Richard Thompson Ford: A tailored history of who wears what -- and why | TED

Transcriber:

譯者: 至磊Zi Le 黃Ng 審譯者: Helen Chang

1565 年的倫敦， 一個叫理查‧沃爾文的男子被捕，

因為他穿著當局形容為

In 1565, a man named Richard Walweyn was arrested in London

「非常駭人、

極度無恥的緊身褲襪」。

for wearing what the authorities described

（笑聲）

as a “very monstrous

如果你的衣櫃裡沒有這種服裝，

and great outrageous pair of trunk hose.”

緊身褲襪就是這種寬鬆的長褲，

是文藝復興時期的英格蘭 十分流行的男性時裝。

(Laughter)

For those of you who don't already have a pair of these in your closet,

但它可以讓你遇上麻煩。

trunk hose are these puffy trousers,

and they were all the rage in men's fashion in Renaissance England.

沃爾文的長褲被當局沒收，

展示在公開場合——

But they could get you into trouble.

Walweyn had his pants confiscated by the authorities

我引用原文—— 作為「極端愚蠢的範例」。

（笑聲）

and exhibited in a public place,

在都鐸時代的英格蘭， 這種法律並不少見。

as, I quote, "an example of extreme folly."

事實上在這個時期， 時尚警察在全歐洲賣力工作。

(Laughter)

Laws like this weren't unique to Tudor-era England.

在英國、法國、西班牙，

In fact, the fashion police were hard at work all over Europe

也遍布義大利半島的城市。

當局通過法律規範人民可以穿什麼，

at this period in history.

In England, France, Spain

有時一年有數十條法律，

and in cities up and down the Italian peninsula.

以求跟上不斷改變的時尚潮流。

The authorities were passing laws about what people could wear,

現在，好，我猜你們全都在想，

sometimes dozens in a single year,

「嗯，這是一堂有趣的歷史課，

in order to keep up with ever changing fashions.

但它跟我們現在有什麼關係？」

這就像是放血或神明裁判。

Now, OK, I imagine you're all thinking,

well, that's an interesting history lesson.

在今天這個開化的社會， 我們不會做這種事情。

But what does it have to do with us today?

That's like bloodletting or trial by ordeal.

但其實我們會做。

事實上，即便在二十一世紀，

It's not the sort of thing we do in today's enlightened society.

人們經常失去工作，

孩子被從學校送回家中，

But actually we do.

民眾被拒於飛機 或其他大眾運輸之外，

In fact, even in the 21st century,

people regularly lose their jobs,

有時甚至因為穿著的服裝而入獄。

kids are sent home from school,

people are kept off airplanes and other types of public transportation,

舉幾個例子。

2015 年一名肯塔基州的 中學生史蒂芬妮‧鄧恩

and sometimes people are even jailed for what they're wearing.

被從學校送回家中，

A couple of examples.

因為她穿了令人反感的暴露上衣，

In 2015, a high school student in Kentucky named Stephanie Dunn

露出了她的鎖骨。

2012 年，

was sent home from school

for wearing a scandalously revealing top

一名阿拉巴馬州的法官 判處某人入獄，

that revealed her collarbones.

因為穿著垮褲。

And in 2012,

an Alabama judge sentenced someone to jail

「你藐視法庭，」那位法官說：

「因為你在法庭展示你的屁股。」

for wearing sagging pants.

"You are in contempt of court," the judge said,

我是一位法學教授，

我對民權、種族平等、 性別平等等議題有所研究。

"because you showed your butt in court."

在我的職涯中，

I’m a law professor, and I work on questions of civil rights

我很驚訝有這麼多起 涉及人們穿著的法律糾紛。

and racial justice and gender equity.

And over the course of my career,

而所有這些服裝和服儀規範的訴訟

I've been surprised at just how many legal disputes

讓我認為我們的服裝還有很多事情，

involve what people are wearing.

And all of these lawsuits over dress and dress codes got me thinking

不止於時尚主張的闡述。

所以我決定研究 服裝規定和法律的歷史，

that there's a lot more going on with our attire

than just making a fashion statement.

試圖找出有爭議之處。

So I decided to look into the history of rules and laws around clothing

我的研究讓我一路回到中世紀晚期。

我發現這種類型的法律和規範出現時

to try to figure out what's really at stake.

And my research took me all the way back to the late Middle Ages.

城市正在成長， 外地人開始來到城內，

需要一種方法快速目視判斷彼此。

I found that these kinds of laws and rules

really got started with the growth of cities

時裝成為地位、身分、歸屬的象徵。

when strangers began to come together

and needed a way to size each other up quickly and on sight.

上流社會利用時裝

以維持他們的社會優越性和高地位。

And fashion became a kind of shorthand for status and identity and belonging.

而一般人則利用時裝

The elite used fashion

作為挑戰當局 或抬高社會階級的方式。

in order to assert their social superiority

and high status and position.

And the average person used fashion

時裝是一種資格證明，

as a way to challenge authority or to climb the social ladder.

穿到不該穿的衣服 可被視為一種欺騙。

例如佛羅倫斯的教長 科西莫‧德‧麥地奇曾說：

Fashion was a type of credential,

and wearing the wrong clothing could be considered a type of fraud.

「只要有兩碼長的紅絲綢， 即可成為一位紳士。」

For instance, the Florentine patriarch, Cosimo de' Medici,

這種對於欺騙性時裝的擔憂

once said, "One can make a gentleman from two yards of red silk."

使上流階級通過法令，

只允許他們自己穿著 代表最高地位的昂貴時裝，

And this worry about the fraudulent use of fashion

所以珠寶、貴金屬、 毛皮、紅絲綢等物件

led the elite to pass laws that held that only they could wear

被法律保留給貴族和皇室。

the most high status and luxurious fashions,

so things like jewels, precious metals, fur and red silk

某種形式上，這和今天沒什麼不同。

were restricted by law to the aristocracy and royalty.

即便是今天，我們也會用服飾和時裝

作為顯示身分、地位、歸屬的方式，

And in a way, it's not all that different today.

無論是麥迪遜大道上 可以找到的昂貴時裝，

Even today, we used clothing and fashion

as a way to signal identity and status and belonging,

還是使人煩躁的都市街頭文化風格。

所以也許我們也會用穿著來評判彼此

whether it's the expensive high fashions you might find on Madison Avenue

or the edgy styles of an urban street culture.

在一定程度上並不驚人。

So maybe it's not surprising that we also judge each other in part

問題是我們並不擅於這種評判方式。

我們可能會犯下嚴重的錯誤， 造成確確實實的後果。

based on what we're wearing.

The problem is that we're not always very good at it.

我們評估跟我們很類似的人時， 這種方法效果很好。

We could make serious mistakes that can have real consequences.

所以我不會不善於評估

大學教授、律師、 大都市居民附庸風雅的服裝。

So it works pretty good when we’re dealing with people who are a lot like ourselves.

So I'm not bad at evaluating the wardrobes of college professors,

但我們就不太會評估其他行業的人。

lawyers, artsy types who live in big cities.

這裡有一個例子。

But we're not so good when it comes to dealing with people

一個我以前的學生 是她家族裡第一個上大學的，

她告訴我這個故事。

from other walks of life.

她得到一個工作面試的機會， 而且她很想要那份工作，

Here's an example.

A former student of mine,

所以她穿著她最好的洋裝去了面試。

who was the first in her family to attend college, told me this.

She got a job interview, and she really wanted the job,

問題是當她到了那裡，

其他辦公室裡的人覺得她的洋裝 看起來是派對在穿的，

and so she wore her very best dress to the interview.

Problem was when she got there,

所以他們覺得她的打扮 是為了等一下去夜總會，

the other people in the office thought her dress looked like a party dress,

在那一夜的稍晚，

對於這份工作沒有很看重。

他們誤判了她的服裝， 也因此誤判了她的動機。

so they thought she was dressed up to go clubbing afterwards,

later in the evening,

另一個問題是 我們對專業精神的許多想法

and wasn't that serious about the job.

They misread her clothing and therefore they misread her motivations.

是建立在一些人數很多的族群

被排除於那項職業的情況。

Another problem is that a lot of our ideas about professionalism

因此，那些族群必須經歷更多困難

才能找到看起來夠專業 而且適合他們的服裝。

were established when large groups of people

were excluded from the professions.

只要想想希拉蕊‧柯林頓 因為她的褲裝受到的謾罵就知道了。

And as a consequence, those groups have a harder time

finding something that looks professional and is appropriate for them.

比爾‧柯林頓從沒有那些問題。

有色人種女性則時常飽受 服裝儀容規定之苦，

Just think of all the grief Hillary Clinton got about her pantsuits.

Bill Clinton never had those problems.

這些規定是基於白人常見的髮質。

And women of color often suffer under dress and grooming codes

很多職場的服裝規範 仍然禁止辮子頭，

that were based on the hair texture common to white people.

那才是適合非裔美國人髮質的髮型。

So a lot of workplace dress codes still forbid braids and locks,

這些職場上的女性面臨殘酷的抉擇。

styles that are well suited to the texture of African-American's hair.

他們要用刺激性化學物質弄直頭髮，

And women in those workplaces face a cruel choice.

或剪去絕大部分頭髮。

這很侮辱人，

這些族群的女性被要求犧牲，

They either need to straighten their hair with harsh chemicals

而其他的人從來不必為了 要被視為符合專業而犧牲。

or cut most of it off.

That’s just insulting,

and it requires the sacrifice of these types of women

最後，我們對於什麼是合適的的想法 有一些是基於刻板印象。

that other people never have to make in order to be considered professional.

例如很多職場服裝規範 仍然要求女性穿高跟鞋。

And finally, some of our ideas about what's appropriate

are based on stereotypes.

而來自全世界的女性 都開始反抗這類的服裝規範。

And so, for instance, a lot of workplace dress codes

still require women to wear high-heeled shoes.

例如倫敦有一位女性 散布一份請願書，

對抗要求高跟鞋的職場服裝規範。

And women from all over the world

have started to push back against these kind of dress codes.

它一路進入了國會。

So, for instance, a woman in London circulated a petition

坎城影展的女性打著赤腳，

為了抗議要求她們 穿高跟鞋的服裝規範。

against workplace dress codes requiring high heels.

And it got all the way to Parliament.

其實日本的女性 發起了一項社會運動，

Women at the Cannes Film Festival

went barefoot in order to protest a dress code

得到了 #KuToo 之名。

that would require them to wear high heels.

這是一種對 #MeToo 運動的認可，

And women in Japan have actually started a social movement

但 #KuToo 在日文的意思是 「鞋子造成的痛」。

that has gotten the name #KuToo.

好，在這一刻，你大概在想，

It's kind of a nod to #MeToo,

but #KuToo means "shoe pain" in Japanese.

如果不再有服裝規定不會更好嗎？

你知道，也許我們全都應該 像馬克‧祖克柏一樣，

So, OK, at this point, you're probably thinking,

每天只穿灰色 T 裇。

wouldn't it be better if no one cared about any of this stuff?

但他談論他為什麼 穿那件灰色 T 裇時，

You know, maybe we should all be like Mark Zuckerberg,

他說：「我沒做好我的工作，

who just wears a gray T-shirt every day.

如果我把精力耗費在 愚蠢不重要的事情上的話。

But here's what he said about why he wears that gray T-shirt.

He said, "I'm not doing my job

這就是我每天穿 灰色 T 裇的原因。」

if I spend any of my energy on things that are silly or frivolous.

這聽起來不像是一個 不在乎人們穿什麼的人。

And that's my reason for wearing a gray T-shirt every day."

反而像是他在說穿著時尚的人

So that doesn't quite sound like somebody who doesn't care

是愚蠢和沒意義的， 沒有在做他們的工作。

about what people are wearing.

Instead, it sounds like he's saying that people who dress fashionably

那件灰色 T 裇 突然不再代表不關心，

are silly and frivolous and aren't doing their jobs.

它變成美德和職業道德的符號。

那可能只是一種新型的服裝規範。

That gray T-shirt, suddenly not a matter of indifference,

事實上就在此時， 雅虎執行長梅麗莎‧梅爾

it's become a signal of moral virtue and the work ethic.

And that can just be a new kind of dress code.

為了時尚雜誌的文章 穿了一件時尚的洋裝，

回應很毒辣。

In fact, on cue, when Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo!,

一個評論者說她看起來 像是在放鬆和度假，

wore a fashionable dress for a fashion magazine spread,

而此時其他人都在工作。

the response was harsh.

One commentator said she looks like she's relaxing and on vacation

因此假裝你不在乎人們穿什麼

while everyone else is doing work.

可以轉變成一種 更細微和潛伏的服裝規範。

So pretending you don't care about what people wear

事實上，去除成文的服裝規範 有時會導致不成文的服裝規範，

can turn into just a more subtle and insidious form of dress code.

後者一樣尖銳，甚至更有限制性。

And in fact, getting rid of the written dress code

例如高盛投資銀行，

sometimes leads to an unwritten dress code

他們在 2019 年刪除了 正式的商業服裝規範，

that's equally harsh or maybe even more restrictive.

但管理層必須補充說明：

So, for instance, the investment bank Goldman Sachs

「我們大家都知道 什麼適合職場，什麼不適合。」

got rid of its formal business dress code in 2019,

（笑聲）

but the management had to add this:

因此，有些人會開始想

"We all know what is and is not appropriate for the workplace."

「也許刪除服裝規範 是某種類型的考試，

(Laughter)

驅趕沒有足夠常識 獨立找出什麼是合適的人。」

And as a consequence, some people started to think,

"Maybe getting rid of the dress code is some kind of a test

事實上許多銀行業的人 在服裝規範消失後，

to smoke out people who aren't savvy enough

to figure out what's appropriate all on their own."

被拉向新的不成文服裝規定，

至少等同於穿制服。

And in fact, a lot of people in banking, after these dress codes went away,

實際上，有一個 Instagram 網頁，

gravitated toward a new unwritten dress code

你看過這群人繞著小鎮走，對吧？

有一個 Instagram 專頁跟它有關， 叫做「市中心制服」。

that was equally, if not more, uniform.

In fact, there's an Instagram page --

沒有服裝規範，

但所有人都穿著一模一樣的衣服，

you've seen these guys walking around town, right?

因為擔心看起來像是個 無法分辨適不適合的人。

There's an Instagram page about it called the Midtown Uniform.

There's no dress code,

but everyone's wearing exactly the same thing

所以，你知道，

假裝不在乎穿什麼但其實很在乎

out of fear of looking like someone

who doesn't know what is or is not appropriate.

So, you know,

並不是解答。

讓我們面對它，

trying to pretend that we don't care about what people wear

有時根據人們穿著的服裝 達成結論是有道理的。

when we so obviously do isn't the answer.

但我們的本能反應 時常受到刻板印象、

And let's face it, sometimes it makes sense

to draw conclusions from what people are wearing.

潛意識裡的偏見、

有限的經驗和觀點所影響。

But our gut reactions are often informed by stereotypes

因此無論是制訂服裝規範 還是評判一位外來者，

and subconscious biases

and limited experiences or limited perspectives.

讓我們都試著在叫時尚警察來之前， 檢查我們的偏見吧！

So whether it's writing a dress code or evaluating a stranger,

謝謝。

（掌聲）

let's all try to check our biases before we call the fashion police.

Thanks.

(Applause)