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New York, 12:19 AM
Mon Nov 23
20 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/18/09
11/18/09
Even in the US, if you pull up to a Congolese party, everyone is dressed to the nines. It is part of the cultute. when my uncle who lived in Paris came to visit, the young guys in the neighborhood used to line up on the corner to see what he was wearing, when he left in the morning with my father. The man got kudos for never repeating an outfit.
In most instances, people usually borrow and exchange clothing. Yes, we are surrounded by war, chaos and utter poverty, but life goes on. Hell we've been in turmoil since the 1800s.
11/18/09
And these gents have style. As a dandy (well, more of a fop), I approve.
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/21/09
#tips
11/21/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
From the first few photos, my reaction was that this is all a bit "let them eat cake." And then I started to see parallels not with hip-hop culture, but with "pimp" culture. Millionaire rappers who have risen from poor neighborhoods to become wealthy and, in some cases, obsessed with displaying status symbols, are generally actually well-off people. Without knowing more about where the sapeurs get these expensive clothes, it feels more akin to flashy pimps with their chains and pimp cups, but who are likely not all that rich or able to leave their neighborhood.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
I think your point about these guys' lack of actual wealth is so interesting because, let's face it, Congo is a really wealthy country. It's mineral-rich, and is actually the world's number one provider of coltan, which keeps all of our cellphones doing all the fun stuff they do... so why AREN'T they seeing more wealth? In that way, I see these men as offering a (perhaps indirect) commentary on where they SHOULD be in relation to where they actually are. That's what gets me more worked up than some of the other stuff people are so upset about in this thread.
11/18/09
11/18/09
"Followers of SAPE wear $10,000 jackets and $500 shoes, but these mostly young Congolese men otherwise barely eke out a living in the rubble of Kinshasa and Brazzaville or the ghettos of Paris and Brussels, washing dishes or washing bodies, and sometimes selling their own."
(quote from colors mag here: [www.colorsmagazine.com])
11/18/09
11/18/09
It would be less bittersweet if they'd come about as a result of massive clothing donations form overseas, like maybe if someone had opened a shipping container from the 1970s only to find it full of amazing, immaculate retro wear. Also it's only half as cool as it could be with women dressing up. Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but something tells me they're too busy raising the kids, getting food and water and going to school.
11/18/09
09/25/09
What? Their stuff is awesome.
09/25/09
09/25/09
09/25/09
09/25/09
09/25/09
Thanks,
NC