FOLK CULTURE

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Jihad Sartorial Autobiography

I come from a Muslim family, which means as a Muslim woman I have to cover up certain parts of my body.  I have to cover my arms, my legs, and my hair as well. I have friends from all different races and religions and they dress a differently. The main difference is that my friends usually show more skin. My family’s motto when it comes to dressing is that “Modesty is best!” We made this our motto because we have to make sure we cover ourselves before we leave the house. Another reason Muslims cover themselves is so when we find a husband or a wife they will love us for ourselves and not for our bodies.  

The only clothing that I do not wear is those with offensive language or images. Even if the clothing shows skin I can wear it as long as I have something to cover underneath. The words I would use to describe the way I dress are; punk, revolutionary, 60’s hippie and Afrocentric.

I use these words to describe myself because I believe that I shouldn’t fall into one category, when it comes to dress I belong to multiple categories. I became aware of dress as a personal statement when I started working at the Folk Culture internship and started to learn about different cultures and how they dress. The way I have dressed has changed by how I feel. When I was younger I used to dress like an emo person.

Looking back I realize it meant that I had a low self-esteem and was still finding things out about myself. Now I dress more revolutionary, reflecting my Afrocentric roots and political ideology to show people that I am more accepting and loving of myself. I have my faults but that makes me who I am.

“ a type of popular punk music with words about people's feelings and emotions

slang a young person who likes this music, wears mainly black clothes, and is often nervous, worried, and unhappy”*

*Cambridge dictionary

Jihad, Age 18

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Sartorial Autobiography

“In my family, we don’t dress based on our own traditional backgrounds. We dress based on our own style and liking. However, my mother always tells me not to dress to impress others but for my own heart. On the other hand, she showed me the difference between trashy (inappropriate) and classy (presentable) helping define my sense of what to wear and what not to wear. My mother would use the examples of crop tops and short shorts as what she viewed as inappropriate and would give off the wrong impression. On the contrary, my grandmother ensured that I dress to give the right impression to people because it shows how I’ve been raised and the type of home I came from. In my country (Jamaica), we wear bandanas on culture day but in school we wore uniforms that were pre-selected and strongly enforced. Since I moved to New York my style has changed. I now dress based on my mood, the season, and the occasion. For school, I think of ways to look edgy but comfortable. For example, I would wear black jeans, red hoodie and red sneakers; I would also have my hair out with curls. For church, I go for a classy teenager look with a lot of jewelry and bright colors like a burgundy skirt and a bright colored african print shirt. My hair is now thick, black and natural but before I used to perm it thinking it would make my life easier. But now my eyes have opened and I realize that natural beauty is the best beauty. My style is based off of me and what I like and not what everyone else is wearing. I use style as a way of expressing who I am”.

-Avana F., Age 17

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Sartorial Autobiography

“I dress according to the occasion. However, I tend to lean towards the more formal form of dressing. In all honesty, I would wear a three piece suit to bed if I had the chance. I enjoy looking sharp and I like standing out from the crowd in the best way possible and I believe suits provide a diverse set of choices in details- "nothing suits me like a suit". I have a very unique personality and I manage to dress differently from day to day. With suits I can personalize my style while still appearing professional and that is extremely important to me. I graduated from the Learning Tree prep last year. There I played the African drum and I also performed in many plays and shows. Now I am in the Art and Italian club, but I am most dedicated and passionate about the spoken word club”.

Phillip M., Age 14

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Sartorial Autobiography

“Growing up, clothes were never a big part of my life. All that mattered to me was that I had something to keep on my back and I was fine with it. As I began to grow I came to the realization that not only are clothes important but they say a lot about a person and their personality. Amongst my friends and family ideas related to clothing often differ from one another; some love how clothes look on them and whether or not the outfit is appealing enough, while others don't care for popular opinions and just dress to dress. I am one of those people. Although I have no regard for other people's opinion of me, I do know what to wear and what not to mainly because of my love for color coordination. I learned this from my uncles who helped explain that coordinating colors makes an outfit pop. However, my clothes come off as basic, mainly because I’m not trying to make a personal statement, it's just something I'm wearing. If I want to make a personal statement, I'll make one myself”.

Xavier C., Age 16

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Sartorial Autobiography

“My family doesn't talk much about dress. The adults in my family often care little about what they wear as long as it is work attire. However, the children care very much. My sister, my cousins, and I look vigorously through our closets for the perfect outfit on that specific day, even if we are not going anywhere special. Dress is a huge conversation amongst the youth. My friends are the same. The girls talk about dress and the different types of stores they shop at; the stores that are “trendy”. The boys on the other hand, don't usually discuss their dress unless they are asked.

My mom always tells me “whatever you wear, make sure you feel confident in it”.

She always wants me to feel comfortable and content with myself and I get to pick out my clothes because of that motto.

I think most girls have been socially pressured towards pink and purple since childhood. We didn't get to choose what to wear or how to style anything, especially our hair. I just wore what my mother told me and I thought I was putting some of my own style into it. I was like a little doll. I was told that I wear feminine things and to not shop in the boys section in stores. As a teenager, I still do that, but this time around I do it by choice. I don't like the boys section, unless it's their sweatshirts.

During my early middle school years, kids were distinguished by different groups. Athletes, girly-girls, Emo’s, and just simply “irrelevant”. I know it sounds mean and I wouldn't classify anyone today but if you wore black too often and fake piercings you were simply emo. If you wore adidas shorts and athletic shirts you were athletic. It's just how it was.

In seventh grade my friends and i promised to wear leggings every single day and when I did, I was dresscoded when all my other friends weren't. I was told that I couldn't wear that attire being that based on my body type, it was viewed as “distracting” or “explicit”. It was then that I turned what I wore into something that made me confident and happy and I stopped caring about the dresscode or what my friends wanted to wear that day. I made it my personal statement and I refused to be categorized as anything but myself.

My dress and hair style changed a lot through the years. Now, I only wear black and white and sometimes throw in certain pastels that lighten my eyes and go well with my skin tone. I wear very basic clothing but accessorize it to look like it's more than what it is. Before, I would wear literally anything anyone else was wearing. With my hair, I wore it in an afro but shrunk it into ponytails that were called “puffs”. Then i started to wear braids with beads and extensions. Until 7th grade, when i realized I didn't like any of that and I liked to wear my hair straight and occasionally curly.

I associate myself with a lot of styles because I don't really have a set one but I do have a common one that I stated before: basic. Sometimes I like to wear something thrifty, sometimes sporty, sometimes I like to dress in skirts and dresses as if i'm going somewhere worthy of photography. It really depends on how I'm feeling and what I feel confident in. My aesthetics are simple but always having an accessory that makes the outfit your own. I do enjoy cropped tops but not outrageously cropped.

I've been dresscoded and catcalled countless times. I think it's really disrespectful to label me or dehumanize me because of what I'm wearing. I just wear what makes me feel happy and confident and when others do things like that it makes me a little less confident but after a while I never let them tear me down”.

-Nena B., Age 17

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Sartorial Autobiography

“Growing up, from a young age, you were dressed by your family, not because you didn't have your own style, but to maintain the image of whoever you were with. Something I would always hear was; “dress like you're with us” and that would usually imply that ‘your style isn't anything close to mine and you being yourself is embarrassing’.

Having a strict family was difficult because there were other members of the family who wanted you to be more expressive. In my family you can only be expressive just enough to be acceptable, so in reality being expressive wasn't allowed.

At first I never thought clothing mattered, and I just wore what I was given because at the time whatever I was given was whatever could fit on me. Whenever I was out with my mother I would always be stared at, and she would always point it out, that implanted fear into me.

I would refuse to stand straight and I would never sway my hands when I walked. This is what I thought would save me but it didn't, I would still get stared at and I would still be cat called. One night a stranger attempted to follow me home. After that I just stayed conservative.

About a year ago I regained some type of confidence and decided to express myself despite what my family and others would say. I wanted to catch people's eyes, but with good intentions. So I decided to wear graphic T-shirts. This would be the only expressive thing I would wear casually because gaining confidence is a long process. The best way to capture something creative in my opinion is to focus on it. Having a simplistic style helps focus on the the art that you want to express”.

Amaya, Age 17

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Interns at the African Burial Ground paying homage with a call and response song to the African people who were buried in a 6.6-acre burial ground in Lower Manhattan.

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Dapper Dan also known as Daniel Day, is a Hip-Hop

Fashion icon who brought accessible big name brands to

urban neighborhoods. He grew up in an impoverished

area of Harlem. Dapper Dan built his boutique in Harlem

in 1982, where he incorporated name brands, such a Louis Vuitton

and Gucci to his own designs. His clothes made a huge success in urban

communities, and among celebrities such as LL Cool J, TLC,

Floyd Mayweather, and many more.

-Talia, Age 16

February 16, 2017

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Intern poem:

Late at night I can see the moon and the stars

How they shine through the fog of the smoke that man created

And it makes me think about life

How not all the stars shine as bright

But the ones that do make it through shine the brightest of them all

How can you be so strong-

To make it through every night

Through this thick smoke

And still shine so bright?

There are times where I don't see you shine at all

And I worry about you

Worry if the man’s smoke was too much for you 

But after I see you shine brighter than ever

If you can make it, why can't I?

 -Jihad, Age 18

 April 4, 2017

[thefolkcultureprogram-blog]

Fall/ Spring 2017 Dr. Beverly J. Robinson Folk Culture Program interns in front of Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center after the viewing of James Baldwin’s award-winning documentary, I Am Not Your Negro. April 13, 2017