In, But Not Of, My Shirt Collection
If there’s one thing you can say about my wardrobe, it’s fully embraced diversity. While in the process of inventorying my fall and winter shirt collection (because I’m finally engaged in the Minnesota tradition of packing away the spring and summer clothes and hauling out the winter ones) I was struck by the gorgeous mossaic of countries represented on the “Made In” labels.
My conclusion - I’ve got one hell of a lot of cheap shirts. And given current exchange rates and standards of living, I’m directly responsible for the annual incomes of four families in Mauritius.
Here now is the complete roster of Where My Shirts Are From (Fall/Winter edition):
Mexico (11)
USA (10)
Mauritius (6)
Hong Kong (5)
Sri Lanka (5)
Honduras (4)
Malaysia (4)
El Salvador (3)
Canada (2)
India (2)
Pakistan (2)
Philippines (2)
Bangladesh (1)
China (1)
Egypt (1)
Thailand (1)
Guatemala (1)
Indonesia (1)
Italy (1)
Korea (1)
Vietnam (1)
Vietnam!? Pakistan!? You people must think I’m strolling the streets of St. Paul looking like a cross between Ho Chi Minh and Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn. But since I don’t live in the Midway, that would make me look like some sort of freak. Trust me, these are all normal shirts. Just because I own one made in Egypt, doesn’t mean I’m running around the house in a flimsy galabia (not that there would be anything wrong with that). These are t-shirts, dress shirts, flannel shirts, sweaters - all securely in the Western fashion tradition of American office casual slob chic.
After rooting around in my closet for an hour, no doubt some radical geographer could create an economic transition map of imperialistic exploitation. As long as he’s in there, maybe he could give me a few fashion tips too. Kind of a Marxist eye for the capitalist guy. (“Man, you need more Mao Suits, Wellstone! shirts, and maybe some hemp trousers.”)
Tune in next week for part 2 of this series, entitled: My Underwear Are the World.
No comments:
Post a Comment