Archive for February 25th, 2010
culture club
It isn’t your typical parade of soccer moms, in front of the Heard Elementary school. Instead, there are sarongs, hijabs, geles, and a beautiful array of textiles from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The hodgepodge comes to a crescendo as the mothers wait at the stoplight with their children (ironically each dressed in the same blue-and-white uniform).
It is the highlight of my morning drive to work, the most fashionable corner in Phoenix. But I’ve noticed something lately – the mothers have become more Americanized.
Like sifting through a Goodwill rack, the corner has evolved into a different kind of eye candy. One day it’s a ’90s parka with a GUESS? logo embroidered across the back paired with a Thai sarong and flip flops; or a pair of sneakers peaking out a black Jilbab. Sadly, the corner is becoming more homogenized, evolving into a cloud of gray and denim and blue and white uniforms vs. the bold prints and colors, head scarves and wraps of days past.
My, how quickly the colors fade…
(photo by viviane sassen by way of horse hunting)
