sage se calculator, which consists of rows of beads sons by moving the rows of beads. When 3 he simply visualizes the abacus i his imagi- The beads move on a visualized video aba. wt abstract ideas into pictures as a way to such as peace or honesty with symbolic int dian peace pipe, or TV of newsreel footage ‘onesty was represented by an image of plac \ news report describing 2 person returning Jed a picture of honest behavior. hensible until I broke it down into specific ‘were represented by a semicircular rainbow od visual images are still triggered every time y will be done” had no meaning when I was | vague. Willis a hard concept to visualize vd throwing a lightning bolt. Another adult “Thou art in heaven” a God with an easel victured as black and orange no eespasing “the prayer was a misery: a man at the end had to wc concrete symbols to understand swith people an wowing on 10 she next, ‘ays difiel. new I didnot fin with ny figure out what Iwas doing wrong. No mat- ‘of me. They called me “workhorse “tape skinny. At the time T was ale to igure out ‘bones! but “tape reconder” puted me. ‘ike a ape recorder when Lepestd things 1 jue could not Ggure out why Iwas such a dings Twas good at, sch a working on ling prior toa hore show. Personal elation until T developed visual symbol of door nd > understand coneepes sich as learning the sonder what would have happened to me if ty inthe woul iting confront in trying to understand abstract + other people? What problems did she en- of tis limitation? LLURIE ~ The Language of Cates 205 2. In order to explain the radical difference of the way autics think about things and understand words, Grandin uses analogies. Which of these analo- gies id you find most eecsve? 3. Try to tranlatea pasage about an abstract ide (or example, charity or love} by thinking in pictures instead of worek, What images did you wse to repre sent those abstract ideas? What insight did this exerise give you into the world of autism? ALISON LURIE Alon Lane (1926) tthe Frederic. Whiton Prafesin of American Lieu at Carel hives whe sh aes wing end chide’ ete. Shes the tro ee! books fwofcion and iin, indading Foxe AM (1989), fr whith se wos waded Pater Prize in 1985. Her lates works re The Last Resort (1998), lnaginary Fiend (19), an Familie Spiis: A Memoir of Janes Merril and Davi Jackson (200) “The Language of Clk fin appeared in Human Beology (Spr 192) The Language of Clothes For thousands of years human beings have communicated with one another first in the language of dress. Long before | am near enough to talk to you on the street, in a meeting, or at a party, you announce your sex, age and cass to me through what you are wearing—and very posibly give me important information (or misinformation) as to your oceupation, origin, personality, opinions, tastes, sex- tual desires and current mood. | may not be able to put what I observe into words, but I register the information unconsciously; and you simultaneously do the same for me. By the time we meet and converse we have already spoken to each other in an older and more universal languge ‘The statement that clothing is a language, chough made occasionally with the air of a man finding a flying saucer in his backyard, is not new Balzac, in Daughter of Boe (1830), observed that dress is a “continual manifestation of intimate thoughts, a language, a symbol.” Today, as semiotics becomes fashionable, sociolo- iss tell us that Fashion too isa language of signs, a nonverbal system of communi~ [None of these theorists, however, has gone on to remark what seems obvious: that if clothing is a language, it must have a vocabulary and a grammar like other languages. Of course, 2s with human speech, there is not a single language of dress but many: some (like Dutch and German) closely related and others (like Basque) almost unique. And within every language of clothes there are many different di- alects and accents, some almost unintelligible to members of the mainstream cul- ture. Moreover, 5 with speech, each individual has his own stock of words and. employs personal variations of onc and meaning. The vocabulary of dress includes not only items of clothing, but also hair styles, accessories, jewelry, makeup and body decoration. Theoretically atleast this206 CHAPTER 4 ~ Pepto on Langage wocabulary 3 lange as or lager than that of any spoken tongue, since it includes very gattment, har syle. and sype of body decoration ever invented. In practice, of ‘course, the sartorial resources ofan indwidual may be very restricted, Those of shareeroppes, for instance, may be hited to five or tem “words” fom which i is possible to create only afew “sentences” almost bare of decoration avd expressing foaly the most basic concepts. A so-called fashion leader, on the other hand, may have several hunted"word” ar his or her asposl, neh beable to form thou. sands of diffrent “sentences” cha will exprest a wide range of meanings, Just as the average English-speaking person kaows many more words than he or she wil ever tise in conversation, soll of us are sbe to understand the meaning of tyes we wll Macicat CLoTHING Arueslogse digging op pst cintios and anthropos sayin primi se hve cone the eucodon asm Rachel Resees [eee pots "Paie, ommend rsimcnorycchng wer fie empleo tect fod imine power and alo en”"Waen Chae Daren red Tee Cer Fogo, col wer, dsigratend plgud by onsan windy be Sn te nate med exper esther in bead sol esi ped onthe Dodie. Moen Atsuan talon, who sy ond hou dearng dere tnd her ees with pater n cloned cp. fen mea noting che bo Sole or. Those hnpy i ty be, pie da some rere eprint speech fal of map A necks of teh rape of eon hl Ties errs eee rece pore ibid eyeapeinogea tno oensoplmenta fpoken chm nef eet o ages ope b a work dash tcth ae beled to cadow tee necro he (pbs ct vt an ocellfcerman The coi on see hand srk thosgh space rai ince they mee tc me sen! pr hey ze thigh nctewe or reserve ec In eric occ ody btm the sperma powers of ehngHie telefin pres plan! charm—somane dapat hugh eet svth the name person” Adversenens announce har tepebbl ds nse sew flow th praton as pric sr patois Taio bodies they elim tht members ofthe ppt xo oso dhova our by she snl of prac oop Nokedy boone a foray $5; Mabe not bat we Bhive though ne i lookin your bapa ne “The npetatinl gamer of Earopea fll lest scene be, the chaks of inibiy sd he nagieringe-are nox Egon ly et Esme ht ody we hve the ck tar moo can enly wie rns rar hat or hoc he plates op who eb po oe a shi sco ae the wife who aes of her weg ag Beto: pagar sot wi sles Syaptic or nmboke magic ako often employes whe we hag cross sa or one ofthe erent bolt female poe and oid od eo ee LURIE ~ The Lagoa of Ctr 207 cur necks, thes silent wong the protection of Jesus, Jehovah or Aste. Such ules, of course, may be worn to announce our allegiance to some ith or ease faer than ata chart. Or they may serve both purposes simalancously—or se= ‘quently The erueiix concealed below the parochial-school uniform speaks only to God until some devilish force persades ts wearer to remove his or her clothes them ic aces—or falls to act—as a warning agaist sin as well a. protective talisman [Atcles of cating, too, may be treated a they had mina, the impersonal supernatural force that tend to concentrate elf an objets. Whee. was in college ‘ewes common to wear a parila "hicky” sweater, hit oat 1 final exarina- ‘ons, and this practice continues today. Here its usually contagious magic tha s at work: the chosen garment has become lucky by being worn on the occasion of ‘ome eater sucees, of has been given to is ovwner by some favored person. The wearing of ch magial garments expecially common in sports, where they are oveea publicly credited with bringing their owners luck. Their los or abandon rst though x case injury’ a5 well a defeat. Actors aso believe ardently in he magic of clothes, posibly becawe they ae so falar with the near-magial rans forming power of theaical cosume. FASHION AND Status Clothing designed ta show the socal postion ox wouter ha ong history. Jit a8 the oldest languages are fl of elaborate tiles and form of addres, 50 for ‘howsand of years certain modes have indicated high or royal rank, Many societies pase decress know as sumpmary laws to prescribe or forbid the wearing of spe- ie styles by specific Caves of persons In ancient Egypt only those in high pes tion could wear sandals the Grecks and Romans controled the type, color and rnomber of garments Worn and che sors of embroidery with which they could be tsimmed, Duting the Middle Ages almost every aspect of dress was regulated at someplace or time—though not avays with much succes. The common features fal sumpruary lnw—like tha of edicts, against the use of certain worde—seem 0 be that they are dificult ro enforce for very long Laws about what could be worn by whom continued to be passed in Europe tunel about 1700. But 3 clas barriers weakened and wealth could be more easly and rapidly converted into getilitythe system by which color ad shape indicated social satus begat fo break down. What carte to designate high rank instead was the evident cox of 4 comume: rich materia, «uperfuous trimmings and diicul-to-eac-for syle or a+ Thomsen Veblen late put it fin The Theory ofthe eine Clas), Conspicuous Waste and Conspicuous Leisure. AS a result, i 28 35- summed that dhe people you met would be dred as lavishly a tele income pet- ‘mined, In Fielding’ Tom Jones, for instance, everyone judges strangers by their tlothing and teats chem accordingly; this is presented as natu. isa wold in which rank s very exactly indicate by costume, fom che rags of Molly the game \cepers daughter to Sophia Western riding habi“which was 50 very richly laced! that "Partridge and the posboy instanly started rom cei cits, and my any Fl co her curses, nd her ladyships, with great eagerness” The esborite sigs208 CHAPTER 4 ~ Resp en Lage characteristic ofthis period confered staus partly because they were both expen= sive to buy and expensive to main, By che early eighteenth century the social advanages of conspicuous des |were sch tha even thote who could not ford it often spent thet money o® fin fry. This development was naturally deplored by supporters ofthe statis quo In CColooisl America the Masachusets General Court declared is “user detestation and disk, tat men or women of mean condition, should ake upon chem the tgrb of Gentlemen, by wearing Gold of Ser lice, or Butons, or Points at thet knees, oF to valk in great Boot; or Women of the same rank w wear Sik ox Tiny hood, of Scarfes..."What “men or women of mean eondition”—farmers or a tiny —were supposed to wear were coarse linen oF woo, ether aprons, deerskin {ocho ne petsicoats and the bke “To des above one’ station a conidered not only fokishly extravagant, but elberstely decepeive. In 1878 an American eiguete book complsined, leis. unfrmatly he fic tha othe United Sra, t 0 mach atten paid to drs by those who lave nether the excne of ample ean nor oF ei ‘ine. We American ae vs, generous and exenttous. The wives of ost ‘wealthy een ae lovin in pa ac ae princess and quects They hve 2 ight 5012 ‘be But when thove who can il flrd ee weir pce pet fa arayng theres fn sik ste mater done COLOR AND PATTERN. Certain sort of information about other people can be communicated in spite of a language barrier, We my not beable to understand Welch or the thick Southern dialect ofthe Misisipp delta, bat when we hear a conversations these tongues we ean ell at once whether she speakers are excited or bored, heerfal of ‘miserable, confident or Frightened. Inthe same way some aspects ofthe language oF clothes canbe read by almost anyone: "The fist and most important ofthese signs, and the ome that makes the great= ‘xt and most immediate inpact, i color. Merely looking at dierent coors, poy= hologies have discovered, alters our blood prewure, heartbeat and ate of respiration, just as hearing a harsh noise of a harmonious musical chord doc ‘When somebody approaches rom a dunce the first thing we se isthe hue of his clothes; he closer he comes, the more space ths hue occupies in ou vs ld and che eater its effect on our nervous system. Lous, clashing colors, like loud noite of loud voices, may actualy burs out eyes or give headache: sft, hie ‘monious hues, like music and soft voles, tell arsoothe €or i des is aio like tone of voice in speech in tha it ean completely ler the meaning of what “said” by other aspects ofthe costume: tle, fabric and rimming. es 8 the wor’s "Do you want to dance with me?" can be whispered syby ar fang aca chillenge, so the effect of a white evening dress very diferent fom thi of sealec one of ‘dentical fabric and pater. In certain cecumstances some hes, ke some tones of ‘voice, are beyond the bounds of plie cours. bride in a Mack wedding drs, LURIE ~ Te Langage of Clas 209 coca tackbroker erecting his clients in a shocking-pink three-piece st, would be ike people screaming aloud. ‘Although color often indicates mood, iti not by any means an inflible id. For one thing, convention may prescribe certain hues. The urban business- ‘nan most wear a navy blue, dark gray o Gin certain regions) brown or tan stand ‘a expres hs felings only through his choice of shir and ee, ote alone; and ‘em here che respecable possibiides may be very limited. Convention abo alters the meaning of colon according tothe glace and tine at which they ao worn Ver- tion in the office is ot the same a vermilon ata dico;and hot weather permits the wearing of ple hues thi would make one look far more formal and fg in smidwinece There are other problems, Some people may avoid colors they like boeawe of the belie or illusion cht they ae unbecoming, while others may wear color they normally dike for symbolic reason: becuse they te members or firs ofa ceri ‘otal team, fr instance. In addion, some Eshionable types may slece cera hues merely because they atin" that ye. Fal it should be noted thatthe elect of any color i dre is modi by the colors that accompany i, In general thereire, the Following remarks should be taken as applying mainly to costumes compored entirely or almost entirely ofa Sin= hue “The mood ofa crowds wll as that of an sndvideal, can often be tea inthe colors of clothing In the ofce ofa large corporation, of 3 profesional eonven ton, here # usally a predominance of comventonsl gry, navy, begs, tan and \white—suggesting a general atitude ofseriousness hard work, neutaliy, propriety and satus. The same group of people ata picnic are a mass of lives relaxed blu, red and brow, with touches of yellow and green In the evening, ata dso, they simmer under the ring lights in dramatic combinations of purpl ‘orange, urquoie, gold silver and blak ‘Apart fiom the chameleon, man isthe only animal who can change his skin to sat his background. Indeed, i he vo function saccesfully he must do so. The individual whose clothes do not fill within the recognized range of colors fora fven stmaion atric attention, usually though not ahwas) favorable attention, When a child puts is pet chameleon down on the earth and it does not cu brown, ve now the erature is seriouy i ks the same ways men or women who begin to come to work in a conserative afice wearing daco hues and a disco ‘mood are regarded with anxiety and suspicion. If they do nor blush 2 respectable big, ry or gray within 2 reasonable length of cine their colleagues know that ‘hey will ot be around for long Questions for Discussion and Writing 1 I what way, acconding to Loris clothing 2 kind of lingeage that can be analyzed to ditcover both the wearers and the surounding culture's values? Inthe past, how di clochng and adornment serve magical purpoxe?