Finnish news media, again: "Sari, sarong or wrap?" (full translation included)
Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 9:07 am
I've noticed lately that the Finnish news media is writing more and more about skirts for men. This time the most prestigious newspaper in Finland published a column about it.
Google translated version can be found here https://www-hs-fi.translate.goog/mielip ... _hist=true
and the original here https://www.hs.fi/mielipide/art-2000009793401.html
Here's the full translated column with my few corrections:
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Sari, sarong or wrap?
The French Revolution still makes men sweat.
Jouni K. Kemppainen HS
19.8. 2:00 am
ON HOT days I often curse the French Revolution.
No, it is not that I am against freedom, fraternity and equality, on the contrary, I support such ideas very warmly. But as a byproduct of the 1789 subversion riots, a fashion phenomenon was born that continues to make my life and hundreds of millions of other people miserable.
Because it was in those days that French male influencers ditched their skirts and switched to wearing trousers made of fabric. Soon, wearing two legged pants spread as a norm to approximately the entire western world, for men.
It's a great shame, because based on my limited experience, I can tell you that the skirt is a superior warm garment in many respects. It's a light and breezy accessory, under which the wind can wonderfully whistle.
THE BREAKTHROUGH OF TROUSERS in France was understandable in itself, because it was influenced by the image politics aspects of the time: suddenly everyone wanted to represent the working class, and before that trousers had been worn specifically by the laborers. With hindsight, it can be said that in those days when the guillotine was in fashion, identifying with the wrong social class would have been completely headless.
"The skirt is a superior garment in warm weather in many respects."
When I talked about the subject with Jaakko Selin, a journalist who is familiar with fashion and clothes, it turned out that trouser-like pieces of clothing had certainly existed long before the French Revolution. During the last three thousand years, the situation has been such that some kind of pants have been used where horses have been ridden.
The trouser model we know was born in the 1580s, Selin said. Pioneers were English, Belgian and Dutch sailors. The pants came in handy: it was easy to slide along ropes and masts with them on.
Of course, for a few hundred years it was not appropriate for gentlemen to dress like those who do physical work.
BUT this only applied only to the history of fashion that we know, and that is the history of the upper classes and that of small Europe. At the same time, most of the world was getting comfortable with swinging hems. It is still common for men to wear skirts in countries such as Indonesia, the Middle East, the Philippines, India and many African countries.
The heat seems to be over for this summer. Now we have the whole long winter time to prepare for the next warm season and think about whether a tunic, sarong, sari or maybe a wrap would suit your style best.
The author is the editor of HS's Monthly Supplement.
Google translated version can be found here https://www-hs-fi.translate.goog/mielip ... _hist=true
and the original here https://www.hs.fi/mielipide/art-2000009793401.html
Here's the full translated column with my few corrections:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sari, sarong or wrap?
The French Revolution still makes men sweat.
Jouni K. Kemppainen HS
19.8. 2:00 am
ON HOT days I often curse the French Revolution.
No, it is not that I am against freedom, fraternity and equality, on the contrary, I support such ideas very warmly. But as a byproduct of the 1789 subversion riots, a fashion phenomenon was born that continues to make my life and hundreds of millions of other people miserable.
Because it was in those days that French male influencers ditched their skirts and switched to wearing trousers made of fabric. Soon, wearing two legged pants spread as a norm to approximately the entire western world, for men.
It's a great shame, because based on my limited experience, I can tell you that the skirt is a superior warm garment in many respects. It's a light and breezy accessory, under which the wind can wonderfully whistle.
THE BREAKTHROUGH OF TROUSERS in France was understandable in itself, because it was influenced by the image politics aspects of the time: suddenly everyone wanted to represent the working class, and before that trousers had been worn specifically by the laborers. With hindsight, it can be said that in those days when the guillotine was in fashion, identifying with the wrong social class would have been completely headless.
"The skirt is a superior garment in warm weather in many respects."
When I talked about the subject with Jaakko Selin, a journalist who is familiar with fashion and clothes, it turned out that trouser-like pieces of clothing had certainly existed long before the French Revolution. During the last three thousand years, the situation has been such that some kind of pants have been used where horses have been ridden.
The trouser model we know was born in the 1580s, Selin said. Pioneers were English, Belgian and Dutch sailors. The pants came in handy: it was easy to slide along ropes and masts with them on.
Of course, for a few hundred years it was not appropriate for gentlemen to dress like those who do physical work.
BUT this only applied only to the history of fashion that we know, and that is the history of the upper classes and that of small Europe. At the same time, most of the world was getting comfortable with swinging hems. It is still common for men to wear skirts in countries such as Indonesia, the Middle East, the Philippines, India and many African countries.
The heat seems to be over for this summer. Now we have the whole long winter time to prepare for the next warm season and think about whether a tunic, sarong, sari or maybe a wrap would suit your style best.
The author is the editor of HS's Monthly Supplement.