Having a background in anthropology, I am fascinated any example of a subculture appropriating and reinterpreting the signs and symbols of another group. In your segment and in today’s post, you clearly show that what the ‘Lo Heads are doing is far from simply mimicking the styles and values of a more powerful dominant culture, but subverting those symbols to actively create their own aesthetic systems. Further, you explain that this negotiation of meaning in clothing between designer, wearer, and audience occurs for all people that dress intentionally. It is precisely this interaction that has held my attention at Put This On, as I have slowly built a personal style from a non-existent student budget to a meager librarian/archivist’s budget.
