Scarlette Spring/Summer 2023

SCARLETTE

ISSUE XIX, Spring/Summer 2023

WELCOME TO SCARLETTE MAGAZINE

Our mission is to create an environment for THE Ohio State University to pursue their creative and individual passions in the world of fashion. After a 2 year hiatus, we are so excited to be able to publish our second magazine of the school year, and even more importantly, our first physical copy of the magazine! This semester was definitely a busy one as each one of our members worked tirelessly to make this dream a reality. Simultaneously, we held several professional and creative events throughout the semester to shape Scarlette into a place of growth and comfort. Firstly, we hosted many amazing professionals in the fashion industry, including a modeling coach, a senior buyer for luxury brands, as well as many fashion photographers. All of our guests shared their talents and passions to our members: the future of the fashion industry. Furthermore, we held several pop-up thrift stores on campus and many internal events within the organization.

As this semester comes to an end, we are so excited for our readers to experience the passions, creativity, and love of our members. Evenmore, we hope to continue to inspire and promote individuality within the fashion industry at The Ohio State University campus. Hope you enjoy this issue of Scarlette Magazine!

EXECUTIVE BOARD

EDITORS IN CHEIF

Archita Rout

Lena Wu

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Lena Wu

VICE EDITOR IN CHEIF

Levana Wu

SECRETARY

Ella Diploid

DIRECTOR OF FINANCE

Hannah Mayle

DIRECTOR OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

Morgan Vereb

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

Ashley Boehmke

DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Jordan Neifert

DIRECTOR OF WRITING

Lily Polete

ADVISOR

Alex Suer

CON TENTS

GENDER NEUTRAL MAY FETE

SCANDINAVIAN MINIMALISM

NIGHT LIFE

FROM BUNNY SLIPPERS TO HIGH HEELS

It’s no New York City or Los Angeles, but Columbus’ college nightlife scene is not one to be overlooked.

Columbus is the 14th largest city in the United States, and The Ohio State University is located right in the center of it all. With Newport Music Hall across the street from the Ohio Union and the Short North just a 15 minute walk down High Street, the nightlife is both a social and fashion staple of the university area.

There is no lack of things to do in Columbus, everything from making a quick run to get ice cream in your pink bunny slippers to an elegant night with friends, is just a 10 minute walk away.

I personally, am not a going-out type of girl. I love to get all dressed up and hangout with friends, but in truth the crowds can be stressful, figuring out where to go is always a hassle, I never know what to wear and to be quite honest, I never want to get out of bed. But with summer almost here, there is no better time to pull those heels out of the back of your closet and hit the dance floor.

Getting out of bed can be hard, but picking an outfit doesn’t have to be.

It can be helpful to use an outfit formula, like pairing a black tank top or bodysuit with a pair of jeans and adding bedazzled or neon accessories, which will create an effortless going-out look.

Finding a unique piece and building the rest around it could help you to plan your outfit. Pairing a statement shoe with a simple dress or pair of jeans or layering a large statement

necklace with a black tank top can add a pop of color to your look.

Another great option is the corset. You just can’t go wrong with a corset. It is a statement piece that is easy to pair with almost anything. Corsets can be layered over blouses, worn with a nice pair of jeans or added over a simple dress to add a little flare to your look.

GETTING OUT OF BED CAN BE HARD, BUT PICKING OUT AN OUTFIT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE.

It can get hot out on the dance floor and something that will never fail you is the little black dress. If you are looking to spice it up you could always add a pair of neon heels or a unique handbag to complete the look.

Club fashion has come to the forefront of the fashion world and although loving the look is important it is also important to feel comfortable in what you are wearing.

At many clubs are bars, particularly on college campuses, there is more standing room than there is sitting room, so finding comfortable shoes is always important.

Heels are a statement, but may not be the most comfortable option. Wearing boots or a unique pair of sneakers can add not only an added level of comfort but serve as a statement in-and-of themselves.

It’s all about the feeling you get, which can be different for everyone. For some, wearing dresses helps to combat over heating but for others a nice pair of pants are the more comfortable way to go. But that’s just the thing with club fashion, it’s up to each person to choose what it really is.

What I have found is that the key to nightlife fashion is to wear something that you feel both comfortable and beautiful in, something that makes you want to get out of bed.

ALL MAD HERE

GOING BOLD AT TEA TIME

Powder-white face with bold pink eye shadow, a sash made out of thread spools, and an iconic oversized top hat sitting on top of wild bright orange hair. A picture of Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter should come straight to mind, a character whose style can be described wholeheartedly as maximalism.

Maximalism is an artistic movement described as the “aesthetic of excess.” In the world of fashion, it is detected through a variety of bold colors, striking patterns, excessive layering, and sometimes even campy pieces and accessories. A key component of maximalism is to not follow usual fashion guidelines; rather, people should embrace their own personal style and reject the societally accepted rules of fashion and art.

Maximalism is not a new concept within the fashion community. People have been adhering to the rules of maximalism for decades. Looking back on the past few decades, we have seen ebbs and flows of maximalism in American fashion culture. In the 1980s, there was a boom in maximalist fashion with bright colors, unique clothing, and big hair. During the 90s, people began shying away from the eccentric fashion of the 80s and taking inspiration from the supermodels of the time. People began wearing cleaner lines and simpler colors. Then, in the 2000s, there was another dramatic switch; this time with rhinestones, chunky shoes, bright-colored tracksuits, and bold belts.

In 2008, the country faced a large recession in which the maximalism lifestyle was no longer a realistic style to follow. Then following the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a portion of people returning to the maximalism ideology. After the boredom of lockdown, a period in which fashion was mainly limited to sweatpants and t-shirts, people began wearing pieces that gave them the most joy, with no exact style in mind. People were so excited to finally go out and wear lively, fun clothes that they didn’t care if the way they dressed was following the accepted rules of fashion or not. This was only accelerated by rapidly growing social media platforms such as Tik Tok. This allowed creators to share their personal style with the world, with others becoming inspired by their art. There has been a growth in layering, bright colors, and eye-catching patterns.

This growth in maximalism has led people to question whether or not it is a sustainable and environmentally friendly form of fashion. Many worry that maximalism promotes a sense of over-consumption that will eventually leave pieces of clothing sitting in landfills. The rise of social media has shown that maximalism does not have to promote this environmentally destructive lifestyle. Purchasing clothes from second-hand retailers and purchasing pieces that can be integrated into multiple different looks and ways allow for the maximalism look to become one that is sustainable as well.

When taking a look at Tim Burton’s film, specifically his own adaptation of “Alice in Wonderland,” one can see a lot of elements of maximalism in his work. Burton’s work was inspired by German Expressionism, in which art is inspired by the creator’s own emotions and feelings rather than cloning what they saw in reality.

Though Burton’s work is usually darker and grungier, there are still many shared principles of maximalism. Characters are still seen wearing eccentric clothing with lots of layering, and most importantly, Burton’s work expresses his and his characters’ emotions rather than what art would expect of them.

BEAUTY SHOTS

THE TREND THAT NEVER ENDS

Trends change like seasons, but beauty is all year round. Although we are happy to announce that the shift into summer has begun, it is important to keep your idea of beauty as consistent as the spring rain and as bold as the summer heat. The definition of beauty is nonexistent; there is no singular way to show, view or feel it. The only wrong way of beauty is to ignore it.

Today the media focuses on the fitness of your figure and the glow of your skin, which overshadows the intellect of your brain and the depth of your feelings. If you feel good, you look good. This is a quote to keep in mind this season, next season, and every single one after that. Feeling beautiful is exactly that… a feeling. If wearing pink makes you FEEL beautiful, then beauty is pink. If something you wear or do makes you feel good and confident, then you have found the trendiest style of them all.

Taking care of yourself is important in finding beauty, again using the quote If you feel good, you look good. This, like beauty, has many definitions. Taking care of yourself can include spending time alone when needed, exercising, eating food that makes you happy, or doing something as simple as calling a friend. Life is chaotic, social media is raging, and the state of the world is no help. Spring cleaning doesn’t just include cleaning your closets; it includes cleaning out the old in all corners of your life. This spring, we encourage you to clean out your social media and

keep the theme of making yourself feel good. Get rid of people who do not bring positivity, unfollow accounts that spread negativity, and delete platforms that hinder your progress.

Beauty definitions and explanations have unfortunately been coined as being corny with overused quotes like Beauty is on the inside, not the outside, or even more cliche, Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Although these quotes are great, beauty changes, so it is only fair that we change how we view it. It is important to keep these cheesy quotes alive because they do hold truth. However, using beauty as a lifestyle rather than a marketing strategy could authenticate beauty rather than commercialize it.

As you enter this new season of opportunity, and cleanse yourself of old negativity, remember to be beautiful is to feel beautiful. While the dark colors melt away with the cold of winter, bright colors bloom with the spirit of summer. Keep your spirits as bright as the colors on this page.

SHOOT LEADS Lena Wu, Levana Wu / MODELS Chloe Ballesteros, Katrina Boyce, Abby Reeder, Levana Wu / PHOTOGRAPHY Ashley Boehmke / STYLING Brianna Roemmele, Katie Grose, Lena Wu, Levana Wu / HAIR AND MAKEUP Ajah Rowell / DESIGN AND LAYOUT Morgan Vereb

COW BOY

THE WILD MIDWEST: A HISTORY

From the Wild West to the Wild Midwest, the cowboy aesthetic has made its way to Columbus and is hitting the streets in full swing this spring.

A look that began with the original Lone Ranger, and was later taken over by Ralph Lauren, is now making its way into city life.

THE LONE RANGER

“A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust and a hearty, ‘Hi Yo Silver!’,” said Frederick Foy in his most well known narration from “The Lone Ranger.”

The first episode of “The Lone Ranger” premiered in September of 1949 and quickly rose the ranks, becoming the highest-rated television program on ABC in the early 1950s.

Not only did “The Lone Ranger” rise the ranks in TV series but it simultaneously became a cultural icon. With “The Lone Ranger” came a long-standing wave of Western-inspired fashion that can still be seen today.

The original Lone Ranger, played by Clayton Moore, often wore a blue suede suit laced-up along his chest, a black belt and holster, black boots, a tan cowboy hat, a bandana around his neck and the iconic black mask over his eyes.

The cowboy character is a classically masculine portrayal that relies heavily on visuals like clothing and footwear to create meaning. A cowboy just isn’t a cowboy without a hat and a pair of cowboy boots.

A BRIEF HISTORY

As America became more and more urbanized and agriculture was no longer a part of everyone’s daily lives anymore the cowboy became an image that represented a true American West.

In the 1900s and into the early 1920s came movies like “The Gold Rush” and “Go West” which generated a demand for cowboys in the world of pop culture.

The 1920s-1970s was considered to be a key period in the history of Western fashion. This was the time in which cowboy clothing and boots were commercialized as a part of a new Western-wear industry.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, cowboy apparel became more and more dramatized; Western shirts had hand-stitched embroidery and bedazzled embellishments and pants were often form-fitting to show a person’s slim physique. The cowboy was no longer a symbol of agriculture, but rather a symbol of popular culture.

RALPH LAUREN WESTERN

In 1979, Ralph Lauren released a new line of denim, apparel and accessories using inspiration from the American West. The line, called Ralph Lauren Western, was meant to mesh the caricature world of the cowboy look with street style, molding it into everyday wear.

What really caught people’s attention was in the Fall 1978 season when Lauren’s models took to the runway in prairie skirts, tailored leather and cowboy hats. It was an anti-fashion statement that caught everybody’s attention.

THE URBAN COWBOY

The world of Western high fashion owes a debt to Ralph Lauren for being the first to take cowboy chic to the Paris runway. Moschino followed suit in the 1990s, taking cowgirl fashion to the Milan runway and in 2013, Karl Lagerfeld took Chanel’s pre-fall collection to the frontier using denim, blanket coats and turquoise embellishments.

Today’s cowboy showcases a more maximalist approach. The Casablanca Spring 2023 collection features brightly-colored fringe vests, bedazzled matching sets and embroidery galore that can be worn anywhere from Sedona, Arizona to the streets of New York to Newport Music Hall.

GEN DER FASHION

STAGES AND BACK PAGES

“

Judith Butler ‘74” - words printed in small lettering in the back pages of last year’s Shaker Schools Alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony program. Here is a philosopher and writer, pillar of postmodern feminism, and pioneer of queer theory, situated meekly between the names of an architect and former mayor.

Judith Butler’s work forged my analytical understanding of gender and just so happened to graduate from the same high school as me.

It’s difficult to see the setting of your life as not entirely your own, let alone being shared with such a maverick. To think that the same plots of land, same hills and depressions, and same dams and reservoirs incubated both our minds almost 50 years apart was overwhelming. This parallel lowered Butler from a pedestal. I became so close to my mental image of their sculptured face that I saw cracks in the marble.

Before this realization, I operated with an understanding that the few have an inborn access to truth and the masses are left to follow their words and behaviors intently. I had an obsession with the greats, those able to hear and write through the static, and Judith Butler was one of those names underlined in red. Maybe that is why it was so hard seeing their name written unremarkably in nine-point Times New Roman.

I was first introduced to Butler’s ideas in the throes of the pandemic while nervously going through the dresses in the back of my friend’s closet. I hadn’t heard of Judith Butler or “Gender Trouble”, their transcendent 1990 work, but I saw myself differently. I felt the illusion of gender as dress and dress as gender. I felt negotiations within and the tension between expectation, action, and reception.

For all that gender is, Butler is clear on what it’s not. It is not inherent, but illusory; not peaceful, but a struggle between the individual and norm; not objective, but a collection of behaviors, relations, and choices that take on meaning in particular social worlds—a most controversial claim.

Using Erving Goffman’s famous allegory for the self, gender is a stage play with a knowing performer and knowing audience, encouraging each other with grander acts and greater applause. Butler believes the lead’s solo is not a perfect expression of inward creativity, but a compromise between the performer and onlookers.

The pitches, runs, and time signatures familiar to the lead are learned from a lineage of performers before them. Still, the soloist takes action, adding an extra refrain or going down an octave, but the final product is never really their own. The performance doesn’t belong to the audience either—it is shared.

In the stage play of gender, our dress is the most visual and considered factor. It is not as simple as a matching suit and dress at a school dance; gender distinctions in clothing are found in the details. A seam and a dart, the length of a sleeve, a nipped waist, and the angles of a collar all give gender to the layers of fabric we select each day. Even the shape of a neckline raises eyebrows when it’s perceived to violate our learned gendered expectations. If this is true, how do we begin to approach gender neutrality in fashion?

An easy answer is unisex, which is often pretty shapeless and verges on utilitarian. These oversized and neutral-toned pieces lack the details that would otherwise inform a customer whether they’re in the “right” section of the store. With all variations in color and cut drawn out of fashion, the simplicity of unisex leaves me with questions: What’s left when we remove all gendered social meaning from our clothing? Is fashion and the daily bargaining with the contents of our closets nothing more than a communication of gender identity?

Gender neutrality is not the absence of gender as unisex suggests, but rather, in Butler’s words, a foundational understanding of gender as performance.

Gender neutrality is engaging in the daily struggle of gender knowing it is simultaneously meaningful and constructed—a cognizance of others’ performances and your place in their audience. Maybe it is even empathy, recognizing others experience similar challenges of individuality and presentation as you do.

If gender is expressly visual in dress, gender neutrality is not. If gender is reproduced by the unexamined inheritance of norms and values, gender neutrality is subversive. If gender is the process of becoming by being, gender neutrality is awareness of the constant dialogue between choice and influence, as well as the power that follows this awareness.

For me, it means exploring extremes of gendered dress and understanding the compromise each performance represents. Through this, my world takes on new meaning—his tan Carhartt jacket, their cut-off jean shorts, and her homemade ceramic earrings—and when I see the world differently, my view of myself changes. I see my plaid skirts, my business casual, my cowboy boots, and the duffle bag of jeans and sweatshirts I pack for winter break at my parents’ house in a new light.

My shared origins with Judith Butler remain hard to digest, but I’m now less quick to idolize and that’s a good thing. For all the reverence the greats deserve, their insight is only as relevant as it is applicable.

The importance of this writing starts and ends with the reader and their decision to turn the ideas in print into tools for navigating the world. Between my time in my friend’s closet and the pictures of me at five years old trying on my mother’s necklaces, Butler gives me words for my strife, but also, my experience lends meaning to Butler’s words. In the dialogue of lived and written knowledge, we build towards our collective flourishing.

IF GENDER IS EXPRESSLY VISUAL IN DRESS, GENDER NEUTRALITY IS NOT.

FETE MAY

ON CAMPUS:

Speckles of reds, yellows, pinks, and blues against fields of green grass, clear skies swirled with white clouds, and gentle sunlight grazing over skin - teasing the summer time. A vision of a perfect spring day.

To us Ohio State Students, this usually signifies a rare occasion where Ohio weather is actually normal, but to the women of the 1910’s - 20’s Ohio State campus, this signaled a time of dance auditions in Pomerene hall and decorating the amphitheater as well as Mirror Lake in preparation to celebrate the coming of spring with a festival called May Fete.

WHAT IS MAY FETE?

May Fete was defined as a biennial campus wide celebration of spring. This celebration was usually themed and included events such as orchestra performances, dances, and many more events from different organizations across campus, the pinnacle being the pageant where the May Fete Queen and King Elect were crowned. Later on these events were titled May Week and took place during the second week of May.

The May Fete dance consisted of these young women, who were chosen, walking down to Mirror Lake Hollow dressed in loose, white, long dresses whilst dancing around the maypole holding ribbons. After the dance, the King and Queen were crowned on the amphitheater stage.

The event no longer takes place at the Ohio State University and is very scarce in the present day with only a few universities and schools carrying on the tradition.

HOMAGE TO A TRADITION

We wanted to highlight this Ohio State Tradition whilst applying a modern spin to the occasion. Replicating aspects such as white attire and emphasizing the beauty of nature and spring through the use of flowers.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE

It’s no surprise that May Fete excluded multiple different identities, one of them being students of color. The history of OSU and America included heavy discrimination and oppression amongst students of color. All of them had to fight for a spot at this university and are still experiencing this struggle today. It wasn’t even until the 1950s when black students were permitted to live on the OSU campus. We wanted to showcase a new era of the university and our commitment towards diversity and intersectionality with a much different May Fete.

SCANDI

STYLE MINI MALISM

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF FASHION

Minimalism is the ideology of reducing and decreasing all aspects of life. In the 1960s in New York, minimalism began when a group of artists rejected the traditional forms with their own artwork. The idea of minimalism originated in painting and sculpting and then flowed into other mediums, such as a lifestyle trend or fashion statement. Minimalism itself has always been contracted from the social culture and major events of the time, having its initial rise in Western art during the postwar era, but it typically fluctuates with technological improvements and economic cycles. Minimalism can even be traced back to the Women’s Rights Movement. As women fought for the right to vote and have their stand in the workplace, the need for practical clothing was demanded. This more masculine and practical look was embraced by Chanel in the 1930s but later was overcome by hyper-femininity in the 1980s due to backlash against feminism in the 1950s.

When looking at minimalism in fashion, form, fabric, and reductionism are the most important. Many would associate minimalist fashion to blazers, a monotone palette, and a crisp aura to your look. Minimalism itself works to reject the quarrels and hardships that come with fast fashion. Fast fashion is proven to cause widespread water pollution through cheap and toxic dyes, textile waste, and abuse to the hardworking and underpaid employees.

With the climate of today being geared towards getting more at a cheaper price, advertisers take advantage of the fear of missing out on trends. Therefore, advertisers then push the boundaries of consumerism and force their customers into a corner, making them want to stay with what is new. Minimalism focuses on quality over quantity and helps push back against fast fashion and its downfalls, pushing for customers to live a more sustainable lifestyle and truly love each piece in their own personal collection.

There is also no denying minimalism partakes in breaking gender stereotypes. As aforementioned, minimalism can be traced back to the Women’s Rights Movement; it also works toward more gender-neutralized clothing. It challenged original perceptions of what it means to be alluring in fashion and removed the aspect of sensation being deprived from the aspect of either covering up or revealing skin. This revamp can be traced back to Japanese designers, such as Issey Miyake and Rei Kawakubo. Following in these footsteps, designers such as Donna Karan and Calvin Klein had design directives focused on comfort and ease for working women. This version of minimalism in the 1990s was different from before, as it was concentrated on the female body rather than the actual clothes themselves, contrasting itself to the Japanese version of minimalism. Scandinavian minimalism is geared towards functionality and calmness, similar to that of the 1990s in the West.

Scandinavian minimalism does not only transcend through fashion but is a lifestyle take: focusing on simplicity, quality, and practicality. It is specifically different from standardized minimalism due to the natural aspect, as it is especially focused on a connection to nature. Its recent uprising, similar to the previously mentioned trends, is a result of the political and economic culture of the time. As the political climate is beginning to ramp up, this fashion and lifestyle trend encourages the people to slow down and move towards simpleness. There is no denying minimalism’s development throughout the years, as it has become a lifestyle choice as well as a statement. As trends continue to develop over time, minimalism will be transformed to continue pushing people to focus on the quality and austerity in daily life.

SCARLETTE

ISSUE XIX, Spring/Summer 2023