we grow uncomfortable, troubled, disturbed, grossed out. And we’re shocked to learn that this shaving thing, though catching on, is not par for the course around the world. We’re the weird ones when it comes to bald pits.
So why does it bother us? Because it’s different, and we humans seem to be really uncomfortable with different.
Folks seem to forget, or in some cases never realize, that we all start out exactly the same. We’re all born (with the exception of those with birth defects) with faces and hair and genitals and legs and arms and blood and skin. Our bodies in their purest form are what we come into the world with. That’s it.
Everything else is artificial – our languages and religions, what we eat, how we dress, how we adorn our bodies – these are things that our cultures have made up. They aren’t integral to our existence as human beings – they’re just expressions of where, or to whom, we were born.
I think it’s important to have an understanding of how superficial these customs we’ve adopted are because we seem to spend an awful lot of time judging each other based upon them. They don’t define us, really, do they? If I’ve got a pierce nose or a Coach bag or long fingernails that curl and twist around themselves like the limbs of a corkscrew willow, and this is all you see, you don’t really know a thing about me, do you?
Oh, we can make assumptions about each other based on these superficialities. Low-slung pants and a cap turned sideways screams gangsta wannabe. A Coach bag on your arm means you either have lots of money in the bank or not a pot to tinkle in but you’re trying to prove otherwise. A pierced nose means you’re not a committed picker. The problem is that none of these assumptions speaks to the heart of who a person is – just who a person wants to be seen as being.
So much of what we do, so much of what we use to identify ourselves culturally, is nothing more than fashion. And yet we base so many of our opinions about other cultures based on these fashions. A woman who wears a head scarf must be oppressed. A man in a loin cloth must long for Levis. We are so convinced that our way is the right way, that we fail to imagine that there exist other definitions of “normal.”
Let’s think about some of the things women in our culture do that would seem insane to a “normal” person elsewhere:

1. Have you worn a pair of high heels lately? Seriously, we think it’s beautiful in this country to squeeze our feet into shoes that move our centers of gravity dangerously high putting us at risk for ankle and knee injury. With repeated use, these shoes cause corns, calluses and other foot defects that will make the simple act of walking difficult in our later years. We are deforming our feet, much like Chinese women used to, in order to be fashionable. The funny thing is, in the 20^th century the Chinese finally figured out how crazy foot binding was. In the 21^st century, Americans started wearing platform stilettos (because the regular kind weren’t suicidal enough).
2. Because shaving isn’t bad enough, many American women go into little rooms in beauty salons, strip down to their natural states, have hot wax slathered on their genitals and muffle their screams as the wax, and their very natural hair, is ripped off. These are, of course, the same women who then hold fundraisers to end genital mutilation in Africa.
3. Have you ever worn a bra or a pair of nylons or a jock strap that is actually comfortable? Seriously? Of course you haven’t.

We do these things to ourselves because somebody told us that we’d be beautiful if we did, and we believed it. And yet we look at images of women with dozens of rings around their necks, or sticks poking through their noses, or scarves on their heads or hair growing under their arms as weird or strange or abnormal.
The truth is, we’re all just playing dress up. We’re all just taking these perfect blank canvases we were born with and painting them with the colors adopted by our respective cultures. We are no better than anyone else for our superficialities because simply put, if we are stripped of our fashion, we’re all pretty much the same.

Original article: http://nancibeanification.com/tag/nora-ephron/