Articles of Interest, “Kids’ Clothes”

Kids’ Clothes: Articles of Interest #1, produced by Avery Trufelman, highlights the various ways in which fashion, technology, and culture mutually influence each other, focusing particularly on children’s clothing to explore our society’s perception of childhood. The series begins with a prelude tying the history of textiles to key advances in early computing, building support for the claim that “clothing and culture impact each other” (Roman Mars, 08:05-08:08). Throughout the episode, Trufelman discusses the history of children’s clothing and its evolution to its loud, unfettered, and uniquely strange modern form, as well as its relation to class, consumer protection laws, and parental preferences. 

Trufelman describes the role of clothing as “records of the bodies we used to live in” ( 11:43-11:46). I find it fascinating to think about a closet of old clothes as almost a sort of personal museum, where you’re confronted with your past interests, preferences, physique, and self-expression. Interestingly, Trufelman points out the irony of the overly bold style characteristic of children’s clothing, positing that “…you’d think that we would all start as young, blank canvases, dressed in shades of white and gray. Slowly acquiring more and more colors, more graphics, more signifiers of who we are as we age and solidify into ourselves… But no” (13:05-13:37).

I wonder if this is the case outside of the U.S. – the youthful fashion of “phony self expression… put in a blender with birthday cake and sequins” (13:39-13:44) seems like a uniquely American cultural export. When I visited family this past winter break, I noticed that my young cousins, from both Kuwait and Tunisia, wore exactly this style of children’s clothing, often adorned with slogans printed in English; I speculate that the advent of globalization has likely spread this phenomenon all over the world. This cultural influence is, however, less likely to reach more rural and/or conservative communities; I wonder what the norms for children’s clothing are there. 

Additionally, towards the end of the episode, Trufelman discusses the legal restrictions on children’s clothing with a friend, Morgan, who works as a technical designer for a children’s clothing company. Trufelman states that “these guidelines are the cobbled together aftermath of a series of disasters” (19:01-19:06), which begs the (morbid) question: what disasters?

Works Cited

Trufelman, Avery. “Kids’ Clothes.” Articles of Interest, 25 September 2018, 99percentinivisible.org/episode/kids-clothes-articles-of-interest-1/.