Tag Archives: protests

Très Click: Snozzberries and Zou Bisou Bisou

By: Mai Nguyen

Field Notes on Fashion and Occupy (Part One)
Who says the fashion police don’t exist? (I’m sorry, I had to.) During the Occupy movement, protesters were targeted for what they wore. In moments of clash, clothing becomes political and as The New Inquiry puts it, “Fashion is endowed with the potential to inform a political reality.”

Podcast: Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant on CBC Radio’s Q
Hanging corpses and Zou Bisou Bisou may have been the highlights of season five but seriously, can we talk about Trudy’s nightgowns and Sally’s gogo boots? Janie Bryant sits with radio host Jian Ghomeshi to talk Mad Men’s character style evolution. Heads up, those pretending to be hard at work—the link takes you directly to the podcast. Fast forward to 39:40.

Swimwear as a Fashion Over the Decades
Hey! You look kind of cute, in that polka dot bikini, girl. And in that one-piece. And that bathing gown. In any kind of swimwear really.

What Fashion’s “Ethnic” Prints Are Really Called
Ever come across an intriguing print you wanted to know more about, only to see it frustratingly labelled as “tribal”? Stop sweating. Refinery 29 breaks it down for you in this smart glossary.

Part of this world, part of another
Gene Wilder’s got more taste than a snozzberry. Letters of Note unearthed his correspondence to director Mel Stuart in which he recommends specific sartorial ideas for Willy Wonka’s wardrobe, from the hat “two inches shorter would make it more special” to the pants “slime green trousers are icky.”

Seeing Red

By: wornette

Back in early March, I saw a girl on the corner of my street with thousands of red felt squares and safety pins stuffed in her shoulder bag and a messy hand-written sign saying “GRATUIT!” This was my first encounter with the carré rouge, the simple swatch of fabric that has come to symbolize the Quebec student strike.

It’s rare that a protest movement affects the way thousands of people get dressed, but the strike has done just that, turning the red square into both a symbol of solidarity and, for some, a conscious fashion statement.



If you’re unfamiliar with the politics behind the carré rouge, let me give you a brief rundown: In mid-February the provincial government announced a plan to increase tuition by 75% over the next five years. Student unions decided to strike, and, since mid-February, marches have taken place regularly throughout the city. What started as a student movement quickly morphed into a mass social protest after the provincial government passed the controversial Bill 78, which states (among other things) that a group of over 50 people is an illegal protest. Suddenly, it became less about tuition and more about the government’s dismissive (and borderline unconstitutional) behaviour.

The symbol came out of a 2005 student strike against funding cuts to grants and loans, and comes from the expression “carrément dans le rouge” or “squarely in the red,” which refers to the amount of debt students are facing.
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