Reflections on fashion - ファッションについて

It's strange to me to think that I will do this challenge for one year. From a fashion perspective it really suits me, and it really doesn't, all at the same time. I've been a vegetarian since the production of animal products in North America became less about farming and more about manufacturing (1996-ish), and as time went on I started to feel the same about clothes.

I started to feel uncomfortable buying and wearing an article of clothing that was possibly made by children in unthinkable conditions. And worry that the cotton in my t-shirt was grown with so much pesticide that entire farming villages were becoming ill. Many westerners started to feel the same and a movement was underway: the eco-fashion movement and I started to feel it's pull. I began my eco-fashion blog www.magnifeco.com to support the eco-fashion movement; to highlight designers making ethical changes in production and to show consumers where to shop for clothes that were made with less harm.

The clothes on the left: My winter outfit always looks the same: black turtleneck sweater (which you can now buy in organic varieties in many locations), jeans (which are now also available from several companies featuring organic cotton) and black boots (these happen to have been in my closet, and on my feet, every winter for the last 7 years) and warm coat (this coat is made of Teijin fabric by a company called Vaute Couture). I would call my look: street-style, dressed for warmth.

The clothes on the right: The kimono is recycled (second-hand), the wrap is recycled (second-hand), the shoes are hand-made and everything, down to the underlayers are made in Japan.

Both outfits, in the western view are 'eco-fashion'. However, the style is so radically different I don't know what to call it. I always wear my hair down but in kimono, my hair has to be up. I always cover my neck in the winter. In the picture on the left I am wearing a turtleneck and a scarf. In kimono, the neck is a sensual area that needs to be shown (maybe not on cold days, but exposed nonetheless). I prefer chunky, heavy, comfortable boots and in kimono I need to wear pretty, delicate, not so comfortable geta/z ori. I feel like a different woman. Is it true that clothes make the person?

My integrity and all the things I believe in are the same... both outfits reflect me and my care for the environment and the planet, in their respective styles. Same but different. Should style, and the clothes you wear, or the way you wear them, affect you? When I am out in kimono I feel the way I always do. I carry a picture of myself as confident and proud that isn't tied to the outfit I am wearing. However, when I look at the pictures afterwards I find myself staring and wondering... who is that woman? The one on the right is still a stranger to my mind's eye.

私はこのプロジェクトのことを考えると、すこし不思議な気分になる時がある。「着物の一年」プロジェクトを私のもうひとつのエコファッションプロジェクトと比べると、共通点もあれば、まったく正反対の部分もある。1996年代の北米の脱農業、大量生産時代への突入と時を同じくして、私はベジタリアンになった。エコファションへの関心は4年前ぐらいに始まった。自分が着ているT−シャツはもしかしたら「酷い目に合った子供達が作ったかもしれない」と考えると非常に嫌な気分になった。T-シャツの大量生産のために使っている農薬のせいで村の人々が病気になっていると聞いたらとても苦しくなった。それがきっかけでエコファッションムーブメントをサポートし始めて、自分のエコファッションブログ www.magnifeco.com を立ち上げた。

左のアウトフィット：私の冬のアウトフィットはいつも同じ。黒いポロネック　（オーガニックの種類も買える）、デニム（オーガニックコットンのも買える）、黒いブーツと厚いコート。ブーツはもう７年前買った物。コートは Vaute Coutureというレーブルで買ったTEIJINファブリックのコート。私の冬のアウトフィットは暖かい、ストリートファッションである。

右のアウトフィット：この着物はリサイクル着物で、襟巻きも古着屋で買った。草履や着物の襦袢の服も全部手作りなのだ。

両方ともエコファッションではある。私は環境を守ることの大切さを信じている。両方ともこの信念に基づいている。でもスタイルはかなり違う。私は普通髪をスタイルしていないが、着物姿の時はいつも髪もアップにしなければいけない。普段私はいつもポロネックとスカーフを着ているが、着物を着る時にはかならず首を見せなければいけない。私は大きい冬用のブーツを履くのが大好きなのだが、着物姿の私はもっとデリケートでエレガントな人にならなければいけない。右の写真で着物を着ている私はまるで別人のようだ。