You’re not your f-cking khakis

On combat boots and mall culture

David Jacks

Like many students, I work at the mall. This means I spend what most might call an appalling amount of time there. My store also lacks a back room where employees can eat mall lunches consisting of mediocre pizza and fried rice among the stock boxes, so I spend more time than most watching people shop.

Recently, I’ve noticed the vast majority of the mall population looks curiously similar, beyond the fact that the majority of people at the mall appear to be white, middle class and are predominantly women. The uniformity in their clothing is remarkable (think of how many women you’ve seen wearing military-style jackets with tights, combat boots and toques so far this season) - they probably shop at the mall.

The mall is a petri dish of modern, consumerist class struggle. Anyone who has been to high school can probably understand that everyone, at least on some level, desperately wants to fit in. The mall allows people to attempt to catapult themselves into the middle class, because what appears more middle class than shopping at the mall? Perhaps only wearing the clothes you purchased there. As a result, homogeneity in style and taste is created based on those who can afford to shop at the mall and those who wish to appear that they can. 

While the mall appears to provide endless style options, whatever the stores are selling will be sought after as socioeconomic status symbols. This gives companies incredible power but also means that an incredible amount of individuality is lost (think once again about the epidemic of Lululemon tights and Ugg boots).

I fear for the loss of originality that malls perpetuate. I know the days of the general store that sold everything from canning jars to flour to long-johns are long gone, but how did we end up with sprawling buildings complete with bowling alleys, restaurants and amusement parks? I suggest we attempt to find a middle ground. 

For the sake of the small business and of the handmade, we should all do better. Take for example, Osborne Village’s Sew Dandee, which closed only last week. Of course, this should all be taken with a grain of salt, as this article comes from the mind of a mall employee and was written atop an Ikea desk.

I guess we can all do better next time.

Robyn Otto is a German major with mild caffeine and major pug addictions.

Published in Volume 69, Number 5 of The Uniter (October 1, 2014)

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