All Dressed For Cultural Success
Participants zoom in on their reflections and see themselves as other people do

By Jon Anderson
Tribune staff reporter
Published Mach 21, 2006

One woman – a star of the show – encased herself in a traditional Japanese kimono in eight minutes flat.

That usually takes a minimum of half an hour, with help from a relative or two.
A college student explained how, in her freshman year, she had both nostrils pierced, dismaying her mother – but delighting her grandmother from India.

Then, going back 3,500 years, there was the tale of the Miracle of the Endless Sari.
For some, the three-hour event Saturday at the Indo-American Center at 6328 N. California Ave., just south of Devon Avenue, was a chance to fine-tune their dress codes, to remember that in India, for example, white clothing is appropriate for funerals, not weddings.
In Japanese these days, a tiny purse, fashionable for centuries, has a handy new use, to carry a cell phone.

Titled “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, How Am I perceived by All,” the program was organized by the center, the Chicago Japanese American Historical Society and the Field Museum’s Cultural Connections, a partnership of 22 local cultural centers and ethnic museums.
This year its purpose, as project coordinator Mario Longoni explained, is to talk about image – “the collection of messages about ourselves that we send and receive through appearance.” That’s how nose piercing came up.

“ My grandmother, according to tradition, had both sides of her nose pierced,” explained Arthi Subramanian, who was born in Downers Grove.

As others noted, nose piercing, in this country, is considered to be counter-culture and a bit rebellious. To Subramanian, her nasal jewelry was a fashion statement that reflected her own personality – and also honored her ancestors.

“ The word ‘kimono’ literally mans clothing, but these days it refers to traditional Japanese dress, worn, since the late 7th Century,” said Kimiyo Naka, when attentions turned to the color, fabric and design of modern-day kimonos, often liked to holiday and special occasions.

Until 1988, when the U.S. government officially apologized to Americans of Japanese descent fro their internment during World War II, many in the Chicago community tended to downplay their ethnic heritage, noted speaker Mary Doi. Even now, she added, there are inadvertent snubs.

Through she was born in Chicago and has lived here all her llife, “I still get complimented on my command of English,” she said.

As for saris, their popularity has spread worldwide, helped by the musicals of Bollywood, the Indian film industry, noted Rashimi Jha.

With a luxuriant sari, jewelry and makeup touches from head to toes, Jha modeled an outfit that included, according to the program “16 specific aids to the beauty of the bride that have inspired poetry and song.”

The story of the endless sari goes back to the great Indian epic, “The Mahabharata.”
It tells of the husband of a beautiful, virtuous woman who managed to lose her in a dice game to a wicked rival who attempted to disrobe her. She prayed, then fainted away. But her sari grew in length until the lecher collapsed in exhaustion, muttering something that could be translated as “Well, never mind.”

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