Stripes

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Most people associate me with stripes.  The funny thing is that they never look past the visual image to see who I am. Or is there even a ‘real’ me beyond the stripes?   I try to live my life within the boundaries of stripes because, in a sense, it is a world within borders.  There is an outside, and then there is an inside.  I stay inside as much as possible.  But I don’t mind sticking my head between the strips to find out how the world is reacting to whatever concerns the dear old planet.  In Japan, everyone tells me in English that they think of me wearing only ‘border’ t-shirts.  That is their way of describing stripes, different from how I see the stripe.

I see the strip as a direction or a road.  Not necessary to separate me from another place.  But what I do like about stripes is that they are usually the same width throughout their length, which offers me a sense of peace.  I once drew a line, as straight as possible, throughout my house.  For instance, right by my bed, the stripe starts, and it leads to the toilet, and then once I get out of the bathroom, I have various stripes to lead me to other parts of the house.  I reach the “fork on the road,” where I have to decide which line to follow.  Obtaining restrictions like that guides me and, of course, direction.

Not surprisingly, I have a thing for Jean Paul Gaultier, and it primarily deals with his obsession with Breton stripes.  1858 was the first time that the French navy wore striped knitted shirts.  The original design featured 21 stripes for each of Napoleon’s military victories.  The Saint James clothing company made the Binic ll sweater, first introduced in 1889 in Normandy.  Since then, it has become the symbol of French design and style.  But it also has its rebellious image; think of Lee Marvin’s character wearing a Breton striped t-shirt in “The Wild One.” I had a collection of Gaultier perfume bottles in my bathroom with the torso with the striped shirt.  I liked the weight of the bottles. It felt serious in my hands.

It has been noted that I don’t leave the house unless I’m wearing some stripes somewhere on my body.  Without them, I feel not entirely me.  Again, the line goes in a particular direction that leads me to and from home.