ROUGE Spring 2018
Hippies, Amish, and Goths. These three groups may all have different sets of principles and opinions, but one factor unites them: they all use their apparel to express their identity. The public commonly associates hippies with flower-power and bell-bottom jeans, the Amish with traditional suspenders and bonnets, and Goths with dark colors accessorized by heavy boots. These three groups’ particular clothing choices create an easily identifiable look for each of them: a way of setting them apart from everyone else. Fashion can be used as a tool to form a persona; it is a way for anyone to express their own individuality. This issue of Rouge centers around individual expression through fashion. As you peruse the pages of this issue I encourage you to keep this question in mind: do the clothes make the person or does the person make the clothes?
Annika Suderburg, Editor Input: Mia Dooley, Galilea Garcia, and Madeline Laun
I N D E X 1. The Zoot Suit: Expressive and Effective 2. The Punk Movement 3. Talking with Tabitha 4. Audrey Hepburn’s Personal Style
5. Featured Artist: Taylor Hanna 6. Style Spotlight on Daniella Gersh 7. Sources
The Zoot Suit: Expresive and Effective Written by Galilea Garcia
There has always been a strong Mexican presence in Los Angeles that is still present today. The Mexican influence shows not just through food and language, but also through clothing. Young Mexican-Americans, or Chicanos, both today and in the past have developed a style swayed by their marginalization and defiance. One of the biggest fashion movements that developed during WWII was in Los Angeles, where the Pachuco was created. Pachucos and Pachucas were identified through the language they spoke: a mix between traditional Spanish and the street vernacular Pachucos spoke in order to keep their dialogue unintelligible by authorities. This language mixture became known as Caló and was a key part of Pachucos’ life.
Besides their language, the Pachuco was also identified by the Zoot Suit. The suit’s pants had a high waist, held up by a belt, and fell baggily until the cinched ankle, creating a balloon effect. Pachucos usually accessorized these lax pants with a gold or silver pocket chain that draped against the thigh. Their loose suit jackets also reached below their knees and covered a much more fitted dress shirt. The outfit was usually topped off with a small tie and felt hat that accentuated the larger parts of their outfit. This suit was not only an important aspect of the Pachuco’s identity, but also their female counterparts; the Pachucas. It must be understood that the 1940s was a period when women were able to push the limits of traditional clothing due to increased female participation in industrial labor. Although the ability to wear pants and traditionally menswear items during work time was liberating, women were still confined to societal norms expecting them to remain feminine after work hours. This was not the case for the Pachuca women residing in Los Angeles. These Pachucas not only defied the expectations placed on them by American society, but also the stringent rules for women their Mexican families taught them since their youth. The Pachuca uniform consisted of a long suit jacket, a short skirt, and their pick of huaraches, a type of shoe. Sometimes Pachucas would even match the men in wearing large Zoot Suits. To add an additional unique aspect to their look, these Pachucas also wore their makeup and hair in a very specific, identifying way. They donned heavy, dark makeup and grew their bangs long, wearing them teased high. Both the Pachucas and the Pachucos, through their clothing choices, refused to confine solely to one of their cultures and decided to create their own.
However, this decision of redefining their culture was often met with criticism. Even within their own communities, Zoot Suiters were thought of as gangsters who pimped out Pachucas. The accusations of illicit behavior usually came from their immigrant parents or grandparents, who had to witness their community change, whether they wanted it to or not. Another facet of criticism came largely from the rest of the country. The United States, like many other countries involved in WWII, had a ration system. The jingoistic attitude many citizens held due to the war made them comply completely with this system and turn their old suits or gowns into new everyday clothing, even though it was not required. Although the Zoot Suit was an important aspect of a Pachuco’s identity, they were not wealthy enough to have more than one; the suits were usually only worn on special occasions by Chicano youth. Often people bought the suit before the rationing system was set into action, but the few who could afford it bought their Zoot Suits illegally. Even though the Pachucos weren’t necessarily breaking any rules, their way of dressing did not show enough support to the war causes according to local governments. This lack of showing support gave rise to anti-Zoot Suit propaganda. Eventually, this propaganda started to spread throughout the country, convincing citizens that Pachucos were unpatriotic delinquents.
Pachucas
This suspicion was not at all helped by the Los Angeles Sleepy Lagoon trial in 1942. The trial earned its name after a young man, José Díaz, was found dead near a swimming hole local youths had named Sleepy Lagoon. The watering hole was located near Williams Ranch in East LA. It was frequented by Pachucos from Long Beach and Vernon due to their inability to use actual swimming pools mandated solely for whites. Henry Leyvas and his girlfriend Dora, a young couple who were part of the 38th street gang, had a violent encounter with another group of teenagers from Downey. After the gang from Downey left, someone told Henry that the Downey kids were at a party in the city. When Henry and his friends showed up to the party, they were unsuccessful in trying to find the gang that threatened them. Despite their lack of success in confronting the Downey gang, a separate fight had broken out and Henry’s gang decided to flee the scene. The morning after the clash, authorities found José Díaz’s dead body. More than six-hundred Chicano teenagers were rounded up by the police. Out of these six-hundred came twenty-two alleged members of the 38th street gang, along with the female members of the gang who were arrested. During the trial, where the Pachucos who had been detained since the night of Diaz’s death were not allowed to change out of their Zoot Suits, the prosecutor kept pointing to their hair and clothes as a sign of their affiliation with crime. The trial’s discrimination and prejudice was kept intact through the press whose articles about the trial were bent on portraying the Pachucos as murderous, crime bent youths. Seventeen of the defendants were found guilty of assault and sentenced to six months to a year in jail, while another nine were found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to five years to life. Convicted of first degree murder, Henry Leyvas, José Ruiz, and Robert Telles were all sentenced to life in prison. After two years, the sentence was overturned due to insufficient evidence, but the damage had already been done to both the morale of the young Pachucos, and the American public’s view of Mexican-Americans.
One year later, in the summer of 1943, white servicemen from the Navy were stationioned in bases near Los Angeles. After months of tension and skirmishes over the attention of Mexican-American women, on June 3rd about 50 servicemen entered Los Angeles with the intention of avenging Joe Dacy Coleman, a friend who had been badly wounded in a fight with Pachucos. These servicemen beat anybody wearing a Zoot Suit, sometimes stripping them and burning their clothing. The violence accumulated over a week, with the servicemen’s daily jumping of any Mexican-American they encountered, and limited resistance from Pachucos who were easily arrested. The police force mostly arrested the Mexican victims of beating after the servicemen fled. The press again created a negative view of Pachucos, perpetuating their identity as hoodlums without any incentive to have attacked the servicemen fighting for the country. After gaining national attention, the riots stopped when servicemen were banned from entering Los Angeles. The day after, the wearing of Zoot Suits was also banned in Los Angeles. Despite the obvious prejudice against Chicanos this piece of history contains, it is empowering to the contemporary Chicano culture. Pachucos refused to hide their disapproval and hostility to the majority that discriminated them. Instead, Pachucos flaunted their differences and announced their individuality. The Zoot-Suit acted as that announcement. Their style was a palpable form of their refusal to assimilate into mainstream American
Sleepy Lagoon Detainees
culture, and it is still seen in the Cholo style that has been evolving since the 1920s. Unfortunately, Pachucos’ pride in their Mexican culture was viewed as anti-America to those around them. Despite the trouble this view gave them, the presence of Chicano fashion is powerful in not only Los Angeles, but has seeped its way into mainstream fashion and culture.
The Punk Movement A Guide to Radically Embracing Individuality
Written by Nicole Strubinski Makeup & Photography by Mia Dooley & Nicole Strubinski
We all have that one outfit we love, but are too afraid to wear in public. We fear it’s too revealing, too avant-garde, too gendered or genderless, so we just stick to trying it on in front of our mirrors before changing our minds. We instead switch into jeans and a t-shirt for a night out with friends. Fashion has a funny way of being both a public way to express ourselves and also an extremely personal reflection of our aesthetics and beliefs. Whether we are alone before our mirrors in JNCO jeans and a mesh top or a hyper-realistic teletubby costume, we are outwardly expressing our inner selves to such an intimate degree that showing it to the public is too daring of a feat. Since emerging in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia in the mid1970s, the punk subculture has acknowledged this battle of expression by daring to wear the outfit that embodies their beliefs and ideologies, even if it calls for a shift of their place in society. The punk movement was best known for its defiance of common social rules and customs. Radicality can find a definition in the social uproar that resulted from the movement’s members’ fearlessness in expressing their identities and beliefs: they listened to what was commonly considered abrasive music, had eccentric style, and exhibited a subculture of rebellion and speaking out. Through their clothes, punk reformers challenged
society to accept their messages since they were being worn so openly in everyday contexts. The punk movement is often misconstrued as a time when rebellious teenagers decided to disappoint their parents with gaudy outerwear, public fights and riots, and an attitude of disobedience, but that is not the case. Influencers in this movement were pacifists who believed in using non-violence to achieving their aims in a world that encouraged a battle or struggle to reach an end goal. These influencers’ methods of peaceful disobedience included protests, squatting, graffiti, and boycotting. Now that the punk movement has been clarified for what it truly is, the fashion sense that went with it can be viewed in a more accurate light. Early punk fashion adapted everyday objects for aesthetic effect, reflecting the resourceful and eccentric motives behind the subculture. Punks often held ripped clothing together with safety pins, creating a new and unique look. The punk movement also introduced fabrics and materials that had never been used to create wearable designs into the fashion realm. These popular materials included leather, vinyl, rubber, and PVC. Punks viewed any ordinary clothing item as a blank canvas just waiting for heavy customization. Embellishments like studs, chains, and patches would come to reflect an extension of the movement that would later be known as body modification. Some punks saw their bodies in a similar light to the clothing they wore on their backs; their bodies became a way to express opposition against what was considered normal and challenge the social implications of their naked physical form. Consequently, gender identity and presentation became an entirely unexplored playground of opportunities for rebellion. Men could look like women, women could look like men, and fluidity became so commonly expressed that presentation evolved into an art form. Gender was no longer a dichotomy, but a spectrum, and the punk movement’s lasting effects on the concept of a strict presentation binary can still be seen
today. One of the greatest contributors to punk fashion was the legendary designer, Vivienne Westwood. Inspired to put a spoke in the system in some way, Westwood was deeply inspired by the shock-value of punk. She took much of her inspiration from the social problems around her and expressed them through the industrial and edgy elements that defined punk culture. However, her involvement in fashion and social issues did not simply end with her design. In April of 1989, she would appear on the cover of Tatler magazine dressed as Margaret Thatcher in a suit that had been ordered for Thatcher, but not yet delivered. Her cover challenged the haughty air put on by politicians and especially critiqued Thatcher herself, the caption reading this woman was once a punk. Vivienne Westwood’s reputation in both punk design and influence has become iconic. Her Tatler cover was considered revolutionary - and equally disobedient - for its time. By defying the norms of Western society’s social boundaries, those who participated in the punk movement directly contributed to a new age of both political and social change. The people of our generation ought to look back and reflect on how our predecessors found the courage to achieve their goals through radical but peaceful means. We already take after them in our demands for change in the country we will inherit and in our eccentric subcultures. By acknowledging our predecessors and their sacrifices, we may one day possess the courage to take on the world in whatever outfit we choose to express ourselves in. So go ahead, don the mighty Tinky Winky suit for a day and strive to change your world one fashion statement at a time. After all, if a few patches and safety pins can start a social uproar, it isn’t worth it to believe that self-expression is too daring. No matter the popularity of the brand or the meaning behind it, fashion can mean anything if you take it into your own consideration.
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Eventually, I just decided that whenever I got too stressed I would have to remember to be confident in my ability to keep up with my responsibilities.
Talking with
Tabitha
Interviewed by Galilea Garcia Makeup by Gabriela Rizzi Photographed by Madeline Laun and Annika Suderburg had to do. Neither of these two strategies really made me feel better or improved how I got things done. Eventually, I just decided that whenever I got too stressed I would have to remember to be confident in I think my senior year has my ability to keep up with my been much more difficult than what I was told. I found it very responsibilities. It’s hard not to hard to focus on school, apply to just try do things quickly and get colleges, and still try to do things assignments over with, but it also I enjoyed. I tended to either get helps to keep a positive attitude, and to know everything will turn stressed over everything, or try out fine in the end. not to focus on all the things I How has your senior year been different from other years? Is it harder to focus on schoolwork when you’re applying to colleges?
What has been the most important aspects of your career at La Salle? The people? A certain subject or club? A sport? Definitely the people. This might sound weird, but I think I’ve been somewhat of a reality check to my peers. When I first came to La Salle it seemed to me as if we, my peers and I, came from two different worlds. We grew up so differently. I think they were able to learn from my experiences and realize that not every school is like La Salle. I think I’ve also been exposed to things I never thought about before until meeting the kids who attended La Salle. Seeing my surroundings change within an hour and a half almost every day for four years truly had an effect on how I perceive my life.
I believe my friends and I have had an effect on each other, and their impact on me will be one of the most important things I’ll be taking from my high school career. What has been the most challenging thing you’ve had to face by attending La Salle? Has it impeded your academic performance or other aspects of your life? I think the most challenging thing I’ve had to face in attending this school was the change in curriculum. At my old school, teachers talked the way students talked. They used a mixture of Spanish and English, along with a whole lot of slang specific to Boyle Heights. My old teachers talked this way because they were
able to think in both Spanish and English and knew the students would understand. We all spoke the same language as the teachers grew up in the same type of environment; as a result, I understood everything and grasped most of the concepts. La Salle was completely different. Besides the more challenging curriculum, the way teachers taught here was alien to me. I
realized that understanding things in Dolores Mission, my old middle school, was easier than it was going to be in La Salle. Of course, I also know there’s a rough adjustment period from any middle school to high school. But it really seemed like there was a barrier between my teachers and me. I realize that I did not trust them the way I trusted my old teachers. This affected my relationship with them, along
with my school work, because I was scared to interact with them out of class when I needed help. Who are the people that have helped you get through school, sports, and the long commute to La Salle? I’ve been blessed with a few true friendships that make the load I carry less heavy. Sure I have friends say hi to me in the hallway or in class, and they’re great people, but it’s only that, saying hello. I noticed a lot that people would ask about how late I was going to get home from a a school event, but not really care about my response. The people who made sure I got
home safely, either by texting me throughout my trip or giving me a ride, showed their genuine concern for me. It also helped a lot to share the bus commute with my sister during my freshman year. When she left I was sad, but I ended up developing new friendships because of the bus commute. I realized that a lot of the other kids who took the bus and Metro were on some type of scholarship, or were also on a full ride through San Miguel. It kind of became a pact that we would all make sure nobody went on the bus alone, even if we had to wait another half an hour because someone got
detention or had to do something after class. Do you have plans after graduating? Do you believe in having every aspect of your post-highschool life planned or are you taking a different approach? Yes, I do have plans after graduation. I, like most everyone I know, plan to go to college and pursue my dream of being a social worker. The reason I want to become a social worker definitely comes from the things I saw growing up. I knew a lot of kids who were abused at home and it always angered me to see the way their parents mistreated them. The feeling of being unable to help them as a kid is definitely what makes me want to go into a profession that will allow me to help them in the future. No, I don’t believe in having all of my post high school life planned. I’ve never been the type of person to fuss over having every aspect of my life planned.
Audrey Hepburn Hollywood’s It Girl Influencer
Written by Lilly Sayenga
Most people who claim to have an affinity for fashion know what Hollywood starlet Audrey Hepburn’s signature style was: flattering, tailored ensembles with statement accessories that grabbed attention without sacrificing class
career in the arts as a ballerina in Europe, Audrey was trained to be poised and elegant. This defining characteristic set her apart from other stars, renowned for their effortless sex appeal, who bedecked the silver screen. Hepburn had an ease of a different nature: a relatable one that allowed women to emulate her more easily. She set a new beauty standard that ladies were eager to follow. As the traditional elements of 1950s style began to come to an end, Audrey reinvented classics to have playful and feminine styling; she helped women feel more free in their clothing. Her frequent combination of turtlenecks and cropped pants, also known as cigarette pants, was sophisticated and fresh. When women saw her frolicking about in movies such as Funny Face and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, they desired to achieve
or modesty. But why exactly did Hepburn’s wardrobe play such a big role in raising her from it girl of the decade to ambassador of iconic style?
As she originally begun her
what Hepburn had: a graceful yet carefree attitude with a wardrobe to match.
Hepburn was often
dressed by Hubert de Givenchy, founder of fashion house Givenchy, for her films. The French designer got to know Audrey as he started working with her in 1954. He was instrumental in designing outfits that exuded class, elegance, and sophistication, but still felt natural for Hepburn and her taste. Audrey Hepburn’s authenticity both onscreen and off showed women everywhere
that beauty is not simply about attracting sex or having a perfect face, though she was absolutely stunning. Instead she introduced the positive impact that classic style made modern could have on the everyday woman’s wardrobe. Even today, we still mimic Audrey’s fashion sense in our own wardrobes. Hepburn had class like no other, and women everywhere were taking note.
Featured Artist:
Taylor Hanna I’ve always thought that looking into a face can tell a story better than any book. The works of art that I find most appealing are portraits that can truly capture who a person is. My work explores the fact that every person has their own unique identity. I capture who they are through facial expressions along with colors to represent feeling.
Sary Nachabe
Katherine Sabido
Robert De Niro
Taylor Hanna
Miles Ogden
Style
t h g i l pot
on
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Daniella Gersh Photographed by Gianna Vazira
Unlike selfexpression through visual or performing arts, fashion is a medium in which you
can express yourself through what you carry on your body. It feels very empowering to be
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Unlike self-expression through visual or performing arts, fashion is a medium in which you can express yourself through what you carry on your body. able to share my own spin on clothing choices by going out in an outfit I love. Searching out different pieces and being able to assemble them in a somewhat coherent way is very fun for me. There’s so much room for creativity within the infinite combinations of color, material, and clothing pieces. Color coordination
is one of my favorite ways to arrange outfits. I find it aesthetically pleasing when I can pull accent colors from one piece of clothing and match it with an accessory or another article of clothing. I also love color coordinating my makeup with my outfit to stimulate further creativity.
Sources
The Zoot Suit: Expressive and Effective Written by Galilea Garcia American Experience | Zoot Suit Riots | People & Events. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. Southern California Public Radio. "Archival Photos Document the Real 'Zoot Suit#39;." Southern California Public Radio. N.p., 07 Mar. 2017. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. "Sleepy Lagoon Trial :: Zoot Suit Discovery Guide." Zoot Suit Discovery Guide RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. "Zoot Suit Riots." U.S. History. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. Calderón-Douglass, Barbara. "The Folk Feminist Struggle Behind the Chola Fashion Trend." Vice. N.p., 13 Apr. 2015. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. "The Zoot Suit as Rebellion." Libcom.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. Licón, Gerardo. "Pachucos: Not Just Mexican-American Males or Juvenile Delinquents." KCET. N.p., 12 Feb. 2018. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. "La Pachuca: Mexican Subculture in 1940s Los Angeles." Museum of the City. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2018. Photos “1940s Zoot Suit Girls.” VintageDancer.com, VintageDancer.com, vintagedancer.com/1940s/1940szoot-suit-girls/. Dundon, Rian. “Photos: The L.A. Zoot Suit Riots of 1943 Were a Targeted Attack on Mexican and Nonwhite Youths.” Timeline, Timeline, 6 Feb. 2018. Newton, Holly. “Zoot Suit Riots.” Sandusky Register. “Pachuco: Ni Gringo Ni Mexicano.” Estepario, 12 Jan. 2017 Audrey Hepburn: Hollywood’s It Girl Influencer Written by Lilly Sayenga Seymour, David. “Audrey Hepburn Practicing Ballet.” Flickr, Yahoo, Paris, France, 6 Sept. 2009. “Audrey Hepburn in the Car.” Favim.com, Favim, 3 Mar. 2011. Parkinson, Norman. “Tumblr.” Tumblr, Tumblr.com, 3 Mar. 2011 “Hepburn- Style Icons Collage.” Fashion Style Fan, Fashion Style Fan. The Punk Movement: A Radical Guide to Embracing Individuality Written by Nicole Strubinski Dazed. “Vivienne Westwood’s Top Ten Political Moments.” Dazed, Dazed Digital, 8 Apr. 2015
RO U G E
Spring 2018