I would really LOVE to hear VR's thoughts on Pop-emo fashion. Namely Istuulamae's thoughts. The greatest tool (oops i mean weapon, dont mean to imply that Istuulamae is a "tool") in VR's arsenal is Istuulamae's fashion genius! Sure, we all want to play Alpha, but before that, we want to be trendy – dress for success! Who really cares how much protection that chest piece has (or maybe just bards don’t care, I mean we think aluminum is the greatest alloy for a breastplate) when the only thing that matters, truly matters at a core level, is how does one look. I’m not killing a dragon or vampire-lichlord out of principle! Im downing these bosses because they have clothes that I want!
SO, VR, I think you should start a program similar to the website “Stitch Fix.” Every month, you send our characters new, in-style garments, then we try them on and see if we like them, and we would only need to pay what we actually keep. Instead of a pay-to-win structure its more of a pay-to-fashion structure!
I would even consider buying a graphic t-shirt with a picture of a great white shark with a speech bubble that says, “Bards are friends not food.” (This is why I have thalassophobia).
Of all the topics that have emerged thus far in development, I feel this one is of the highest importance.
Any discussion about the diverse subcultures of early 2000s American mall fashion needs to start with a defining of terms. For our conversation I want to highlight the differences between "Emo-Pop" and "Pop-Emo", the former being a progression into the mainstream and the latter a matured offshoot of the great mass of of tweenage humanity out of the mainstream.
Emo-Pop fashion rested on the foundation laid by such commercial titans as Hot Topic and their sister store Torrid. These peerless vendors enabled a gloomy haphazardry to flow down their tall, dark and t-shirt stacked walls right out into the public square. Young outcasts parked in the same disrepaired lot as a businessman blowing hundreds at Brooks Brothers or a mother of four rifling through the sales at Old Navy. The revolving door of the local mall was never so touched by the hand of fashionistic diversity as in middle class America, circa 2003.
Yet what made this particular moment so uniquely Emo-Pop often took place within those aforementioned walls. There a 20-something male in a Yankees hat -- who had never heard of a cartoon called 'Invader Zim' -- picked up a 'Simpsons' "D'oh!" shirt that sat right next to a GIR hoodie. Behind him was a Nightmare Before Christmas beanie, hung above a spiked dog collar and wallet chain. His "pop" nostalgias were thus often folded neatly alongside emerging "emo" norms. This moment of exposure undoubtedly contributed to a diminished stigma among nominal participants in the mainstream, or "Mainies" as I shall refer to them. Mainies no longer saw moodiness and excessive eyeliner as signs of cultural hostility -- but rather of taste and preference. While not applicable to each Mainie, de-stigmatization was at work in the mainstream collective. Thus Emo found a more friendly home inside the immense house of Popular Culture, thereby creating fair conditions for the new birth of "Emo-Pop". (Congrats to the mother and father!)
This was also the moment where genetic twin Pop-Emo surprised the family of Mainies with similar pains and cries. Breaking out of the bonds of Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, and Gap, good ole reliable teen angst sought a new host for the 21st century. While several suitors would make their play (a deepening of "Prep" roots, the nascent anime scene or a second, more violent coming of grunge) the homeostatic play was the natural one: checkered pants and black Chuck Taylors. An inverse to our male Yankee fan would be his 14 year old sister, who eschewed a Jansport bag and pastel sweater in favor of a chrome-studded messenger bag and Hello Kitty hoodie, this while listening to Good Charlotte instead of Britney Spears*. This second path of cultural cross pollination had unexpected elements however, as more adolescent Mainies “went eyeshadow” and simply never left it. This is a contrast to Emo-pop, which saw Emo Kids age into an even stance with the mainstream, albeit weighted to the darker side. For a dedicated subset of ex-Mainies, the allure of neon trimmed iron-on patches proved too much to return to the stale mores of chunky Fossil watches and American Eagle plaid.
Yes it was a dark if not so stormy night in American fashion, but those who endured intact ought be keen to record it for succeeding generations. On this note I must take my leave. Adieu!
*There is an undeniable and obvious case that both of these currents of society merely took their cues from the world of Music. Itself going through a massive influx of lip-lined males and hoarse-voiced femmes, music was undoubtedly the progenitor of this wing of family Americana. But the magnitude of music's influence is simply too broad and encompassing for as small of a treatment as this conversation intended to be. Similarly so with the maturity of the Internet Age, albeit without perceivable maturity amongst the Mainies themselves. There has been no more significant catalyst or companion to both Emo and Pop as the Internet and Music, et al. It was the wind beneath every red and black stitched wing, yet I have intentionally left this force under-attended. As the great philosopher Mira L. Nivatrosky said, “When speaking nonsense, always leave the room before the last echo of your confidence returns to your ear. Do you want lemon with your tea?”
Rant incoming :).
It really bugs me when people call some music emo. Isn't the whole point of music to be emotional? Handel, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi? All create emotion when you listen to them and that is why I enjoy it. What is wrong with listening to something that creates emotion? Surely the whole point of music is to make you feel something?
Cromulent said:Rant incoming :).
It really bugs me when people call some music emo. Isn't the whole point of music to be emotional? Handel, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi? All create emotion when you listen to them and that is why I enjoy it. What is wrong with listening to something that creates emotion? Surely the whole point of music is to make you feel something?
1. Anyone who actually followed the Emo scene would eat my post alive. I reduced it to fashion tropes and ignorant observations.
2. I think what got Emo it's name is a musical style that fed and sustained emotional expression above all else. It's not that other genres dont have emotional qualities to them -- an outrageous thought -- it's that Emo took that aspect of the musical experience and turned it to 11. But again I'm a complete hack who's just taken a lighthearted whack at the subject.
Istuulamae said:Cromulent said:Rant incoming :).
It really bugs me when people call some music emo. Isn't the whole point of music to be emotional? Handel, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi? All create emotion when you listen to them and that is why I enjoy it. What is wrong with listening to something that creates emotion? Surely the whole point of music is to make you feel something?
1. Anyone who actually followed the Emo scene would eat my post alive. I reduced it to fashion tropes and ignorant observations.
2. I think what got Emo it's name is a musical style that fed and sustained emotional expression above all else. It's not that other genres dont have emotional qualities to them -- an outrageous thought -- it's that Emo took that aspect of the musical experience and turned it to 11. But again I'm a complete hack who's just taken a lighthearted whack at the subject.
Sorry I wasn't replying to your post but there weren't any other emo threads to post in :). I didn't understand all the references because it seems to be quite US centric and I live in the UK but it was amusing :).
Cromulent said:Istuulamae said:Cromulent said:Rant incoming :).
It really bugs me when people call some music emo. Isn't the whole point of music to be emotional? Handel, Bach, Mozart, Vivaldi? All create emotion when you listen to them and that is why I enjoy it. What is wrong with listening to something that creates emotion? Surely the whole point of music is to make you feel something?
1. Anyone who actually followed the Emo scene would eat my post alive. I reduced it to fashion tropes and ignorant observations.
2. I think what got Emo it's name is a musical style that fed and sustained emotional expression above all else. It's not that other genres dont have emotional qualities to them -- an outrageous thought -- it's that Emo took that aspect of the musical experience and turned it to 11. But again I'm a complete hack who's just taken a lighthearted whack at the subject.
Sorry I wasn't replying to your post but there weren't any other emo threads to post in :). I didn't understand all the references because it seems to be quite US centric and I live in the UK but it was amusing :).
Haha, well said Cromulent. It is an American quirk no doubt. :)