5 ms·

> And nothing can be more conformist and anti-punk than lazily copying a now classic aesthetic and doing nothing else with it. In Pattern Recognition, the char

by orev 5y ago

> And nothing can be more conformist and anti-punk than lazily copying a now classic aesthetic and doing nothing else with it. In Pattern Recognition, the character Cayce is “allergic” to Tommy Hilfiger clothing because the style is so completely generic. Your comment makes me wonder if that was a commentary on the works derived from his initial vision in the Sprawl trilogy.

bpiche 5y ago
Cayce's black bomber jacket and Fruit of the Loom shirts and black Levis make a terrific outfit. The mil spec sneakers in that same series are described with similar care. But beyond mil spec, the whole Blue Ant series is just a beautiful tableau of different fashions and designed objects. Made me really want a Curta.
aspenmayer 5y ago
> In Pattern Recognition, the character Cayce is “allergic” to Tommy Hilfiger clothing because the style is so completely generic. I remember this a bit differently? I thought she wore nondescript de-branded clothing specifically because she had a behavioral/neurological/information processing/sensory overload condition that caused her to have tics and flip out in the presence of excessive visual input. I remember her intentionally choosing this clothing, as it jumped out at me. And I thought she wore Levi’s, not that it matters, though they do have minimal brand motifs compared to some brands. I didn’t finish the book, and it has been a while, so I could well be mistaken or outright wrong. I don’t remember TH being mentioned specifically.
- orev 5y ago
  > next to a display of Tommy Hilfiger, it's all started to go sideways … Some people ingest a single peanut and their head swells like a basketball. … Tommy Hilfiger does it every time … A mountainside of Tommy coming down in her head This is about an unexpected encounter with these clothes (not wearing them), and it doesn’t sound good to me.
  - aspenmayer 5y ago
    You’re right, of course, that she’s reacting negatively. Do you have a quote describing her attire choices? I think the book does go into more detail on the nature of her condition(s) when it describes what she wears and why she chooses to dress thus. Tommy Hilfiger clothing was considered kinda prep style, but got appropriated by street style and a lot of rappers would wear it in the 90s up til Tommy outed himself as a racist, by publicly saying that he didn’t want black people wearing his clothes, as he thought it brought down the value of the brand, or some such racist drivel. That is to say, I am curious what style or aesthetic she’s recoiling against. To me, it seems like she’s vaguely working class attired, and recoils against professional costumes.

by orev 5y ago

bpiche 5y ago

Cayce's black bomber jacket and Fruit of the Loom shirts and black Levis make a terrific outfit. The mil spec sneakers in that same series are described with similar care. But beyond mil spec, the whole Blue Ant series is just a beautiful tableau of different fashions and designed objects. Made me really want a Curta.

aspenmayer 5y ago

> In Pattern Recognition, the character Cayce is “allergic” to Tommy Hilfiger clothing because the style is so completely generic. I remember this a bit differently? I thought she wore nondescript de-branded clothing specifically because she had a behavioral/neurological/information processing/sensory overload condition that caused her to have tics and flip out in the presence of excessive visual input. I remember her intentionally choosing this clothing, as it jumped out at me. And I thought she wore Levi’s, not that it matters, though they do have minimal brand motifs compared to some brands. I didn’t finish the book, and it has been a while, so I could well be mistaken or outright wrong. I don’t remember TH being mentioned specifically.

orev 5y ago
> next to a display of Tommy Hilfiger, it's all started to go sideways … Some people ingest a single peanut and their head swells like a basketball. … Tommy Hilfiger does it every time … A mountainside of Tommy coming down in her head This is about an unexpected encounter with these clothes (not wearing them), and it doesn’t sound good to me.
- aspenmayer 5y ago
  You’re right, of course, that she’s reacting negatively. Do you have a quote describing her attire choices? I think the book does go into more detail on the nature of her condition(s) when it describes what she wears and why she chooses to dress thus. Tommy Hilfiger clothing was considered kinda prep style, but got appropriated by street style and a lot of rappers would wear it in the 90s up til Tommy outed himself as a racist, by publicly saying that he didn’t want black people wearing his clothes, as he thought it brought down the value of the brand, or some such racist drivel. That is to say, I am curious what style or aesthetic she’s recoiling against. To me, it seems like she’s vaguely working class attired, and recoils against professional costumes.