Yea or Nay: Dolce&Gabbana Spring 2013 Accessories

http://www.facebook.com/aboutelle Ashleigh Boutelle

YAY!

EveEve

IN. Fun and colorful – such exuberance! Except for the wicker heeled shoe (wtf D&G?!). But for the price of those accessories, I’d much rather buy a ticket to Sicily and hit the local straw markets!
- Corsetmaker
  
  That’s a fair point… I think I’d rather have the holiday in the sun and do the shopping myself

charlotte

Bag (?) No. 4 looks like they stole it from a carwash!

Carla Axtman

It reads “toilet brushed covered in confetti” to me.
- DaringMiss
  
  Yup…totally toilet brush.
- Kristin McNamara
  
  I thought toilet brush too!
marilyn

It looks like one of those rollers that scrubs the cars!!
- http://twitter.com/MajorBedhead MajorBedhead
  
  It looks like a malformed Koosh ball.
  - kimmeister
    
    My thoughts exactly!
- EveEve
  
  yes, but a fun one!
naomiow

i wondered if it was a bag or she was walking her hedgehog

http://gabyrippling.tumblr.com/ Gabriella M

YEA! This looks like so much fun.

formerlyAnon

YEA YEA YEA! Although only on a few selected items : the flat/lower heeled shoes and the sunburst purse & tote. None of which is going to be a day-to-day staple, but if you’re buying D&G accessories you can afford a few items that are just for an explosion of color with the right outfit.

(Gotta admit, I do feel that liking these items is edging me into oddball older woman territory -the one who brings back a souvenir accessory from her trip to sunny climes and then wears it as if it were, like, not a novelty item. When a pretty 20-year old with good taste and great skin does that it works. Hence hand-tooled purses, woven/plaited/braided sandals with tire tread soles & Guatamalan fabric anything. On middle aged women with sensible haircuts, not so much.)

Beardslee

You are so right! It’s hard to be hip when you’re matronly.
- formerlyAnon
  
  One of the minor tragedies.
h2olovngrl

Having just put forty behind me, and knowing that I will never yet again be my svelte twenty year old self, I must say that i hope that we women can firmly put these prejudices to rest. If I or any other slightly frumpy looking forty year old woman wants to have an eye popping pair of brightly beaded sandals or a a pair of earrings that look like two cracktastic kewpie dolls, I hope that other women young and old will applaud her bravery and daring, instead of silently judging whether or not she should be allowed to have something that gives her joy, even if those around her think that she is perhaps, too old for such a bright and whimsical item. (We should still stay away from mini skirts, though.)
- Corsetmaker
  
  The problem is some of these looks don’t look brave or daring on us 40 somethings because we’re too close to the eccentric old biddy that’s worn them all her days. You need youth for such things to be perceived as cool and ironic. Every winter some version of a tweedy, librarian look comes around. Looks trendy on a skinny 20 year old but a 45 year old just looks like Miss Marple. Pussy bow blouses keep coming in – cute on a youngster, older and you look like Mrs Thatcher.
  - Eclectic Mayhem
    
    *nods regretfully in agreement with Corsetmaker* *sighs*
  - SapphoPoet
    
    I dunno–I think it depends on what you wear them with and how you carry yourself.
  - Karin W.
    
    Ok… So if you’re middle-aged or older, you a. can’t wear youthful styles and fashions, because that makes you look old and out of touch, and b. you can’t wear classic, traditional styles, because then you look old and… old. Exactly how are you supposed to grow old and still enjoy style and fashions?
    
    Yes, I am totally all set for becoming the crazy old biddy in inappropriately young or old styles. I think I will be far happier that way.
    - formerlyAnon
      
      Well, many of us DO wear both a) and b), at different times. I just think it’s better not to kid myself about what many (not all) others may think about it when I indulge myself
      
      There are a few things I am too physically deteriorated for (bare legs – it’d take so much body makeup that hosiery is easier) but I on a college campus so I have a lot of leeway for breaking out the kitschy/ethnic/ironic. But it’s important that I remember they’ll do me no favors if I’m off site in a government or corporate office.
    - Corsetmaker
      
      You can wear youthful styles and fashions, inappropriate of not, of course you can :/ What I’m saying is that fashions that reference clothes traditionally worn by older generations are problematic. Because a 20 year old is being obviously ironic or obviously wearing a trend but a 45 year old can just look like she’s a bit dated and frumpy. It can be pulled off, but it takes careful handling.
    - CozyCat
      
      Yes. There has always been an area of fashion where young women wear deliberately matronly styles and look very chic because they are, well, so young. But after a certain point those matronly styles just look matronly. The nice thing about this collection is that young impoverished fashionistas will be able to copy it from thrift stores and grandma’s closet.
      
      That said: I think we older gals can get away with some of the shoes here with the right outfit.
- clubgoingseel
  
  *younger woman applauding* wouldn’t even care what age you are if you’re rocking these or simply love how they look on you
- formerlyAnon
  
  “I hope that other women young and old will applaud her bravery and daring, instead of silently judging whether or not she should be allowed to have something that gives her joy, even if those around her think that she is perhaps, too old for such a bright and whimsical item.”
  
  I agree. But unless one has completely withdrawn from the world, I think it’s important to be aware of what [some] others may be thinking. If it doesn’t matter to me, I can go ahead & wear the kitschy/ethnic/ironic. If I’m trying to establish/maintain professional credibility in many arenas, I can’t. Like it or not, in some venues being a middle-aged or older person and being a woman count against you & you just have to deal. Being thought a [in my case] a typical academic flake is optional.
http://www.facebook.com/ann.verwiebe Ann VerWiebe

I remember buying accessories in the children’s department and wearing shrinky dink earrings. My 20s were a lot more cra cra than my current Talbots-loving lifestyle (although, I love it when Talbots puts out a colorway covered in fruit).
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1531695734 Melinda Mary

Save me from women who think just because they are young
they think they can get away with dressing in just about anything and
still be ‘hip.’ You don’t have to be older to have absolutely no
style.
Judy_S

Fabulous discussion, thanks to all above!

janetjb

Some are okay, but some are too much. If I weren’t so grumpy/tired I might like more of them.
Nay.

StellaZafella

Good inspiration for some crafty projects…now if I could just steal a label or 2…

schadenfreudelicious

while i like some of the pieces, (kitten heeled mary-janes), i imagine the price point is simply too high for such kitsch, it’s one thing to pay a few bucks in a market, another to pay thousands for it…oh and that one purse looks like an upscale toilet brush…have to give it a NAY

Lori

Exactly. Some of these would definitely be a yea at Target, although even there I’d pass on the toilet brush purse. At D&G prices it’s just a parade of oh, hell no. The intended customer for this stuff clearly has more money than sense.

http://www.wordydoodles.com WordyDoodles

YEA! I’m not usually a beadwork fan, but I’m a fan of a couture brand trying something different (without cultural misappropriation– I’m looking at you, Bollywood Chanel). And I love the artwork on the platforms.

joe_tey83

I can’t believe they actually produced a second season of Project Accessory.

kaycem

NAY NAY NAY.
racist shite.

Daisy James

Thank you! I can’t believe I had to get this far down in the comments before I found someone pointing out those Mammy (sp?) earrings. I don’t care if every other item is spun from angels’ wings, this shit is OUT.
http://twitter.com/orangegarden Stefanie

Oh hello. Didn’t notice the earrings the first time around. My bad. Carry on.

http://twitter.com/wtflanksteak Ali B

No one’s going to mention the blackamoor earrings? Oh fashion, you are so out of touch with reality and what’s appropriate.

http://www.wordydoodles.com WordyDoodles

OHMYGOD I didn’t even see the earrings until you pointed that out. I was only looking at the feet! So very very wrong.
http://profiles.google.com/clairehaley1 Claire Haley

Thank you! That motif throughout the collection really bugged me. It ruined many otherwise cute looks.
kaycem

that’s exactly what my comment was referring to, although i just said “racist shite” lol. D&G had the blackamoor print, too, which was possibly worse (it was large enough to cover an entire torso and couldn’t be as easily “overlooked” as earrings).
- fiestyfashionfem
  
  Absolutely – I’m all for “homage” and all that shite – but this crap is simply co-opting the crafts and goods of local artisans, slapping the D&G label on it, throwing in some racism with blackamoor earrings, sticking on a hefty price tag, and calling it fashion. Screw you D&G.
  - SassieCassy
    
    agree with you on everything but i hate the term feminazi
    - fiestyfashionfem
      
      But I am a feminist and I am feeling anger so I am reclaiming the word.
Sobaika

THANK YOU.

I thought I was the only one whose head was exploding.
http://twitter.com/SarahJoyAdams Sarah Adams

Aw crap. I skimmed past those thinking they were just blobs. But you’re right – classic racist kitsch. Just cause it’s tasteless doesn’t make it cute or okay. I really liked the blue purse, but this just tips the whole collection from “eh maybe” to “NO! OUT!” territory.
SpillinTea

Thank you. I was getting a little worried about the beloved bitter kittens giving it a pass.

hughman

I was hoping for a ring crafted from one of those frogs made of shells and pipe cleaners. As a child I grew up in Florida so all of this was very deja vu to me.

M_E_S

NAY. I do not want PEOPLE’S HEADS hanging off of my earrings. Just, no.

mhleta

Yea to most of it. Nay to the earrings and the rattan heel. My favorite thing here that I would definitely wear are the flats with the ankle strap.

momogus

YAY x 1 billion. They’re gorgeous.

Anathema_Device

It is certainly fun. I like the bags and that pair of flat sandals best. Overall: Yea, for sheer brightness and exuberance.

mhleta

As a fellow female “of a certain age” I concur whole heartedly, and chuckle, also whole heartedly.

Sarah Thomas

I can’t tell you how many iterations my Grandma Carmella owned of Bag #3.

http://twitter.com/#!/Space_Kitty Space Kitty

Not a chance. Tacky on steroids.

MrsKrause

Yay! Love all of these.

PinkLemon

YEA to the shoes and glasses!

Rand Ortega

They look like props from a dream sequence in a Fellini movie. Don’t like the blackamoor earrings, the rest is interesting if not completely wearable.

greyhoundgirl

A white woman wearing a black woman on her ears? And Asian women on her shoes? This is called fashion now?

kaycem

and no actual black women in sight on the runway.

#TotallyNotRacistRight

gross.
- formerlyAnon
  
  #TotallyItalianFashion

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1241487378 Lauren Lynch Fox

Kinda crafty, but cool. Yay!

http://twitter.com/Merneith Merneith

Those aren’t shoes – those are carnival rides. And I love carnivals. I’m trying to hold onto my inner-bitter-kitten-ness, but it’s just not working. YAY!

carolynmo

I’m with you, Merneith! Bring on the carnival!

Liz Pacem

A giant NAY. The “mammy” earrings are egregious displays of racism, especially when you look at the dresses that made up the collection and feature the same imagery. Kitsch isn’t necessarily a good thing, especially when it perpetuates things we hope society has moved on from.

greyhoundgirl

I agree. And we haven’t yet moved on from them, unfortunately, which is part of the offense.

fashionablylate

I’ll take bag #2 and shoe #4 – the rest, NAY. Those earrings, GAH!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=790818401 Laurie Landry

Yippee Yay!

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AYQCICXEN2CCDBFV5HED4Z2RUA Dee B

Nay, but those open toe sandals are adorable.

http://phantomminuet.blogspot.com/ MinAgain

Love the bags, but the jury’s still out on the shoes.

Zippypie

Love the crocheted bags. Everything else, not so much.

Coddingtonscat

Horrifically racist. Like, seriously – how could you not see this??!! The guardian uk have a good article about it on their site. This is a classic example of how Fashion can be so out of touch with reality. Gross.

lilazander

Could you cite the site, please? I am curious to read it, thank you!

alyce1213

Love the shoes. The bags look a little crafty — macaroni and bead art — to me.

Beardslee

YEA, for the pump with the kitten heels, second row from the bottom, alone.

http://twitter.com/emilyf007 emily

Love the bags, eh on the shoes. I want to wear the earrings every single day regardless of how they clash with my outfit because they tell the world, “Hey, I’m fun to be around and don’t take myself too seriously!”

Seriously. Yea.

http://twitter.com/MandySCG MandyJane

The bags are yea, the shoes and earrings nay.

http://www.ellenciompi.com/ NurseEllen

Just when I thought I had to vote NAY, along would come something that wasn’t quite so outrageous just for the sake of being outrageous, and I wavered. So in the interest of inclusiveness, I’m voting YAY. But don’t expect me to run out and buy any of this stuff when I win the MegaMillions.

nannypoo

If I need some crocheted kitten heels I’ll know right where to go.

My mother had a cream and sugar set with handles made to represent what she called “pickaninnies”. I was so ashamed of these objects that when she died and I organized her estate sale I took them home and smashed them into a million pieces. Someone should do the same with the earrings in the second row. Disgusting.

http://surelysonsy.blogspot.com/ Jessica | Surely Sonsy

the earrings are whack, the bags are borderline, but the shoes are FAB. Low heeled beauties AND super-high wedges alike! YEA!

http://twitter.com/TMamBo Therese Bohn

Toilet brush bag and earrings,earring heads,Nay, but I think the rest of this is colorful and fun. Yea!

http://twitter.com/lenabena_ Elena

I would rock those little mary jane flats, but other than that, NAY. Too much going on.

http://twitter.com/jaythenerdkid Aaminah Khan

I NEED those sunglasses in my life, stat.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1088730746 Christopher Brathwaite

NONONONONO. This entire collection is ridiculously racist. Do you see those earrings? Based on minstrel-like and fetishistic depictions of black people. The dresses themselves have blackface style depictions of black people on them. Look up blackamoor jewelry and decorations, look at that history. This is what that collection is pulling from and its NOT OKAY.

Sobaika

YES, THANK YOU FOR PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF TRUTH. UNBELIEVABLE.

minnye

Love those outrageous platforms!

Lisa Kramp

Nay to all except the last bag and the last set of kitten-heeled shoes. And I call bullshit on the ‘ladies of a certain age can’t wear those pieces’ comments. Wearing pieces like that requires the correct attitude, not the correct age. Say that to this matron’s face and I’ll swat you with that toilet brush purse for being a young upstart! ;D

http://www.facebook.com/people/Mary-Elizabeth-Poytinger-Baumer/1516981341 Mary Elizabeth Poytinger Baume

nope, tacky.

sk8tfan

Suddenly I am nostalgic for the summer camp’s crafts table. Although I secretly love some of the platform shoes, which suggests I’ve never outgrown my childhood love of glitter glue and decoupage.

marilyn

This looks like crafts from summer camp in the 50′s. Yikes.

siriuslover

Nay. That one handbag looks like a feather duster.

blondie65

NO…the earings are offensive. And I’m sorry…the rest is just too damn tacky…someone found a bunch of beads & bits at a yard sale (or Michael’s sidewalk clearance sale) and went cray-cray with a glue gun. I’ve seen better craft projects at local flea markets.

Judy_J

Some yea, some nay. Yea for most of the bags and the flat sandals. Nay to the platforms, ginormous earrings and that bag that looks like a bottle brush.

Eileen Mannion

One would think that they would use models with toes that don’t hang over the ends of the sandals …

Kate4queen

I love the bags, the rest hmmm….

maggiemaybe

I’m kinda loving these. Except for the one bag that looks like a toilet brush…

Imasewsure

YEAH YEAH to the bags and the simpler shoes – can’t think of one person the earrings would look good on (maybe Solange)

http://www.facebook.com/ann.verwiebe Ann VerWiebe

I would carry the purses in a heartbeat (well, maybe not the one that looks like a toilet brush) and I like most of the shoes, but the earrings look like Christmas ornaments.

Linda Dodson

No. Carmen Miranda on crack.

gabbilevy

Good lord, NAY. If this is to your taste, hop over to Miami or Mexico or the Bahamas and get some of this crap for a fraction of the price (including travel) than what D&G would charge you for it. Some of the shoes are almost tolerable, but the rest… blech. Aggressively ugly, to my eyes.

Sobaika

NAY – those are some deeply racist earrings. The prints for the collection were also blackamoor as well.

MilaXX

you ever just look at some stuff that’s so racist that you can’t even muster up the energy to give a damn? Those earrings just get an eyeroll and a whatev from me.
- Sobaika
  
  Right?? It’s exhausting. Especially after the recent slew of problematic shit.
  
  Did Anna Wintour send out some sort of memo entitled “Spring 2013′s Theme Shall Be: Institutionalized Racism” or something?
  - MilaXX
    
    Exhausting is exactly how I feel. The sad thing is I’m not sure half these designers that do this mess even realize how offensive they are being.

VicksieDo

Etsy&Gabbana — NAY!

another_laura

yay on some, nay on most. Bags too craft-ish. Now, some of those shoes, for fun, sure.

MilaXX

Most of it is a NAY for me. The only things I like are the first pair of kitten heels and that blue Isole Elie bag.

BrooklynBomber

I do love the first bag and a couple of the shoes, but those earrings, for God sake!
And then the prints on some of the dresses PLUS the conquistador references (not seen here) — WTF, D&G???
You can see the collection (including the prints): go to TheGrio(dot)com, and search on Dolce & Gabbana blackamoor. I mean, are they trying to make a statement about colonization and racism? I doubt it.

Buffy

Yes to purses 1, 2 & 5 and the flat shoes. Sadly, none of it is in my price range.

https://twitter.com/LisaF1163 Lisa

It’s a little of both for me. I’m not loving the big honkin’ platform shoes, or the Swiffer bag and earrings. Everything else, LOVE!

Trisha26

Nay. Craft projects 101.

MK03

NAY. Tacky, ugly shit.

quiltrx

NAY. Most of it looks like stuff you could get without the D&G pricetag at a bazaar somewhere. The only thing I really like is the kitten-heel shoe, but it’s too gaudy to go with anything one might wear.

http://twitter.com/danielleRwest Danielle West

Nay. The racist, “Mammy” earrings are offensive–not cute and kitschy.

snarkykitten

yikes, I missed those. D: they need to be burned

holdmewhileimnaked

i like most of it, down to the toilet brush bag. probably i’m fondest of the last pair of platforms. the multiculti stuff, eh, could live w/o. the rest of it’s entertaining. the top bag looks like the 1950s purses made from telephone cords. i’m thinking it’s very soon before that reference becomes inexplicable. wow.

j_anson

Nay.

Monabel

Oh, yes. Especially the shoes.

suz72350

What fun! YAY. I especially love the purses. Me want.

snarkykitten

yeah no, it all looks tacky to me

SapphoPoet

Yay! I would buy the first bag and the kitten-heeled shoe with the strap (third up from the bottom).

http://twitter.com/MarfMom Maya

nay

NCDFan

It all read kind of souvenir shop to me.

Bozhi

That was my first thought.

Wellworn

Why did the Chiquita banana song just pop into my head?

Kirsten Henry

yay x 1000!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=751285857 Sally Brownson

I love the shoes and most of the bags, but the earrings are mostly too fluffy.

STAHP_GUISE

NAY! Mammy accessories?! How is this NOT RACIST?!

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_PCARAOJSL553GBBPQSLRYD5REE L.

FUN! What Grandma brought back from her road trip in the ’50′s. YEA!

tallgirl1204

Oh, I’m a sucker for all of this colorful crafty stuff. Even what I would never wear makes me happy. In, in, in.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Louise-Bryan/1177213326 Louise Bryan

I like these, but they seem like vacation stuff, not everyday.

MemHey

Fodder for pinterest…

lesmaha

nonononono!

http://vhanna26.typepad.com Vera

The bags are killer.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Paige-Boerman/670140590 Paige Boerman

Nay.

natalia osiatynska

Oooh! It’s the unconventional materials challenge!

The last handbag and the bestrapped flats are, er, in the top for me. The “car wash element” bag makes me wish I could see it from the side, and yes touch it, though that’s not necessarily a good thing. The sunglasses are perhaps great, though I would like to see them paired instead with something from the new Diane von Furstenberg collection. The rest is freaky, tacky or ghastly.

In a word, NAY.

http://twitter.com/BrienneCalmer Brienne Calmer

This is a prank post, right? You’re swapping guest posts with Regretsy? NAY.

Verascity

Straight up racist, so nay.

http://korilian.livejournal.com/ korilian

HELL YAY to all the bags, except the fourth which looks like a toilet brush. Also yay to all the more traditional shoes. Those high wedges look ridiculous. The earings I might be able to get behind, depending how much they weigh. Stretched ears went out of style with the Incas.

http://profiles.google.com/phyllis.craine Phyllis Craine

YEA one or two as a statement accessory would be faboo. Love the bags and the earrings

http://twitter.com/DarthJaeda Jaeda Laurez

No, I’m not here for Mammy Wear 2013. Do better.

http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo

This isn’t cultural appropriation. It’s two Italian designers exploring Sicilian crafts and kitsch. That isn’t to defend the Blackamoor earrings, but it’s not the same thing as dressing up a white girl as a geisha.
- SassieCassy
  
  your right this isn’t cultural appropriation at all
  
  it is straight up racist
  
  big distinction, after all
  - http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo
    
    Yes, actually. There is a distinction.
    - SassieCassy
      
      i wasn’t trying to be snarky. its just crazy to me that something like aboriginal themes can lead to a call-out from you guys (rightfully so) and great discussion from the bitter kittens and this gets … nothing.
    - http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo
      
      Because we don’t think they’re comparable. Google Sicilian puppetry. This is a part of their culture. This isn’t about appropriating other cultures.
      
      Which isn’t to say that it isn’t a part of their culture rooted in racism or that people shouldn’t find it offensive.
    - SassieCassy
      
      then a german designer can use the swastika because, hey its a part of their cultural history
      a southern designer can use actual mammy imagery because, a part of their culture, no matter that its dripping in racism
      
      im shocked that the biggest critique you and the group of people here can muster is that its KITCHY
      
      gonna go hang some white lady heads off my ears and even when i do it wont be even remotely as troubling because theres no history or context for demeaning and mocking white groups
    - http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo
      
      Sweetie, read this part again:
      
      “Which isn’t to say that it isn’t a part of their culture rooted in racism or that people shouldn’t find it offensive.”
    - SassieCassy
      
      Boys my issue isnt that its offensive because theres no question that it is
      
      its that you felt free to call out gunnar for something disrespectful and not a word about this. looking through the comments its like most people didnt even notice the earrings
      
      so the impression your giving is that cultural appropriation = bad
      but using racist imagery? not even noteworthy!
    - http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo
      
      I would advise you to read Corsetmaker’s comment below, because it’s fairly close to our take on this. You can’t apply terms like “minstrel” or “mammy” to this sort of imagery. You have to take it in the context of Italian culture and history.
      
      BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN ANYONE’S WRONG FOR FINDING IT RACIST OR WANTING TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.
    - http://twitter.com/DarthJaeda Jaeda Laurez
      
      But in a sense you ARE saying it’s wrong to focus on the racist nature of the imagery, by emphasizing the fact that “it’s part of Italian culture and history” and “Sicilian kitsch ” which sounds like you are minimizing the very real distaste people are feeling about this.
    - http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo
      
      Okay. We’re done. To repeatedly say “It’s not wrong to think this is racist, we’re not arguing that point, and people should have that discussion if they want to” and then to have that characterized as the EXACT OPPOSITE meaning, tells us that there’s no point in continuing.You’re just going to put words in our mouths.
      
      Feel free to continue this discussion and talk about the imagery here and why you find it racist. But any more attempts to deliberately mischaracterize what we’ve said here will be deleted.
- http://twitter.com/DarthJaeda Jaeda Laurez
  
  Point taken.
  
  It’s just racist, so…better?
  - http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo
    
    Nope. Not better. If you feel it’s racist, you are entirely within your rights to think so. We haven’t argued that point at all.

Cathy S

No. It all looks like a kindergarten craft project.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jessica-TallGirl-Freeman/1043623567 Jessica TallGirl Freeman

I like the crocheted elements, but it all needs to be edited way down. Nay.

909girl601world

Hell nay! Are those black mammy women dangling from her ears? No. In whose world is that cute, fashionable, okay??? And please, don’t bother pointing out the white women hanging from the other model’s ears – they are no better IMO. The rest of it appeals to me not at all.

Corsetmaker

White men, I can see a moustache.

Judy_S

I dearly love Sicilian Puppets but I hate that shoe.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GJYUDH734WLXHJQLK4EAO5X45Q Carrie

Yea to most… some of the earrings are, uh, questionable, but the bags are very fun and so are most of the shoes.

SassieCassy

ew SERIOUSLY

SassieCassy

WOW after reading some of these comments…..at least next time when i have a conversation about implicit racism i can just link people to this post. blackamoor ‘fashion’ and with the exception of like 5 bitter kittens, no one bats an eye. that sums up everything.

aristida_girl

I may be too late but, IN with the tacky! crafty goodness…..

Marcela86

Yea!

Ruth Preston

Sixth down on the right? That’s not a shoe; it’s patio furniture. This whole collection is kind of uncomfortably Carmen-Miranda-goes-to-Hobby-Lobby.

Corsetmaker

First off, the earrings are ill-advised to say the least. Downright stupid of them not to assess the sort of response they’d get. Second, I’d say a bigger concern is the lack of diversity in the models (I assume, as I’ve not seen the full catwalk).
However I would also say that as this collection is inspired by local crafts to please pause and put this into it’s own cultural context. The traditions, imagery and crafts of southern Europe are strongly influenced by proximity to, trade routes between and occupation by North African peoples that pre-dates colonialism and the slave trade by centuries. The mammy imagery that Americans immediately see is not something that relates to southern Europe. I’m not saying don’t be offended if you are, but just to remember that there are other frames to put things in than your own country’s relatively recent experiences.

Sobaika

Agreed about cultrual context – where we see Mammy, Europeans meant blackamoor. But blackamoor arts were inherently racist. So the point is moot I think. It’s awful no matter what name we call it. A white model with a stereotypical and degrading black woman’s face emblazoned on it (seriously, check out the prints from this collections) with the same face dangling from her ears – that is weird no matter what.

And in my (admittedly limited) experience with and knowledge of Italy, they have their fair share of racial issues. So I wonder if D&G even thought to consider the response, or if they cared.
- SassieCassy
  
  Bless you adn Christopher Brathwaite for saying everything I want to say and saying it well while i am like so enraged that i am sputtering
  
  i need a palate cleanser.
- http://twitter.com/DarthJaeda Jaeda Laurez
  
  And THAT is the problem I have. Saying that it’s not racist “in the same way” doesn’t make it any less offensive. To me, blackamoor art and Sambo/lawn jockey figurines might as well be coming from the same perspective, culturally. And I’m not with that at all.
  - http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1088730746 Christopher Brathwaite
    
    Exactly. It’s not based on american minstrelsy, but it is similar in that is is based on imagery and tropes of black people as servants, lesser than amusements who aren’t really people. So it’s not in the more recent American frame. That just means it’s from an even older European frame that should have died out, but hasn’t, proving the point that institutionalized racism is a hell of a drug. This stuff is rooted in Sicilian culture, that doesn’t change that it’s flat out racist. Just cause your Grandma did it, doesn’t make it right. We’re supposed to be attempting to be better than are forebearers.
    - Corsetmaker
      
      The servant imagery certainly applies to a lot of blackamoor pieces but not to the puppets which they’ve drawn on so heavily. They have their grounding in a time when the Moors were the conquerors. Then you have other imagery in southern Europe such as black Madonnas to confuse things all the more. I’m not defending the collection, it bothers me that they surely must have anticipated the response and if so, the possibility of this as an intentional publicity stunt is quite repellent.
- Corsetmaker
  
  Actually the print image is reminding me of an album cover and it’s bugging me that I can’t remember what one – something late 70s/early 80s post punk I think. But although that’s the more obviously controversial image, especially to Americans who seem to immediately see it as a slave first rather than an African woman first, I’m surprised nobody has questioned the wisdom of prints depicting Charlemagne battling Muslims - a bit loaded for current times.
  
  But yes, it’s whether they didn’t consider the response or whether they knew very well what it would be that bothers me.
  - Sobaika
    
    So I thought the Charlemagne aspect was offputting too, but I’m Pakistani so I figured I was being overlysensitive to it, and still do not think it compares to the heinousness of the other imagery.
    
    Blackamoor arts came to be in Europe as part of trade with North Africans in places like Sardinia and Sicily, but were used within Europe to perpetuate the idea that people of color were inferior and loaded with racial mockery. When you couple this with D&G’s use of the imagery and not a single black model, it furthers the idea of fetishization of a motif and not the inclusion of a people. I do not think calling it racist is out of the question, I see it as pretty much factual. And no matter where you stand on the itnerpretation of this collection, it certainly wasn’t done with any semblance of respect or grace.
    
    MilaXX commented a few pages ago that she could only muster an eyeroll to this supreme level of ignorance because it’s exhausting. It really, really is.
http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo

THANK YOU.

http://twitter.com/Lily1129 Lily

Yay! It’s so fun. I love me some functional and elegant clothes but sometimes all you want is a red, yellow, and green beaded shoe. Totally on board.

lalahartma

NO. What is up with the ‘Black Mama’ earrings?

mmc2315

Yay on the bags. Yay on certain elements in the shoes, just not the whole package. The earrings make me want to put in a call to the plastic surgeon to fix my ear lobes, already stretched from the 80s.

belfebe

It reads like 1970′s macrame.

kimmeister

Mostly NAY.

Larkin21

Some of it’s interesting and even appealing but overall, nay.

Snailstsichr

I’ll take the crocheted shoe in the 4th row, but must pass on everything else. mostly nay.

AmeliaEve

Totally grossed out by the “mammy” earrings, but otherwise, I love it. I adore travel kitsch and I adore Sicily. More is more.

YAY.

http://twitter.com/thesquizz Lauren

I like about 1/3 of these items, so overall it’s a NAY.

Laylalola

Wow, so tacky. I didn’t realize how many designers really do put out tacky crap until I started coming here regularly.

librarygrrl64

NAY. I love color, but there’s just too much going on here for me.

http://profiles.google.com/scaponigro Sarah Caponigro

I can’t even begin to focus because of the shoe model epidemic. The shoes never fit and it looks horrid.

meowing

Mostly yea, but in small doses in otherwise downplayed outfits. Kinda fun.

http://twitter.com/delysia_lafosse Delysia LaFosse

Ugh. I vote NAY on the whole collection – accessories AND clothing. It all seemed like the very worst form of cultural appropriation, not inspiration.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_F73LIJ3SJGI5AJQMXMWXCKILHI Pamela

Love the first pair of flat sandals and a couple of the bags but most of it is too over the top for my tastes.

Donna Schmidt

NAY

CatherineRhodes

Nay. Hideous.

guest2visits

Mostly no; but I do like a couple of those bags – very summery.

Corsetmaker

The plus point of this collection is that it might make people look with fresh eyes at local crafts when on holiday and whereas before they might have passed them by as tacky they might now see them as more wearable and more desirable. A few extra euros in the pockets of Sicilian craftspeople and also those in other destinations which isn’t a bad thing. Actually I’m curious as to who produced the items; did they give any return to their local economy or send elsewhere.

http://twitter.com/BHSushi Beverly Hills Sushi

Like cheap 70′s craft projects–except this crap cost thousands of dollars–AND WILL BE COMPLETELY OUT OF STYLE IN 6 MONTHS. (remember the “oh so cute” Louie Vitton “scribble” bags??)

TERRIBLE. O-U-T

http://twitter.com/meredeth_gwyn Meri

Only the flat sandal and the kitten heel. Everything else is really overkill.

lilazander

TYPICAL D&G, always yay!!! YAY!

thehousesparrow

I need all of those earrings, now.

http://twitter.com/amndad amanda lynn

the shoes are fun; i LLOOOOVVVEEEE the kitten heels.

ccm800

Hell Nay

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1452430239 Roxanne Pedro

This collection is god-awful, horrible. I don’t understand the people who like this. It looks like a cat ate a box of crayons and threw up all over a 99 cent store.

http://www.tomandlorenzo.com/ Tom and Lorenzo

When you’re ready to respond to what we actually said, instead of posting a highly inflammatory quote designed to make us sound like racists, feel free. Until then, you don’t get to put words in our mouths.

http://twitter.com/DarthJaeda Jaeda Laurez

NO. Not racists.

Willfully downplaying the very REAL concern that people are expressing in these posts about the racist nature of the designs, as well as taking the accessories out of context, because you’ve shown one pair of earrings that people see as offensive, but the issue becomes a LOT less “grey” when you view the rest of the collection and see giant black women with light colored lips on their shirts?

Yes.

An additional point I’d like to make is that asking D&G whether or not Blackamoor art is offensive is as silly as asking a straight person whether or not Men on Film is offensive to the LBGT community. The person in privilege does not get to decide whether or not the image being portrayed is offensive since it’s not being “done” to them.

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Yea or Nay: Dolce&Gabbana Spring 2013 Accessories

Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2013 Accessories: YEA or NAY?

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