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For Thursday: Hustvedt, “Eight Days in a Corset” (445-450)
Answer TWO of the following...
1. How can clothes be considered
an art form rather than a way to simply cover things up and keep warm? In other words, how can clothing (such as a
corset) be both an idea and an object?
2. How did the 19th century sell the corset to women? What did this say about the 19th century
idea of being a woman? Related to this,
why could only some women wear a corset—what did it say about that woman’s
social class?
3. What does Hustvedt mean when she writes, “wearing clothes is an act
of the imagination, an invention of self, a fiction?” (450). How can clothes change your identity, or how
you—and others—see you?
4. Even though a corset re-enforces outdated and possibly sexist ideas
about women, why does Hustvedt enjoy wearing a corset as a movie extra? Why does she admit that “the whalebone
corset I wore for eight days catapulted me into another time and another
aesthetic, and I liked it” (446)?
Q.2.
ReplyDeleteThe corset along with the petty coats etc was a show of higher class or money. Rich women didn’t have to get on their knees to clean or do anything other then read and non labor activities. Maids and other lower class citizens who couldn’t afford them or had to pay for the daily bread didn’t wear them because they had to work doing chores etc.
In the 19th century a woman was petite and much skinnier then a man in the waste side or at least had their breasts show making them distinguishly feminist.
Q.3
Many people dress up for work, going out to dinners, and even just wear average clothes around the house. Clothes can change the way we view ourselves and how others view us For example, if a person was dressed classy. Then people would assume they are either A. going to a dinner party. B. going to a business meeting. Or C. from a richer family. Even if a poor person was dressed that way they might try to act more classy just to fit the roll the clothes put them in.
Hayden Blakemore
ReplyDelete22 October 2014
1. Clothes show, in a peculiar way, that men and women are very different. Not only that but is shows in what ways we are different, while also giving off an artist’s fine work and show their “art” off to the world. Hustvedt mentioned in her essay, paraphrased, that the corset she was wearing caused her to catch a glimpse of her ghostly self, which caused her to have a panic attack. With this in mind, cloths show us not only different attributes people hold, but maybe even what they may seem like in their “ghostly self”.
4. She enjoys wearing this corset because she knows that it is not just clothing on her body, but it also gives her reminders of the past, also the knowledge that she is showing off art using it. Inside her head she knows that the corset was made for a purpose, not only to show off that this is a woman, but also to show how well of an artist that person was. It may have been uncomfortable and tacky at the time, but she still enjoyed it, using it also to help show the 19th century off.
Savannah Lincoln
ReplyDeleteQ3.
Because no matter who you are or where you come from, people make their first impressions of you by what you're wearing. If you go somewhere new you can completely reinvent who you are just by wearing a different kind of clothes. If you don't say a word to anybody, people try to guess who you are by your clothes because they are a way of self expression.
Q4.
She likes to wear the corset because it accentuates her curves and makes her feel more womanly than she did before putting it on. She liked the feeling of the past that it gave her. She enjoyed reading about older times when they wore things like corsets and hoop skirts, and it made her feel like she could be a part of those times, simply by wearing a corset.
Amber Simpson
ReplyDelete2.) The 19th century’s idea of being a woman is classy and distinct. Women have curves and busts, and the corset emphasizes those parts. Just like men have broad shoulders; a suit emphasizes those traits, as well. Not only did a corset emphasize the woman’s body, but it also gave them a good, ladylike posture. Low class women didn’t wear a corset probably because they didn’t have the extra fat for it to constrict. Low class people didn’t have much money so they weren’t “feasting” like upper class people did. Also, they probably didn’t wear them because they were expensive and didn’t fit into their budget.
3.) Hustdevt is probably referring to the image people have for men and women. Also, the setting you are in effects what you wear. For example, if you go to a wedding, you do not wear white. If you attend a funeral, you are supposed to wear either black or another dark color. Then, there is the way you would dress for an interview. You don’t want to look like your usual self; you want to look professional! Therefore, you would dress semi-formal; girls wear a dress/skirt, and guys wear a suit/slacks. You change your identity according to the occasion. There are certain stereotypes for certain settings, and that is why society tells us what to look like when we are in those specific settings.
Faith Armstrong
ReplyDelete3. I think Hustvedt means that clothes are an act of the imagination because clothes can make a feel certain ways. They can make us feel either business like or casual. You can wear a costume that can make you feel like that character, so to speak. I wouldn’t agree that clothes change your identity. I would say that clothes change your feelings. Just because you get sad one day doesn’t mean that’s who you are, and in the same way I think that just because you have wear a suit one day doesn’t change your identity. In my opinion, identity is more than just clothes you wear or an emotion you have.
4. Hustvedt enjoyed wearing a corset because she felt very feminine. She felt very much like a woman, and what woman doesn’t want that. It’s easy to get wrapped up in life and the busy things of life, but there’s a reminder that I think every woman wants at some point whenever you just stop and wear some beautiful dress or, in her case, a corset. Again, it’s not that it changes your identity, but it just makes you feel good.
Garrett Dimmitt-
ReplyDelete1. clothes could be an art, art represents many things such as personality, style, culture and much more. By wearing clothes you express your self. You can often tell a persons personality by the clothes they wear. A general preppy person wears bright colors, where an calmer more reclusive person would wear darker colors. They can also relay a message and what you believe in. You can do this by wearing clothing that is provocative.
3. When you are in a certain clothing you act a certain way. Their is an unspoken rule on how to act in certain clothes. You aren't going to go run a marathon in a suit, or go hiking in a wedding dress. Everyone has a style they wear and everyone has that one outfit that is different. Whether you break it out for a special occasion or have that one outfit that you wear around the house. If you are in fancy clothes you act more professional, if your in pajmas you act more casual. No matter what you wear, your clothes will change the way you act.
Andrew Jordan Nickell
ReplyDeleteQ1- What you wear says something about you. It can show your masculine or feminine, and it can show that you take pride in yourself. In other words, what you wear defines you. It's an art form. When men wear a suit, they are seen as smarter and more business like. When women wear corsets or other tight clothing, it makes them appear sexy with an hour glass figure. It shows off their chests and their curves. It could also represent your attitude and ideals about certain things. For example, if you wear camo, you either hunt or you are okay with hunting.
Q4- I think she liked it because it made her feel sexy. it sucked in her stomach and sides and pushed up her breasts giving them an enlarged appearance. That's what corsets were made for. It was for the rich upper class who wanted to look slim and have the "hour-glass" figure. She also says that it felt like a constant hug and embrace. At one point, she even says it feels somewhat erotic.
Karina Tarpey
ReplyDeleteQ1: Clothes are considered an art form in almost any part of the world... especially in America. We have an entire industry committed to it and it is in the "liberal arts" category in relation to school. Some people's whole lives and careers are dedicated to making people look good by altering their clothes. Its a big business. It will continue to be a big business until people stop caring about what others think, or we all convert to nudism, neither of which are very likely to happen soon or at all. The idea of clothes as an object is simple in such a way that it is complex. The idea of clothes is perfection. Perfection in every area of life is portrayed through clothes. Strength, attractiveness, sensibility, power, intelligence, its all there. We literally wear ourselves for everyone to see.
Q3: When she writes that its an invention of self, I think she means that you fill the role you think you're playing. You may not know exactly what you look like, but you absolutely know how that dress you're wearing looks or how cute those shoes are. So you walk a little taller and stare people dead in the eyes. You are who you want to be, however, since its who you want to be, it is not truly who you are. Its a work of fiction, its false.
1. clothing (especially for women) is more of a fashion statement than a way to keep warm and cover up your body. women's clothing is used as art for men to look at, and ultimately lust over and fantasize about. the type of clothing worn also shows what background one comes from. take the corset for example, only rich women wore them. corset show a background in wealth, as well as culture.
ReplyDelete4. the corset she wore for eight days made her feel like she was in a warm permanent embrace. it also made her feel sexy or "aesthetic." she liked how the corset felt, until it got hot or stressing and she had to breath. she admitted she liked it because that is how a lot of people of the corset time period felt about them and she felt like it took her to a time she could only read in period piece books. it was a nostalgic feeling.
Q1. Clothes in modern times serve many more purposes than just warmth, for women especially. Even in past eras women wore what made their appearance more attractive. An up kept appearance can be like a work of art, if your having a bad day throwing on something a little fancier,like a dress or sports jacket, can help convenience people your fine and help you keep a smile on. Corsets sucked in all the extra weight on a womens body turning her into a perfectly curved work of art.
ReplyDeleteQ3.When Hustvedt says clothes are like imagination shes trying to portray that we use our clothing to hide behind like a mask on Halloween. Clothes can be looked at and taken in many different ways just like a facial expression. Our clothes help tell the story of who we are. For example if your out on the town and see a man in a suit at the store you assume hes someone of importance but in actuality he could just be common man. Clothes even those just worn to walmart give people an opinion about you.
Adria Abella Villafranca
ReplyDelete1. How can clothes be considered an art form rather than a way to simply cover things up and keep warm? In other words, how can clothing (such as a corset) be both an idea and an object?
The clothes that you are wearing are saying something about you. The clothes that you wear designate a stereotype for you so I think that this idea is an art form. The clothes are linked with some ideas and stereotypes that the people have designated to them. For example, if one man is wearing a suit he seems smarter than the others. The clothes can represent your way of thought about some things.
4. Even though a corset re-enforces outdated and possibly sexist ideas about women, why does Hustvedt enjoy wearing a corset as a movie extra? Why does she admit that “the whalebone corset I wore for eight days catapulted me into another time and another aesthetic, and I liked it” (446)?
In my conceit, she likes to wear corsets because these clothes made her feel more beautiful and attractive. She knows that the corset is not only affordable for she, the corset expresses more beauty for she. I think that Hustvedt enjoys wearing corset as a movie extra because he feels more erotic and he likes it.
Q1: I think clothes can be consider an art form because they are the things we want to be seen in. We wear the clothes we want because we either want to impress other people or we want to feel good about ourselves. The corset can be ideal an object because it’s the shape that women wanted to be. It was also a price women paid because it could be painful. So to get the look the women wanted they would have to suffer through pain. It was the ‘Sexy thing” to do back then. The corset can be compared to a bra now days and has the sex appeal affect.
ReplyDeleteQ4: She enjoyed wearing the corset because it made her feel sexy. It took away the flaws that she thought she had and made her feel perfect. It lifted her boobs and gave her the perfect body shape. She admits that because she likes the idea of it. She says it promotes the idea of a women’s body other and a man’s. It gives off the perfect look of a women’s body.
Jamison Elston
ReplyDelete1. Clothes give hints of who you are as a person, your style reflects your personality. They can be considered an art form because your style can show creativity. A corset was tight around a woman's waist so that it made the woman's figure look more appealing, therefore it was an object and an idea rather than just clothing.
4. Hustvedt enjoyed wearing the corset for a few reasons. One reason was that it made her feel sexy. Another reason is because it took her back in time and made her feel like a woman from the 19th century.
2. The way you dress reflects who you are and how you want to represent yourself as a person. The corset, for example, ties up in the back, sinches in at the waist, and is very form fitting. Many women in the 19th century wore a corset to show that they were upper class and wealthy. The idea of dressing a certain way to reflect your wealth was a big concept in the 19th century. It was very restraining, so wearing one showed that you didn't get on your knees to do manual labor and other such things. Showing who you are through your clothes and where you stand in society still carries on to modern day.
ReplyDelete4.Hustvedt enjoying wearing the corset because it made her feel different. A corset made her feel like she was a different women and made her feel more beautiful in a sense. The corset also took her to a different time that she didn't get to experience and she liked that she got to experience it through a piece of clothing.
Bryson Travis
ReplyDeleteQ3. Wearing a certain type of clothing can make you feel happy or maybe in a different type of world. it can make you feel like a completely type of person, maybe a person you want to be. Clothes can change your identity by making you look completely different or make you look wealthy or poor. Such as if a girl wears a very expensive dress it can make her look very wealthy or if she wears very unhealthy clothes with holes in them it can make her look the complete opposite.
Q4. I think she enjoys wearing it because it makes it feels like she is getting a hug all he time. I feel like she thinks it makes her look very good and makes her very proud to be a woman. She knows that they used to wear the whalebone corset back in the 19th century, so when she wears it, it makes her feel like the women back then.
Q.2
ReplyDeleteThey used the ideas that it would “enhance your feminine figure.” Apparently during the 19th century the image of a woman with an “hourglass figure” was going strong. The corset, when tightened and worn properly, restricted movement so severely that you could only wear one if you weren’t going to be doing any sort of heard labor, or labor at all for that matter. This being the case, typically lower class women with “working jobs” could not wear a corset, even if they could afford one. If they did it could cause them breathing problems and possibly cause them to faint.
Q.3
Most of the population, when wearing an outfit they do not typically wear around, will act in a different manner. The amount of difference may depend of how extreme of a change in clothing you are sporting at the moment and if you are around other people. Doing this is an example of “changing yourself” even if we generally do not see it as such. It can be anything from wearing a pair of shoes to changing the color of your normal clothing. Wearing brighter colors when you normally wear darker ones can make you seem more approachable and friendly. This is one of the greatest changes we go through, changing our colors.