I like being stylish. So does everyone else. But you know what I hate? The entire fashion industry. And here's why.
When I was in elementary school, it didn't matter what you had on your back. They were just clothes to get filthy with grass stains and rust from those old monkey bars. It didn't matter if they fit, or what brand name they were, and even if they matched. And life was wonderful. Kids didn't care if you wore Tommy Jeans and Nike. It didn't matter.
Okay. Fast forward to present day... I do voulenteer work afterschool at an Elementary school. Hanging around these kids, I've noticed something. They're wearing Nike sneakers. They all have SOMETHING with Tommy on it. The black children wear FUBU and the white kids wear Nautica. And the unpopular kids wear Wal-Mart.
What the hell happened in the 10 years since I was a kid?
I'll tell you what happened. The satanic fashion industry has gotten their grubby little blood stained hands on our nation's children. Okay, I know. That sounds harsh. But just go with me on this one.
Anyone who is reading this should know how much you are judged by your appearance. Well, as teenagers and gradeschoolers, appearance means much more than as adults. The clothes one wears can mean the difference between acceptance and ridicule. The children who are poorer cannot afford the most popular clothes, and therefore are doomed to wander the earth as social outcasts until they get out of school altogether. Some don't make it that far.
We have all heard of the "school massacres". Unpopular students get guns and go mideval on their fellow students and teachers. Wonder why that happens? Well, I'll tell you one thing... It doesn't come from any video game.
Students that are constantly ostricized due to their appearance need to fill the hole with something. They turn to things such as heavy metal music, satanic practices, and anarchy. These are the establishments made for the "unwanted". If they don't do that, they become overcome with dreams of revenge. Some of them get into guns. Then some of them blow up their classmates as they act out their revenge.
If they don't blow up their tormentors, they get rid of themselves. The suicide rate in teenagers is rising exponentially in the current years. On the other hand, so is the importance of wearing just the right clothes. As the fashion industry continues to cram fashion down youngster's throats, they cause these horrible side effects. Another side effect is the rise in bulimia and anorexia.
Wonderfully skinny models dressed in the most stylish outfits adorn magazine covers, store walls, tv sets, movie screens, and just about anywhere else the fashion assholes can put them. Young girls with a little bit if weight on them see the "perfect woman" as a skinny girl that wears all the stylish brands and says all the right things. If they can't get themselves skinny enough, guess what they do? They put their fingers down their throats and puke up their supper. Or they don't eat anything at all. They exercise for hours trying to get that perfect body that only a small percentage of the population actually has. But that's how they're supposed to be, right?
WRONG. But that's what the fashion industry wants them to think. Year after year, there is still MORE blood on their hands as young girls starve themselves, trying to be beautiful.
The most popular clothes are made cheaply and marked up. Every Nike shoe costs around $5 to make... but sells for around $120. Tommy makes his jeans for around $15, but sells them for $80. What does this extra money buy? A name. But without that name, you might as well buy a dunce cap to go with it, or a shirt saying loser. Cause that's what you'll be in this day and age. You just can't be popular unless you wear the right styles. The styles that the fashion industry says should be popular. I don't own anything made by Tommy Hilfiger. In fact, I can't even spell his name right. I don't wear Calvin Klein. I don't own any Nikes. I have one pair of Dr. Martins... and they cost me $30, which is about all they're worth.
I DO own Wal-Mart pants. Some of my favorite clothes came from the SALE section at Sears and Belks. I am not ashamed to say that I have bought clothes from the Salvation Army and Goodwill Industries. I do have my weaknesses, but I refuse to spend $50 on a shirt that cost $5 to make.
As the Man of the Century and my idol once said, "It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the meat wrapped inside it." Oh, if only the world were as Albert Einstein would have it.
Maybe now my statement about the bloody and dirty Fashion Industry. I think they're all going to hell.
At least that's how I see it.
~*Feisty Charli*~
December 1999
ADDITION, OCTOBER 31, 2001
I have another addition. Another reason I HATE the fashion industry is I can NEVER find clothes that fit me. I am forced to buy clothes that are two or three sizes bigger than I really am, because the stupid assed fashion industry designed all of their clothing for women WITHOUT HIPS! I have a narrow waist and a good set of hips... in other words, curves. Curves were seen as good things back in the early 1900's (with the exception of the 1920's, where women tried to look like boys). In fact, in the 1950's, women went to extremes to give themselves the illusion of curves if they didn't have any. Look at Marilyn Monroe for chrissakes!!! She had CURVES! But all the clothes you find in stores today are made pretty much for boys who want to wear dresses, because guys do not have curves. Apparently, neither do supermodels. But dammit, I do and so does most of the female population! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!
