(This is the sequel to this blog post, which discusses cultural appropriation in relation to costumes)

In this post, I would like to talk about how history influences how we view and interact with the world. More specifically, how the art/cultural movement of Orientalism has influenced Western and East Asian cultures, and the effects this has on cultural appropriation. History provides context for our modern world. It allows us to see the influences and events that have shaped and continue to shape our culture. Most importantly, history allows us to see that beauty standards have not always remained a certain way. They are mutable; they are constantly changing.

With this in mind, let’s look at the history of cultural appropriation, specifically the art/cultural movement of Orientalism. Orientalism refers to the “imitation or depiction of aspects in Middle Eastern, South Asian, African and East Asian cultures. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers and artists from the West.” (source) This description might lead you to believe that Orientalism is steeped in problematic colonial beliefs, and contributed greatly to the othering of Middle Easten, African and Asian peoples within Western society. You would be correct. 

Image made by ceruleancynic

The movement began somewhere in the 14th century, but it gained a lot of traction within popular Western European culture in the 18th and 19th centuries.

L’Esclave blanche by Jean-Jules-Antoine Lecomte du Nouÿ depicts a member of a harem: a common theme in Orientalism

There were several lasting effects of this movement including–but certainly not limited to–the influences on literature and art. For example, Van Gogh was deeply inspired by Japanese floral prints.

An example of Orientalist influence in Van Gogh’s Almond Blossoms.

An example of Japanese floral art, done by the Japanese artist Hokusai

A subgenre of Orientalism, Japonism, influenced French fine art and English decorative arts. It was during this movement that the kimono painting mentioned in my previous post was made. This article talks a little more about the painting’s historical roots, and how that affects the statement the painting is making.

Claude Monet’s painting, La Japonaise

In addition, the Art Nouveau movement in the late 19th-early 20th centuries was hugely influenced by Orientalism and Japonisme. Art Nouveau went on to be the main influence behind 1920’s fashion, architecture, and overall aesthetic.

An example of Antoni Gaudi’s Art Nouveau architecture

An Art Nouveau print inspired by East Asian floral prints

The Wave by Erte, a well known Art Nouveau artist

The Seasons by Art Nouveau artist Alfonse Mucha

This history of Orientalism and Japonisme can sometimes make it very difficult to tell what is appropriation and what isn’t. In some cases, as mentioned in the previous post, it is very obvious–Katy Perry didn’t wear a kimono just to broaden cultural views, she did it to make a statement and borrow the exoticism that comes along with another culture’s costume. In other cases it can be more difficult to tell what is appropriation and what is an exploration of the intersections between Western and East Asian culture.

For me, at least, learning the history of culture and cultural beauty standards helps me better understand not only my own culture, but how my culture intersects and influences other cultures. 

(quick note: The second part of the appropriation blog post should be up this friday!)

I’d like to share a couple of fashion and style blogs that I personally follow and enjoy.

fuckyeahchinesefashion  describes itself as “Chinese fashion in general. Street fashion, magazine scans, models, stores, news. We will try to make it 40% modern,40% traditional,10% Cpop and 10% art and other stuff.”  It’s more of a general aesthetic blog rather than a straight-up fashion blog–there are artsy photos of buildings and landscapes in addition to clothing photos. There are also a fair amount of posts about historical Chinese clothing and paintings.

tokyo-fashion is “an online magazine devoted to clothing, accessories, and style in Tokyo, Japan.” It mainly focuses on street style photography in neighbourhoods such as Shibuya or Harajuku. While street fashion is the main focus of the blog, there is also a focus on the different artists (specifically clothing designers) within the neighbourhood, and their latest projects. IMO, they do a very good job of presenting Japanese fashion in a way that doesn’t alienate the reader–a problem I feel a lot of other sites fall prey to.

fripperiesandfobs is a blog run by a costuming student, and contains historical fashion and costume design. It is mainly focused on the West, and usually the clothing is from the late 19th-early 20th century, although there are posts that feature the costume design for recent movies (I believe there was a series of posts comparing the initial sketches of costumes for Game of Thrones with the finished product). It is purely fashion-based, and has little to no text accompanying the pictures. I find this interesting because you can see how the Western image of beauty has shifted over the years, and the different trends that have gone in and out of style.

Minori has been mentioned on this blog before, but I’d thought I’d give her another shout-out because I really like her, and find her story inspirational. Her blog post contains photos of her outfits, updates on art shows she’s hosting/participating in, and assorted fanart/letters from her fans. I’ve already talked a lot about Minori here.

Fanny Rosie is a woman who lives in Montreal, and her blog (like Minori’s) Mainly contains pictures of her outfits. She dresses in a Lolita variant style, (Lolita is a fashion/subculture which originated in Japan and which mainly consists of wearing Victorian-ish clothes such as teacup skirts, elaborately patterned tights, and lots of bows and ruffles) and posts fairly regularly. Her blog is interesting, because her style is a Western interpretation of a Japanese style which was influenced by (among many other things) historical Western fashion. It’s all very through-the-looking-glass.

If any of you follow fashion blogs you think should be on this list feel free to tell me, I would love to hear about them!