Youth and the articulation of age: more than a constraint

Youthfulness is an enduring principle of fashion, and a majority of clothing styles reflect this, meaning that women from much older generations seem to be excluded. Youthfulness as an ideal, however, is now being accepted by ever older generations of women. Previously, women were expected to look elegant or classy, invariably accentuating rather than hiding their perceived age.

At the same time, these 'older' styles are quite often both physically encumbering and downright uncomfortable to wear. I initially had the impression that the young look was a social constraint on the freedoms of older generations of women. However, after countless interviews with these women, I began to see the liberating aspects of dressing young.

In interviews with my older sources, I repeatedly encountered a growing distaste among women for 'mom outfits.'¹²⁴ As Wu, a mom outfit store owner in Wufenpu, notes:

There were a lot of stores that sold mom outfits in the '80s. Clothes from Wufenpu looked older as well. Circumstances have changed in the last 10 years though. I used to have five people working for me. I didn't have to explore the market, and clients came to me by themselves. Now I have to look for new clients. All my regular customers are older. Most of them are based in clothing markets down south directed to older ladies. No one wants to run a business like mine anymore. There are fewer than five mom outfit stores in Wufenpu.

(Wu, Wufenpu owner of a store specializing in mom outfits)

Surprisingly, many of the older women I spoke to saw dressing young as an act of liberation and not a constraint. The need for elegance and sophistication in older styles often produces clothing that is cumbersome and awkward to wear. Younger clothing, on the other hand, is more comfortable and allows for more freedom of movement. Many of my informants felt that it was liberating to dress in a younger style for this reason.

I don't like to wear clothes that are too elegant or classic. I'm not just a doll to for people to look at. My clothes should make me feel comfortable and confident. I may be over 50 and have two sons in college, but I still prefer a t-shirt and jeans. They make me look young, but more importantly I can move easily in them. I can't imagine wearing a classy dress to work. How could I move in a dress like that? (Lu, 54 year-old housewife)

I enjoy wearing clothes that make me look younger. Doll dresses¹²⁵ and jeans are my favourite. If you wear clothes that make you look sophisticated, then people will expect you to behave like an old lady. You don't get to be energetic and lively. I'm not fond of

124 Mom outfits were traditionally made for women over the age of 40 in Taiwan. The silhouette of a mom outfit is usually loose and does not emphasize a fashionable, feminine style.　

125 Doll dresses are dresses that do not emphasize the feminine waist line or breast shape. Women usually wear doll dresses to make themselves look as innocent as dolls.　

being that kind of lady, especially at work. I sometimes have to take inventory, and an elegant dress would definitely not work. Doll dresses and jeans on the other hand suit me very well. Not only do they allow me to move and work unhindered, but they also sometimes cover the flaws in my figure. Doll dresses for example hide my big belly really well. (Mei, 55 year-old representative of insurance company)

Younger looking clothes are always designed in a more casual style, and that's why I like wearing them. I don't like wearing a two-piece suit. I know older ladies are expected to wear them, but I really don't like them. I don't feel comfortable in them. I even asked my daughter to buy me a pair of jeans for Mother's Day instead of the suit she was planning to buy.

I work as a home tailor. Sometimes I have to measure my clients, sometimes I have to sit all day sewing clothes, and sometimes I have to trim the fabric. Jeans are the best choice for me. I can move however I want in a pair of jeans. (Ko, 62 year-old home tailor)

Lu, Mei and Ko¹²⁶ are all women over the age of 50, and all of them mention that they prefer to wear clothes in younger styles, which make them feel more comfortable, especially when they need to work, as these outfits usually enable them to move about easily. Jeans and doll dresses are the clothes that are considered to be younger looking. These older women have a positive attitude towards dressing in younger styles, and most of them feel more comfortable in doing so, preferring these styles to classical 'old lady' clothing. It is therefore clear that a youthful style is more than just a constraint to many older consumers.

6.4 Summary

Taiwan in the 1980s experienced the onset of an era of consumption wherein the emergence of ready-to-wear clothing brought the idea of ready-to-wear fashion into women's garment consumption practices on many levels. This gradual formation of the ready-to-wear fashion system in Taiwan has been an essential part of the transformation of the Taiwanese female body into an agent of consumption. This chapter has applied fashion theorist Kawamura's (2004) notion of fashion as a system, which is a series of institutions that produce the concept as well as the phenomenon and practice of fashion. Through this concept, designing, manufacturing, distribution and sales can all be seen as contributing institutions that affect how the fashion system is formed. In the 1980s, Wufenpu was the largest centre for ready-to-wear collecting and distributing in Taiwan, and so in this research is considered to be a critical site for a study seeking to understand how Taiwan's ready-to-wear fashion system has developed.

The mass production of ready-to-wear clothing was originally considered to be a liberating force, making fashion a far more democratic system in that it became approachable for everyone and fostered non-conformity, variety and a diverse assortment of aesthetics in the mass media (Lipovetsky,

126 Home tailor Ko is the informant who represents key actors in this thesis. See Ko´s personal background in Appendix Two.　

1994). Paradoxically, however, there is still a shared aesthetic of youth and slimness hidden under these overtly plural manifestations of fashion, giving consumers new issues to deal with.

However, despite these new issues, my research did not reveal a female body that acts as a passive agent. The concept of Entwistle's theory of situated bodily practice (2000) highlights the relationship between the production, distribution and consumption of clothing. My fieldwork shows that Taiwanese women find their own way to ensure that their strategic bodily practice via dress includes the selective adoption of their preferences regarding fashion and the ideal body.

These consumers are not mere cultural dupes or victims. Instead, they have found their own ways to selectively adopt the creations of the hybrid Western fashion hegemony of youth and slimness represented in runway shows in the four major fashion capitals. Such an approach enables these women to find clothes that suit them. In the theory of situated bodily practice, Entwistle illustrates how some English women use ready-made dress as their means to negotiate oppression. But Taiwanese women's active participation makes their bodily practice more dynamic than merely situated, which is why strategic bodily practice is the more apt term. For example, these women convey their views that runway fashion is unwearable to garment shop owners. They also persuade shop owners to produce garments in bigger sizes. Taking advantage of opportunities to dress in younger styles, they choose what feels more comfortable for them. Accordingly, Taiwanese women are not passive cultural victims of Western-led fashion trends and the ready-to-wear fashion industry.

As my field notes demonstrate, Wufenpu's consumers are actively involved and influential in how fashion and body image are articulated into the design of their clothes. Facing the predicament of universal aesthetic rules to look young and slim, these women ingeniously transform these constraints into a form of liberation.