Jamaica Kincaid describes her experience in Antigua as a representative of England. She also talks about how beautiful the place is. Jamaica was able to see the real England, which wasn’t what she expected. She said in her story the most important things that were made in England showed social standing and whether or not a person’s family was wealthy. She focused on fashion and clothing as symbols of power. The clothing is usually seen as an expression of sexiness or seduction. It can also be a reflection of personality.
Kincaid calls England a jewel. A jewel that only Englishmen could wear. Kincaid would have her father wear a felt-hat and clothing made in England. She says that her father wore the hat because he admired an Englishman in England wearing the same hat. This picture was so convincing that it made him wear the wrong hat to a warm climate for most of his life (Kincaid 366). This quote describes her father’s desire to be accepted by purchasing this hat. It was important to him that he acted and behaved like a native Englishman by owning the hat. Even though the hat was not suitable for his work, her father recognized that it showed he had money to buy clothing in England. Kincaid’s Father equated this with wealth. She describes that the hat he always wore was as if he was wearing it like his prized possession.
Kincaid’s tale about England was a departure from the way people viewed fashion. In an article entitled “Material Fictions of Desire,” it is discussed that various authors use women’s clothes as symbols of desire and sex. The essay mentions the English’s attitude towards clothing in one sentence. It states, “For although elite English ladies were seen as agents in disguise for their love of fashion they were also considered flawed creatures because they manipulated men to fall in love and worse, marry them by deception” (Emberley 470). It described women wearing promiscuous clothes to catch a man’s eye. This led to the impression that clothing was all women needed to be liked by men. With time, however, clothing began to be seen not as something promiscuous but as something that represented power and wealth. Kincaid mentioned in her story that a store sold clothing bearing the Prince-of-Wales’ crest. She said, “I said my husband hates princes. My hubby would never wear anything with a royal crest. My friend became rigid. The salesman tensed up” (Kincaid 375). This quote shows how important a Prince’s crest is, because one of her friends stated that she was proud to wear something from the prince. When wearing clothing that is a symbol of power, the wearer appears to come from an upper class.
Kincaid believed that clothing, in addition to being a symbol of power, was also a sign of beauty and confidence. Kincaid wrote that England’s women wore clothing which “rustled, swished, and soothed”. She said that the clothing made the women look perfect. She said that her dresses didn’t perform as well as those worn by women in England. She also tied it in to the story later by stating that women primarily used their dresses and beauty in order to humiliate themselves in order for them win over men. Kincaid’s description of her clothing as being inferior to the women made Kincaid feel less than them. The women felt more powerful than her because of her cheaply constructed dresses. She said that the women were able to wear their dresses out in public, but hers weren’t made as well and she was ratty due to the numerous washings.
In the article entitled “Materials of Desire”, an author writes, “My thesis is that a feminist corporealist theory of women’s subjugation in the 20th century must be based on a set of practices and knowledges to develop desire for objects at the expense of wanting social change and meaningful relations” (Emberley 467). This quote summarizes the idea that people oppress women because of materialistic items. This quote goes along with the notion that fashion is powerful because men are more likely to oppress women due to their fashion sense.
Kincaid’s entire story is based on the idea that fashion represents power. The idea that clothes made outside of England were worn only by lower class people influenced the public. Kincaid’s story portrayed people he admired and criticized for their fashion choices. Clothing is still a sign that people are wealthy, even though it’s not the case in our modern society. Wearing expensive or high-end clothing is seen as a sign of wealth. This story is still relevant today.
