THE HEIGHT OF VANITY

The Height of Vanity by Richard Jones is a disturbing article about women, who stop at nothing to become taller. The author describes  patients in hospitals with large metal frames attached to their lower limbs, who can barely walk.  Due to plastic surgery, it is now possible to increase the height of an individual. The author talks about the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where doctors perform this type of surgery many times a week. Jones writes, "For Chinese women, the pressure to be tall invades all aspects of life. Chinese society equates height with beauty and power" (p. 508). Also, there are many companies which place height requirements for job candidates, which puts pressure on people who want to get the position. The average cost for leg lengthening surgery is about $10000 for the full treatment, when the average Chinese family grosses about $4300 a year. The operation itself is complicated, and the recovery is extremely painful. The surgeon has to saw the bone of each leg in half, and then the long metal pin is inserted in the bone cavity of each leg. The metal frame is adjusted to force the bones apart and stretch the skin, muscles, and nerves. After six months, two more surgeries have to be performed to remove nails and metal frames. The pain is unbearable after surgeries, since it takes the whole year to recover. The majority of women who do the surgery do so secretly.

BEIJING, Oct. 15 --  Around 1,000 beauties and handsome gents lined up at a downtown hotel in Shanghai early Saturday to take part in an interview for a flight attendants selection, attracting many curious looks from passers-by.
Minimum height requirement is between 5'0-5'1 and the maximum ranges between 5'8-6'3.

Prior to regarding the article, "The Height of Vanity" by Richard Jones, I had heard about the procedure of leg lengthening surgery being done to obtain job positions  such as flight attendant. However, I had underestimated the popularity of the surgery and degree of pain and time the procedure actually takes. The article discusses the popularity of the leg- lengthening surgery in China, where a surgeon perform this procedure on several patients a week. This all due to the fact that China's cultural ideal is being tall and women feel pressure to be tall. Height is considered to equal to beauty and power. Therefore, Chinese women get leg-lengthening surgery a procedure that is unbearably painful and requires a long recovery which takes at least a year.To think that "leg-lengthening surgery was actually first introduced in 1951 to treat patients where legs had naturally grown two different lengths, or to fix broken bones that had grown back crooked." It's sad to see how much it has escalated now and the extreme lengths people are willing to go without thinking about the consequences just to achieve the ideal of being tall! 

In China city of Guangzhou most women who are dreaming of becoming taller go through cosmetic surgery that increases the body's length. Supposedly in the Chinese society being tall shows that you have the beauty and the power.  It's crazy to see how women are changing themselves and going through the pain which takes about a year of recovery time just to grow about four or more inches of their height. In the book by Richard Jones, The Height of Vanity said, "Many image-driven companies place height requirements on hiring; so do entire branches of the Chinese government." This is all strange to hear, because an individuals height has nothing to do with the job. Some women who go through the leg-lengthening process usually do it secretly and don't even tell their husbands about it. A woman named, Soong Ling, who lives in Guangzhou went through the surgery of adding an extra four inches to her legs didnt tell her husband she was going through this surgery. Ling explains that the main reason that she did this type of surgery was because she was jealous that her husband, a tour operator was always mixing with the "tall and beautiful girls" that were in the travel industry.



Reading this article, it amazes me that women will go to such extreme extents in order to become a few inches taller. It may be shocking to me, due to the reason that our culture is not as obsessed with becoming taller. Of course, as the author says, "Chinese society equates height with beauty and power,"this is quite true. This may be the main explanation for so many young women in the Chinese culture who want to become taller. Our society, does associate height with power and beauty, but no to the extent where we will risk our well being through surgery, just to become a few inches taller. This is where high heels come into play, at least for women.

The author describes the surgical process as very grueling, painful, and requires a very long time to recover. Patients must be very motivated and driven in order to go through such a difficult procedure. Their physical state may never be the same, but they are willing to the big risk. After several surgical procedures, patients must go through a long and difficult recovery process. This affects patients physically and emotionally, which can be very serious. Therefore, increasing height is a procedure that must be considered very carefully due to so many complications.

URBAN TACTICS: AND BLOOMINGDALE'S RETURNS HIS CALLS

República Trading Co., born and raised in New York City, is the premiere multi-cultural brand. The República collection is created for the lifestyle minded, trans-cultural trend-setter, who appreciates well designed, detail-centric products. República was founded by Rafael Jimenez in order to help fill a void in the market place for better quality goods for the multi-cultural consumer.

Rooster logo: to evoke rural Latin America

www.republicatrading.com

The article by Seth Kugel describes the beginning success of an entrepreneur in the clothing industry, whose name is Rafael Jimenez. Being a graduate of New York University, Jimenez incorporated his business as the Republica Trading Company. The brand started selling t-shirts, caps, shirts, pants and jackets in a variety of colors and styles. In the recent year, Republica's clothing "landed in some impressive venues-11 of Bloomingdale's 31 stores, including stores on both coasts" (p. 429). The author tells a story about Jimenez, who has started selling his first t-shirts $20 each back in 1995. The idea came after the entrepreneur saw someone wearing Banana Republic T-shirt, and thought that he could have changed the word "Banana" for "Dominican" to sell t-shirts in his neighborhood, where almost all of the residents had roots from the Dominican Republic. So, he was able to sell 12 of those. During all summer, Jimenez was able to sell more than 300. Then, he started creating t-shirts with different logos, such as "Choco-Latina", "Dominican Baby", "Bizcocho" and etc. Later, in 2004, the collection included t-shirts with logos, including words like "Culture", "Peace", and "Revolution". The theme of the products connects to the Latin cultures. One day Rafael shared a cab with the buyer from Federated Department Stores, including Bloomingdales. The meeting has led to a successful chain's decision to sell Republica's T-shirts and hats across the country. Today, Mr. Jimenez sees himself more as an entrepreneur than fashion-industry lifer. 

Kugel, S. (2006). Urban Tactics: And Bloomingdale's Returns His Calls. Fashion as Social  

             Process. The Meanings of Dress. 428-430, 2nd Ed., Fairchild Publications, Inc. New York, NY

When creating the company, Jimenez’s goal was to create traditional and well-designed products with great quality that represent the diversity, lifestyle and rich cultural traditions of Latin Americans and people of multi-cultural backgrounds around the world. When Rafael Jimenez first began selling his product, he started out with T-shirts only. Later on, he gradually expanded his products to caps, shirts, pants, and jackets. However, he was still strong in the sales of his T-shirts. Republic Trading Co. became so successful that Federated Department Stores, Bloomingdale’s parent company, began carrying the products across the county. However, as a freelance producer and after so much success, Jimenez still is not convinced that he wants fashion as a full time job.

After researching the company a little more, it was quite fascinating to discover that República Trading Co. no longer sells T-shirts, or any type of clothing. Instead, the company has transformed into selling eyewear (glasses and sunglasses). It was quite surprising to see that the online store was no longer selling T-shirts, which was their best selling product.

This article is an inspirational story about a Dominican
 entrepreneur named Rafael Jimenez. Rafael Jimenez
 took an idea he got while riding on A train of a t-shirt design and managed to eventually start his own clothing company called Republica Trading Company. The article discusses his journey from selling T-shirts on his neighborhood streets for $20 to having his T-shirts designs being sold in 11 of Bloomingdale’s 31 stores, including stores on both coasts. By starting his business, Republica Trading Company , Jimenez’s made a splash in the Latino market and retailers began to recognize the power and scope of young Latino market. He definitely opened the door for the Latino market in the fashion industry.  Rafael Jimenez is not only an inspiration to Latinos, but to all from urban areas and minorities. This shows that one should always dream big, take chances, and aim high. Also to always pursue your ideas, any idea no matter how small can have endless possibilities. 

It is clear that Rafael Jiminez has made it successful in his career in the fashion industry. It was fascinating and pretty intersting to to read how he got his brand name, how he was riding up town on a train and then he noticed somebody wearing a Banana Republic t-shirt when he thought to himself that he should change the word Banana to Dominican and sell the t-shirts around his neighborhood where everybody had roots in the Dominican Republic. When Rafael printed about 12 Dominican t-shirts and sold them around his neighboorhood for about 20 dollars each and they were all gone in about 20 minutes. He was thinking about making t-shirts for Dominicans and people were telling him that it would not work out because supposedly the Dominicans want the "tacky stuff." Rafael did not listen to anyone and did whatever he wanted. This is a good example because if you truly want something and you truly want to make it happen, you should go for it no matter what anybody says!

TRUE THIGHS

The article by Amy Wallace discusses the story about a famous Hollywood actress, Jamie Lee Curtis. She decided to participate in a photo shoot in nothing but a sports bra and tight spandex. She declares, that every woman has to accept the way she is, and value the "authentic" self. The author says, that the whole process has started for the actress about ten years ago, when Curtis wrote the first children's book, dealing with abortion and mood swings. The main theme of the book was: It is ok to be you! Wallace (2006) writes, "Curtis is seeking something bigger than her next acting job. She wants to feel at peace with her flaws, her genes" (p. 349).  After the photo shoot with no make up, and in unflattering underwear, the actress let the crew transform her into the "Glam Jamie".  Ironically, the actress admits, that she has "done it all", speaking about plastic surgeries, saying, "I've had a little plastic surgery. I've had a little lipo. I've had a little Botox. And you know what? None of it works. None of it" (p. 350).                                                        Curtis also tells the interviewer about her recovery program after plastic surgery, where she had to deal with addiction problems to painkillers and alcohol. All of the transformations in Jamie's life helped her realize, that family and happiness is the most important thing in the world. She has fun with her kids, and her house is filled with laughter and joy. Even though her acting career slowed down, her intentions are to continue with it and write more books. Her noble goal is "to have a life beyond the movie business", where she can find out who she really is without the stylists, jewelry, and fancy outfits.

Wallace, A. (2006). True Thighs. Dressing throughout adulthood. The Meanings of Dress. 2nd Ed.,    
                   348-352. Fairchild Publication, Inc. New York, NY.

The article “ True Thighs”  is basically about Hollywood actress, Jamie Lee Curtis.
This article discusses how she decided to do a photo shoot to expose herself and show everyone her true self. In the photo shot Jamie goes all natural without any make up or pampering and poses in just plain black sports bra and briefs. Jamie does this to show what she really looks like in her 40’s; so people don’t have a false idea of her image. In the article Jamie says, “There’s a reality to the way I look without my clothes on…I don’t want the unsuspecting forty-year-old women of the world to think I've got it going on.” She wanted these women to know that like any other woman; she too has flaws and insecurities. That she isn't always the Glam Jamie, the Perfect Jamie, and great figure Jamie. In her interview she mentions how she's done alterations to face and body in order to remain perfect and glamorous, which now she regrets and finally has learned accept herself for who she is.  Now a days we see this in many Hollywood celebrities who go to extremes to keep with the perfect ideal. However, we have also seen a few of them that have done the same as Jamie. Many Hollywood celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Heidi Klum, and Jessica Simpson have appeared on magazines to showcase their natural beauty without any make up or retouching. Celebrities are finally showing the world what they truly look like and embracing their flaws and imperfections.
                       

 The article "True Thighs I read about Jamie Curtis written by Amy Wallace is explaining how Jamie is in a photo shoot with nothing but spandex, a sports bra and barely any makeup on. Jamie Curtis is putting the word out there that individuals should not feel uncomfortable about their body and how they should be happy of what they have. During an interview Jamies says, "All of these 'bettering' experiences are not without risk. And there is this illusion that once you do it, then you'll be fine. And that's just horesshit. I looked worse. Worse. Am I right?" Curtis is explaining to the audience that having anything done to your body for example, plastic surgery is no good. While reading the article it seems to me as if Jamie is the type of woman who is comfortable and confident about her image and wants everyone else to feel that way. It is amazing knowing that there are famous actresses who are promoting how we should be happy with what we have, rather than the rest showing the audience that thin is what everyone should look up to.

It is very inspiring and relieving to see celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis not being afraid to show their true colors. These are celebrities who are not afraid to express their true selves, are encouraging women all over the world to simply love the way they are and embrace themselves. Although our society is easily affected by the "glamorous lifestyle" that Hollywood portrays, we are also evolving into conscious individuals. Celebrities like Jamie Lee Curtis are opening up our eyes, and we are becoming aware of the fact that nobody is perfect in reality.

Another good representation of a celebrity, who is not afraid to express her true self and embrace her body, is America's Next Top Model host, Tyra Banks. Tyra, as opposed to Jamie, is an idol that younger women look up to. After her weight gain and the first images being released, she decided to take a different approach. As an influential individual, Trya Banks decided to use this issue in her favor, and in favor of every young girl in the world. She showed that not everyone is perfect and that every woman must live for who they truly are and embrace themselves, no matter what. Trya created a movement and inspired so many young girls to love themselves and not try to meet unrealistic standards.