The Kardashian Sisters in Action

Kim: Guilty of Classy Disingenuous Mistakes

       In this picture, Kim Kardashian is guilty of displaying a disingenuous mistake in her fashion.   Kim Kardashian's messy button down shirt is not completely tucked in, only half of it is, which implies a "just got out of bed" style. She appears like she got dressed in minutes and she "accidentally" didn't tuck in half of her shirt. Her messy tucked in shirt may imply that she just got out of bed, however all of us know that Kim Kardashian would never hop out of bed looking this stylish and put together. Although Kim is displaying a messy look through the disingenuous mistake in her fashion, she also appears very put together and high class, as she is wearing very nice suede boots, and her bag is leather and designer. So, although Kim wishes to appear like she got dressed in a hurry this morning, perhaps she had time to do her hair and makeup, while picking out the perfect shoes and bag to go with the outfit. Although Kim dressed "messy", her outift is still probably worth more than my entire wardrobe. Maybe her mistake is a way of rebelling to society, and to prove that she isn't dressed perfect all of the time. As Katy stated in her blog, many times people use disingenuous mistakes in their fashion as a way of rebelling. 
       Fred Davis discusses the use of disingenuous mistakes in his book Fashion, Culture and Identity .In fact, in chapter four of his novel, he quotes Hawkins, who states: "For a man to be elegant, he must dress simply with some mistakes (Davis, p 66). Kim has also been seen while rocking more disingenuous mistakes, such as mis-matched buttons, missing buttons on jackets, and bra straps showing. Kim is essentially dressing down from her social status, as she can obviously afford to look perfect all of the time, however sometimes society wishes to see imperfections, which lead to disingenuous mistakes, such as this one. 

How much did you spend on those old jeans, Khloe?

       Here, Khloe Kardashian is rocking the ripped jean look. Although they do not look terrible on her, she is a multi- millionaire herself, and she just married a professional NBA star: Lamar Odom. So, why does Khloe wish to wear ripped jeans, that appear extremely worn? Essentially dressing in “poor” clothes has become a status symbol as many of the celebrities,  as Khloe Kardashian and her sisters have been seen wearing a form of ripped jeans (see Kim above). Similarly to Kim, although Khloe's jeans appear ripped and worn, her bag and shoes are very expensive, and her hair looks like it just got done in the salon. The ripped designer jeans that the Kardashian sisters are buying are priced up to $500. So why would somebody spend so much money on some jeans that appear extremely worn? One reason why I think ripped jeans are so popular is because they allow you to show some skin, without showing too much skin, which considers you a whore or a slut. Ripped jeans also give people a rebellious side to them, as many conservative dressers can wear ripped jeans to add some spice to their outfit. For instance, when I want to look a little more edgy, I will wear a pair of ripped jeans with a black shirt, and I instantly feel more rebellious. 
      Davis also discusses the idea of rich people wishing to look poor in order to fit in. The poorer kids want to look rich, and the richer kids want to look poor (Davis p.60) Davis discusses the idea of why social classes wish to dress in their opposite class, and how they do this. For instance, many times lower social class people buy knock off purses in order to look rich. Juxtaposed, many times rich people, such as Khloe Kardashian dress down by wearing ripped jeans. 

Kim and Kourtney: Twin Brothers?

     This picture is so incredibly different than the first two, as the sisters aren't seeking a high fashion look anymore, they are dressed in business suits for a photo shoot. Kim and Courtney Kardashian can look good in anything if they put on enough makeup. The sisters are mixing semiotics, as they are wearing very bright lipstick, which Danesi considers a feminine and sexual sign, however lipstick is supposed to be feminine and they are wearing men's clothing.  In this instance, Kim and Courtney are wearing very masculine, business man clothes: suits and ties. The sisters are demonstrating gender ambivalence, as there is some question about whether some clothes can be worn effectively by both genders. Although normally business attire is designated for men, here Courtney and Kim are wearing men's business clothing for a photo shoot. Diana Crane discusses this idea of women wearing men's clothing in her novel Class, Gender, and Identity in Clothing. Crane states that ties can be a symbol for women's independence. If a woman can wear a tie and make it look good, she is setting a statement about femininity and women's power of the fashion world.  


It is also interesting to me that there is a certain uniform in the business world, however the women's uniform resembles the men's uniform. In order to be appropriately dressed in the office, a man must wear slacks and a nice collared shirt, however the women's attire doesn't alter much from this. Although, it is considered appropriate for women to wear many different colors and styles of the same business uniform that the men must wear. It is also appropriate for women to wear a nice suit, or slacks with a nice blouse. In this picture, Kourtney and Kim appear to be wearing the exact outfit my dad may wear to the office one day, however the sisters look MUCH better in it. In this photo shoot, Kim and Kourtney are representing the idea of gender bending in fashion, which they display very well. In essence, the Kardashians are wearing men's clothes, in order to make a statement that they can look good in anything, even if it is men's business attire.