Culture · 6 pages · 12 min
Why last decade's ordinary clothes become costume
Once a default silhouette moves on, yesterday's ordinary clothes start pointing at a period.
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From the opening
Clothes that were ordinary in a recent decade become costume when the unmarked default moves on and those cuts, colors, and logos no longer disappear into the present. They begin to point at a time, and clothing that points at a time or a role is what costume does. The opening covers unmarked dress becomes a date, costume means pointing at a time, and vintage wears the past on purpose.
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Inside
- Unmarked dress becomes a date
- Costume means pointing at a time
- Vintage wears the past on purpose
- The current silence will date too
- Where the idea stops applying
- A distinction worth keeping
Sources
- Period costume built from ordinary clothes of a year
- Fashion defaults becoming visible once they are no longer current