consumerism

"In the absence of the sacred, nothing is sacred. Everything is for sale."
-Oren Lyons (Onondaga) 1992

If I can complain about Thanksgiving as a holiday, why not Christmas? My beef is with the pervasive present-giving expectations that drive our economic ship of state. While Christmas was originally a religious holiday, a visitor arriving from another planet would be forgiven if he/she/it missed this fact entirely. The current reality is that the Victorian-tradition fir tree, laden with ornaments and lights and attendant wrapped gifts underneath, has overtaken all other symbolic meanings for the day. Have you noticed as I have over the last five years, that most reporting on the Christmas holiday period revolves around how well the stores are doing with seasonal sales? And then there was the horror this year on Black Friday when crazed shoppers pushed their way into a Long Island Wal-Mart, leaving a store clerk dead in their wake…

The Library provides historical context for Christmas Past and Christmas Present, in its Digital Gallery holdings and related texts. The economic imperatives of Christmas unwrapped: consumerism, Christ, and culture are available for perusal, along with more conventional stories about the making of the modern Christmas. CATNYP has more than 353 entries for Christmas and its four related, narrower subject terms: Christmas service; Epiphany season; Jesus Christ Nativity; and Santa Claus. Nowadays, Santa Claus trumps everything else in the big media picture. Bring on those gifts, Santa, and boy they’d better be good value—reflecting all those deep cuts in prices consumers have been promised.

If you want to dust off your nostalgia, try looking at something like Sharing Christmas. Maybe the problem lies in the fact that our society tries too hard to push the concept that everything old can be new again when it comes to holiday celebrations. Haven’t we all seen the myriad newsstand magazines that revive the “make your home festive” articles? C’mon, who really has time for that? But out they come every year. And don’t get me started about the secular “holiday season versus Christmas” name-calling controversy. I think I’ll go put on my coat and walk up to Rockefeller Center to see the tree. After all, that poor 72-foot-tall fir is not to blame for what humans choose to mess up.

p.s. And, yes, I will feel much better after I see it, lights and all. Why, it might make me want to go shopping. Hmm… Saks is right across the street…

“A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of.”
-Jane Austen, Mansfield Park

Of course, there’s the little matter of how will we pay for our new fall fashions? You’ll be reassured to know that this question won’t bother that sector of the population that attends fashion shows and buys directly from couturiers. For the rest of us who await the trickle-down of readymade fashion must-haves, the question is a little more acute.

One secret of success is to pick and choose. Picking a new accessory—which the Vogue editors pushed as an idea—has always been a way of getting a modish look without too much financial pain. There are bound to be a lot of inexpensive costume jewelry knock-offs of statement necklaces and faux bijoux. I admire those who can sew and adapt the latest outlines or features, whether they are the new silhouettes or an alluring bias cut. One of my favorite books, available at the reference desk in the Art Reading Room is a wonderful resource, full of pictures and retro chic suggestions, called Collectible fashions of the turbulent 30s. Now, those were the days when your dress dollar had to go a long way! Unless you were Marlene Dietrich.

Those who know how to do canny shopping will benefit this year. If you live in the metro New York area, check out two sites that offer ways to shop frugally: TheElegantTightwad.com and fashionswapandmeet.wordpress.com

Where did the term “fashion victim” originate? Wikipedia claims that Oscar de la Renta coined the term, and the phrase was used by Giorgio Armani. Fashion followers become victims when they get entangled in fads and materialism… Hmmm. The psychology of feminine preoccupation with fashion is a rich area for investigation. The most appropriate publication I’ve found to date on the subject has a clear-cut title: Fashion victim: our love-hate relationship with dressing, shopping, and the cost of style.

I can’t decide whether it has more of the anthropological or sociological in its scope. The book’s author moves from the fashion industry as a whole to specific feminist concerns, including body image and self-esteem. As individuals, we women begin to evolve an attitude toward these subjects from teen years on. And when we grew up has everything to do with our feelings: my coming-of-age coincided with late 60s social protest. Which means I’ve been wary of fashion—even when embracing it—ever since then.

And now it seems that our presidential contest will be two men in suits slugging it out. I’ll have more to say about the politics of male and female fashion in the weeks ahead…