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Editor’s Note: This is part two of a column on Maine Fashion. See “Maine Fashion: The way life should be” (Dec. 9, 2010) for part one.
In the previous installment, I had come to the conclusion that the classic “Mainah” doesn’t care what he or she looks like — they wear what works for what they need to do and they wear what lasts.
Need some evidence? Even the summer folk on Mount Desert Island don’t feel comfortable flashing their wealth around. They go out of their way to look worn and well used. Casual, sailor-striped, three-quarter sleeve cotton shirts, Sperry boat shoes speckled in yacht paint, soft lobsterman-ready pullovers with bits of seaweed stuck on them and trail-dirty hiking boots are all prerequisites for avoiding the scorn of locals.
The people who come to Maine want to be in our world where you can go to the bar or the fancy restaurant with your boots on and not be judged. It must be such a relief for visitors to relax and focus on the things that really matter: food, friends and beer. Still, the “I-don’t-care” and “I-just-came-back-from-climbing-a-mountain-and-I-am-about-to-take-my-boat-out-to-sea” looks, are looks and are Maine fashion. Even if you don’t put much thought into it, it is still a style choice.
Our artists, crafters and fashion designers are affected by these factors as well. Maine designers are creatures of the environment they create in, and it is easy to see the natural, ecological, economical and retro inspiration in their work.
From the high-end organic designs of Angela Adams and pricey, recycled Sea Bags, to the woodsy urban chic of Ponomo and Sophronia Designs, there are common design themes of reusing, resurrecting and being environmentally motivated, no matter what price bracket they’re designing for.
In fact, the much-lambasted summer people are what support our creative economy. So the closer designers stay to their rural roots, the better off they are in the marketplace. For the rest of the country Maine fashion is a remedy — a salve for over-stressed and technical lives. Our designers are creating new and exciting ways of capturing the good life that people from away are searching for.
I encourage readers to look up the excellent blog Fore Front Fashion, forefrontfashion.com, based in Portland. Originally from the fashion mecca New York City, blogger Laura Serrino is using her fresh eyes to find the fashion gems that life long residents might overlook or take for granted. I spent about 20 minutes on her site and found five new artists to get excited about, most notably The Maine Tinker — moustache necklace? Yessah! — and Ponomo accessories, which stands for “Poor no More.”
When I lived in Portland, my go-to for funky fashion was always the effervescent Ferdinand store on the East End. Portland is definitely the center of Maine fashion — even my movie costume-designing aunt, straight from the real L.A., was impressed with the level of style on the Port City’s streets.
For fashionistas who want to support designers closer to home, I suggest visiting local fashion clearinghouses: Maine Maven and Bella Luna, who has partnered with Jesse Stader from Studio after her downtown space closed. Going on the monthly Bangor ArtWalk will expose you to great local fiber artists like One Lupine and Howling Treads, creator of the Monster Bags seen in Bangor’s Metropolitan Soul store.
There is also a rich student art scene, from small-time crafters like Funk Stitch to the newly formed Art and Design collective. Events like craft fairs, and with the support of the Foster Student Innovation Center, all mean that the next big thing in Maine fashion could be sitting next to you in English class. With the national economy still hungover from the recession, there hasn’t been a better time to explore your crafting abilities and make a little money on the side.
So what can I definitively say about Maine fashion? We like clothes that work hard but keep us warm and comfy on the inside. Recycling retro is cool, as well as bright colors, that both mimic nature and brighten long winter days. We like funky designs — Yankees are famous for our dry wit — and a bit of casual “I-don’t-care-what-you-think” attitude.
I think we’re going to see designers pushing the boundaries in what can be reused, natural and unnatural colors, adapted from materials we work with — rope, nets, wood, etc. — to make fashion that is even closer to the forest and sea. The only complaint I have is that there is little room for dressing up. Trying too hard is a sin, and after spending some time in France where dressing up is the norm, I see the value in putting on the ritz every once in a while. Perhaps the next generation of designers will find ways for us to dress up and still be real “Mainahs.”
Bangor Daily News