Peace is not for sale
By Deanna Perry on Thursday, February 4th, 2010I recently noticed that retailers are targeting teens and young adults with peace signs on their clothing and jewelry. I am as into the whole world peace thing as much as the next person, but I don’t see a point in using the peace sign as an adornment. At the very least, the peace sign should not be sold in the volume in which it is being advertised.
By seeing the peace sign on things as ordinary as a pair of underwear, shirts or earrings, our generation is stripping the sign of any real meaning. Sure, it might still mean the same thing, but we will begin to see it as more of a decoration than an important symbol.
As for why it is being sold in bulk, in the same way that sex sold items in the past, retailers are very much aware that peace sells. By making the peace sign a fad, it guarantees that more people will want to buy apparel that is covered in it. In this day and age, just like any other, it is difficult to avoid getting sucked into dressing just like everyone else. When you see a symbol on a large number of outfits, it soon becomes the norm, just like our generation’s dress code of denim jeans and a hoodie.
We are definitely weak to the power of suggestion when it comes to fashion.
Here is what I would like to know: when you put on your peace sign earrings, slip into your denim bell bottoms and accent your outfit with a scarf covered in peace signs, are you dressing that way because you believe people should live and let live, or are you allowing the big clothing and accessory brands to pick your pocket so you can look exactly like everyone else?
If you do not have a peaceful attitude or value the idea of peace then why are you walking around with the symbol plastered all over your clothing?
The same thing can be said for love. You can walk into just about any junior section and see things covered in hearts. I don’t suppose people wear things like that because they particularly love others; more than likely they just think it’s cute.
What I’m really trying to say is that we have beaten things like peace and love to death with our pointless ideas of what is fashionable. No one is capable of looking genuine by wearing a peace sign if they are not a peaceful person. I would really like to see our generation either adopt the ways of our fashion or start dressing more originally. If neither one of these things happen then what is the point of it all? Do not kill a perfectly good idea by forgetting what it means.
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