The Undesigned Chapter, Part V

;”No passion for fashion”

[Book recommendation 30½]

”I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. If there is not a new man, how can the new clothes be made to fit? If you have any enterprise before you, try it in your old clothes. All men want, not something to do with, but something to do, or rather something to be. Perhaps we should never procure a new suit, however ragged or dirty the old, until we have so conducted, so enterprised or sailed in some way, that we feel like new men in the old, and that to retain it would be like keeping new wine in old bottles. Our moulting season, like that of the fowls, must be a crisis in our lives. The loon retires to solitary ponds to spend it. Thus also the snake casts its slough, and the caterpillar its wormy coat, by an internal industry and expansion; for clothes are but our outmost cuticle and mortal coil. Otherwise we shall be found sailing under false colors, and be inevitably cashiered at last by our own opinion, as well as that of mankind.

We don garment after garment, as if we grew like exogenous plants by addition without. Our outside and often thin and fanciful clothes are our epidermis, or false skin, which partakes not of our life, and may be stripped off here and there without fatal injury; our thicker garments, constantly worn, are our cellular integument, or cortex; but our shirts are our liber, or true bark, which cannot be removed without girdling and so destroying the man. I believe that all races at some seasons wear something equivalent to the shirt. It is desirable that a man be clad so simply that he can lay his hands on himself in the dark, and that he live in all respects so compactly and preparedly that, if an enemy take the town, he can, like the old philosopher, walk out the gate empty-handed without anxiety. [...]

I cannot believe that our factory system is the best mode by which men may get clothing. The condition of the operatives is becoming every day more like that of the English; and it cannot be wondered at, since, as far as I have heard or observed, the principal object is, not that mankind may be well and honestly clad, but, unquestionably, that corporations may be enriched. In the long run men hit only what they aim at. Therefore, though they should fail immediately, they had better aim at something high."

(From Walden, or Life in the Woods.)

Above words, loaned from the famous book by Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), serve as a possible, alternative view-point for the wear and purposes of clothing. Todays mass consumption market and existent social systems are of course separated by centuries and decades lenght of years from Thoreau's era. Yet, a very unprejudiced observer easily finds a lot similarity in between, fx from the customs developed for manufacture, wearing and buying of the clothes. 
(For to underline Thoreau's own dislike of his own times popular fashion, his 'observations' even go as far as to comparing for monkeys the keen followers of fashion that say 'Hurrah' and adjoin for any new change of mind by their worshipped style-forming idol. But I'm only presenting his views on this from the reason they seem very sensible and, also, very idealistic attitudes to this aspect, clothing. Considering that a bit more precisely, it's also merely so that most monkees - close relates of humans - actually change their 'natural garment' lot less noticeably than various other species that seasonally do. Birds and frogs, fx.) 

From a very strickt environmentalist point-of-view, (...For Thoreau's Walden is a classic among environmentalist books of the modern times, in fact it's often mentioned as the very first environmentalist writing that ever was published) ...it can be noted that not much any fashionable clothes or the usual house-hold designs succeed meet even any lower ecological criteria or 'standards'. From the same view-point them both – more often than not – represent just an excess production created for to satisfy the excess needs by the people accustomed for their overwhelmingly rich life-styles. 

I also agree with the sentences that it's often better to mend the old clothes (with piece of fabric, fx) than buy new, but I cannot help from also notice that because of the availability of shops and clothes these days the choice by consumer more easily goes for to prefer the latter alternative. In spite of that, and in particular because of that, a choice for organic and controlled manufacture of clothes (fx) is always also an act of opinions-giving. [...Opinions-forming, more correctly the word we meant use at this, I suppose... ; W-G.]  Additionally it could be noted – as the foothold and basis of the most ”regular” clothes production today is on the chemial pollution of waters, low-income jobs (in the developing countries, mostly) and in overall a careless consumption of materials – that choosing not to buy can be at least as important ecological choice. (What said at the preceding sentence, of course, not expressed as any straightforward answer to the problems addressed, but just is an attempt in favour of responsibility on consumer behaviours, etc., ) On the other hand, it's also probably quite as much sensible notice that there's also nowadays great differences between, say, moderate and excessive sums that can be/are spend on the clothes (fx). 

(As a direct following of my own dislike to all that useless spending on fashionalized clothing, also as the expression against manufacture of intentionally made bad consumer stuff, I often wear my sneakers – metaphorically said - to the pieces. ...In other words until the need of constant washing of socks becomes a larger ecological burden. :) 
But, where in the world could a buyer find a usable and durable pair of those shoes these days? (W-G.)

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Latticed Moth

The species example on our continuing series from (Fennoscandian) insect for this part is the Latticed Moth (Chiasmia/Semiothisa clathrata). It's a smaller creature from the Geometridae moths, ie belongs for the day-time flying species of moth and most usually is spotted on during the early evening from meadows, haysides, cultural landscape, etc. (...The Geometridae-species also include fx a better known, although controversial, 'case example' on the industrial melanism, Biston betuliaris. The group consists perhaps the 2nd largest group on Lepidopteran species, contains about 21 000 separate species.)


Latticed Moth has a wide appearance accross the Palearctic-ecozone, that - at least by some part - is from the reason it's caterpillars tolerate a range of different feeding plants. They usually feed on Fabaceae, (ie various peas, incl. fx Lathyrys prantensis and Trifolium p.) that also are widespread on larger parts of Europes (ao regions). A smaller species, with wingspan from about 1.8 to 2.8 cm, the Latticed moth is on typical summers found amongst the most common species also on Fennoscandias, flight-time between June-August.


Interestingly, seeing some specimen on the early of Summers (when they are smaller by size) gives a bit different impression of it's looks. That from the reason of those criss-crossing black patterns leaving lesser space for the white areas at it's wings. Either the individuals from 2nd generation (usually flying from mid of July, like the specimen in the picture) grow larger, or slow growth just changes the impression of the earlier flying specimen during summers. 

All in all, represents not any rare or unusual insect although one doesn't so often see them at open areas. ...Also, quite funnily, I notice myself liking the least from so called b/w styled interior decorations but find this little moth an elegant and very stylish species, particularly when it's seen at suitable place w. some contrast of the sunlight and more shadowy areas. (Reassures me at my belief there's nothing much human created which wouldn't already have found a realization in the Nature lot more nicely...)

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