Silk
week 6
overview
Brief history of the silk road
The importance & desire of Silk
How it related to todays clothing standards
Section 1: The Silk Road
The Silk Road began in China and stretched through the Middle East all the way to Rome. It wasn’t a single road, but a network of many trade routes, with dangerous areas traders had to avoid. Some of these places included the Gobi Desert, the Taklamakan Desert (also known as the “Place of Ruins”), and long, nearly impassable mountain ranges that blocked direct paths.
To reduce travel time and lower the risk of death, traders would rely on middlemen. These traders would meet Chinese or Roman merchants halfway and carry goods for the second half of the journey. They met at a place called the Caravanserai. This place was basically what we call an inn today. Middle men would rest, eat and take jobs from this area.
Section 2: The importance & desire of Silk
Silk brought China great wealth due to how rare it was, along with how no one outside of China knew where it came from or how it was made. Many Romans believed silk grew on trees and tried to create their own versions, but none of their attempts worked. What helped amplify this is how China made it illegal to tell anyone how silk was made. They would have guards check produce leaving the country and look for the following: silk worms, instructions on how it was made, or anything they believed would show off the way silk was made.
The desire for silk really took off during the reign of Augustus. After ending years of war and unrest, people finally had time, stability, and most importantly, money to spend on luxury goods.
Once people had the time and money to spend on luxury goods, silk became extremely important to nobles and royals. Women especially loved how lightweight, cool, and elegant silk dresses were. Many wouldn’t be caught wearing anything else, or at the very least, they made sure their outfits included some form of silk.
The demand became do popular that even men began wearing it. Over time, silk became a common status symbol, that even when the government banned wearing it on political and moral grounds, people wouldn’t listen and do it anyways. Eventually, women started wearing more revealing silk clothing like dresses that were see through or didn’t cover all their body. This sparked criticism from philosophers, some of whom spoke out strongly against the trend. One said: “I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the body, nor even one’s decency, can be called clothes. Wretched flocks of maids labor so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife’s body.”
Section 3: Modern clothing standards
Fast forward to modern times, and you can see a lot of similarities in how people treat and wear clothing. Around 2015–2017, there was a whole trend where adults would make a huge deal over designer and name brand clothing. People would spend at least $150 on these items and then show them off for validation. As a kid, you would see this and assume that’s what makes you cool. This would lead to kids in my school asking their parents for very expensive over the top shoes that would give them their temporary status until they outgrow them a few months later.
Adults today aren’t much better. Even if designer brands aren’t as big of a focus anymore, the way people wear clothing is similar to how women in Rome wore silk outfits. In many Western countries, not really anywhere else, you’ll see women in public spaces like gyms or coffee shops wearing very revealing clothing or nearly see-through leggings. Social events like college parties or Halloween parties aren’t much better and are actually worse. Many of the outfits women wear often include extremely short skirts or very tight, small crop tops. Press them about why they wear it and they all give you the same response “i don’t do it or others i do it for myself” or “I don’t care what my boyfriend thinks, if he cares he’s insecure.”
Before I finish up, I want to quote a few things I saw related to these topics. I watched a street interview from the 1980s–1990s where women were asked how they felt about women wearing crop tops. Three responses really stood out to me were: “I think it’s disgusting and disrespectful to yourself,” “I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something like that,” and “I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing that, even in the bedroom with my husband.” As a side note, the crop top shown in the video was actually less revealing than many crop tops worn today.
Lastly, this past Halloween really stood out to me for how sexualized it was. A lot of kids didn’t even go trick-or-treating, while most adults went to Halloween parties or clubs wearing outfits that were more revealing than anything I’ve seen before. I saw a video where this guy was basically asking why Halloween was so sexualized this year. The video was sort of basic, but he finished the video with a really good line: “Halloween isn’t about putting on a mask, it’s about taking one off and showing who you really are.” A good quote since lots of woman will go to these parties while having a boyfriend, knowing what could happen to them at these parties. Besides, if you’re wearing skimpy outfits, you attract a certain person type towards you and it comes off as not very loyal.
section 4: Final thoughts and song of the week
In conclusion, no matter the generation, people tend to stay the same. Using clothing as a way to show status has always existed and always will. Whether it was the men and women of ancient Rome or the people today, fashion continues to reflect personal choices and values. I believe what someone chooses to wear says a lot about their loyalty and self-respect. If you compare what women in the 1990s said about crop tops to peoples opinions today, the difference in responses would be very noticeable.
Song of the week: Tempest Waltz- by Joshua Kyan. This is a man who likes to create short dramatic music on the piano. I found him a while ago on Instagram and saw a bunch of nice songs he’s composed.