Category Archives: dressing disruptively

For St. Patrick’s Day: Appropriate Attire Please

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665px-St._Patrick_himself_in_Dublin,_OhioSome green is beyond the pale for the Rockland County, New York legislature.

In keeping with previous practices, the body has expressed its displeasure at attire “including hats, shirts and other materials which promote ridicule and seek to degrade any ethnic culture should not be permitted to be sold in a public forum especially where children may be exposed and have access to said materials.”   Presumably, this attire goes beyond bearing slogans such as “Kiss me I’m Irish” and mentioning of an occasional pint of Guinness; there is a specific reference to the “most offensive, derogatory materials now offered for sale at Spencer’s at the Palisades Center, West Nyack, New York, which specifically target members of Rockland’s Irish-American community.”
(Some of Spencer’s St. Patrick’s Day attire is available here.)

Importantly, the County Legislature’s act is a “Resolution.”  Certainly, any enforcement attempts would run afoul of the First Amendment.

The full text of the Resolution is below the jump, page 2.
[image via]

Pages: 1 2

Stealth Wear: Defeating Drone Surveillance by Attire

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With continuing controversies about drones, the appearance of apparel that would combat the surveillance capabilities – – – if not the lethal ones – – – of drones is perhaps an obvious development.

Adam Harvey’s stealth wear continues to “explore the aesthetics of privacy and the potential for fashion to challenge authoritarian surveillance.”

hoodie

For example, the stealth wear hoodie (pictured above ) is made of “metallized fabric that protects against thermal imaging surveillance, a technology used widely by UAVs/drones” and is available for purchase.   Other stealth wear garments are inspired by the burqa and hijab.

An article in Scientific American declares that the “the science behind the fashion is quite sound” and goes on to explain the process of metalizing fabric.

Think you can wear a jacket with political words into the United States Supreme Court building?

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Think again.

Here’s the jacket:

jacket

Here’s the story:

This jacket was worn a little over a year ago and prompted an arrest although not a criminal charge.  The jacket wearer has since sued for a violation of his First Amendment rights, but the the United States Attorney’s office has moved to dismiss, including the argument that the fact that the jacket has a “message” is essentially proof that it can be constitutionally banned from the Supreme Court building.   I discuss this odd constitutional state of affairs over at the Constitutional Law Professors Blog here.