美國五月鍍金的時尚盛會 & 鮮少知的六月節

The Gilded Age | Juneteenth

Bannai's Newsletter
巴奈英文電子報

Gilded History

The Gilded Glamor was the theme of The Met Gala this year. The star-studded event reminds us all of the brief history in America clad in gold and silver.
今年五月紐約大都會藝術博物館慈善舞會主題為鍍金年代，這眾星雲集的盛會將美國一段金包銀的歷史搬到檯面上。聽過卡內基？艾迪遜？沒錯，他們都是這個年代的人物！

What is the Met Gala? 這是甚麼活動？

Written by Bannai, edited by Mr. S.

The Met Gala, also known as the Met Ball, is an annual celebration of fashion held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in New York City. The party in 2020 was canceled and in 2021 it was postponed to September due to the covid-19 pandemic. This year, it resumed its regular schedule and took place on May 2nd.
Met Gala，也被稱為 Met Ball，是紐約市大都會藝術博物館服裝學院舉辦的年度時尚慶典。由於 covid-19 大流行，2020年的聚會被取消，2021年的更是被推延到九月。今年恢復了正常的行程，於 五月二日舉行。

Image from Vanity Fair

What is the theme? 主題是甚麼？

The theme of this extravagant event is also its dress code, a set of rules specifying the manner of dress at an event. “In America: An Anthology of Fashion” was inscripted at the bottom of each invitation asking the guests to embody the glamor and grandeur of The Gilded Age New York, a brief history in time stretching from roughly 1860-1900 in the US.
這奢侈活動的主題也是它的著裝規範，指一套規範活動著裝方式的規則。 每份邀請函的底部都寫著：「美國：時尚選集」。要求賓客體現紐約鍍金時代的魅力和宏偉，這段短暫的美國歷史約從 1860 年延伸到 1900 年。

Historical Significance of The Gilded Age 鍍金年代的歷史地位

After the Civil War in 1860, skyscrapers rose and railways crept into cities like Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia, channeling the first big wave of migration to the north of the country. Mark Twain famously coined the term, Gilded Age, in 1873 in his satirical novel. 
1860 年美國內戰後，摩天大樓拔地而起，鐵路悄悄進入芝加哥、波士頓、費城等等的城市，第一次將大批移民浪潮引至美國北部。馬克吐溫於 1873 年在他的諷刺小說中杜撰了「鍍金時代」一詞。

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Telephones were invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 making communication instant. Thomas Edison lit up the New York Times building with light bulbs in 1882. In 1892, Vogue was founded with a mission in fashion. Steel industry tycoon Andrew Carnegie became one of the richest men in US history. Oil monopoly John D. Rockefeller dominated the pipelines in the country.
電話在 1876 年由亞歷山大‧格雷厄姆·貝爾發明，使通訊變即時。1882 年，托馬斯·愛迪生用燈泡點亮了《紐約時報》的辦公大樓。Vogue 雜誌在1892 年成立，以時尚為使命。鋼鐵業大亨安德魯·卡內基成為美國歷史上最富有的人之一。壟斷石油企業的約翰·D·洛克菲勒主宰該國的油管。

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It was a time when people had to rethink the idea of a collective American identity. Instead of buying shoes from your local shoemaker down the street, people were able to purchase goods made from across the country. Local businesses became national. 
那是一個人們不得不重新思考美國集體身份觀念的時代。人們可以從全國各地購買商品，而不只是從街上當地的鞋匠購買鞋子。地方企業轉型為全國性企業。

The Gilded Glamor 鍍金的華麗

Fashion in this epoch was that of excess extravagance and grandeur, reminiscent of the Victorian Era (1837-1901) from the other side of the pond. Thanks to electric and steam-powered looms, fabrics became easier to produce thus bringing down its cost. Women’s dresses in the upper society were adorned with various kinds of textiles, from silk, satin, velvet to real feathers. For the cherry on top, delicate lace, fringe, frills and ruffles were also used. The infamous socialite Caroline Schermerhorn Astor and her entourage* of 400 people ruled the upper society, codifying the proper behaviors, etiquette and indeed, fashion. The popular full-skirt look was seen on the back of the dress, giving women a curved silhouette. Corsets were also worn to compliment that style.
這時代的時尚可說是揮霍無度且富麗堂皇，使人想起大西洋另一端的英國維多利亞時代（1837-1901）。多虧了電動和蒸汽動力的織機，布料變得更容易生產，而降低了成本。上流社會的女裝服飾點綴著各種各樣的紡織品，從絲綢、緞子、絨到真羽毛。 為錦上添花*，還使用了精緻的蕾絲、流蘇、褶邊和荷葉邊。臭名昭著的社交名媛 Caroline Schermerhorn Astor 和她的 400 名隨從統治上流社會，制定當時適當的行為、禮儀，甚至時尚。流行的全裙造型出現在連衣裙的背面，賦予女性後翹的曲線輪廓。緊身胸衣也被用來襯托這種風格。

In your opinion, which celebrity got the assignment* this year? Whose costume embodied the spirit of such era? Watch this video of the red carpet arrivals to decide for yourself. 
以你來看，哪位名人搞懂任務了呢？誰的服裝體現了此時代的精神？看這影片後來做個決定吧。

*entourage n. 法文外來語，指名人身邊的隨扈或貼身友人、保鑣。
*get the assignment 網路用語，指在某個情形之下搞清狀況、做對事情。

A Vogue cover from October 1898, meant to preview winter Gilded Age fashions. The bottom reads—"What shall I wear?" 1898 年 10 月的《Vogue》封面，旨在預覽鍍金時代的冬季時裝。 底部寫著——“我該穿什麼？” Illustration by Mildred Beardslee

It Is Far From Gold 此金非真金

The prosperity and the rapid transformation of the economy revealed a stark difference between the haves and have-nots in the country. Gilded is not gold, but the patina that covers the rot. Living and working conditions were horrid for the working class. Racism and sexism permeated the underbelly of society. Wealthy industrialists, politicians and bankers enjoyed opulence at the expense of others.
經濟的繁榮和快速轉型揭示了該國富人和窮人之間的明顯差異。鍍金不是真的黃金，而是覆蓋著腐敗處外面的一層銅綠。工人階級的生活和工作條件非常糟糕。種族和性別歧視瀰漫著社會醜陋的底層。富有的工業家、政治家和銀行家以犧牲他人為代價享受富裕。

Looking at the glamorous Met Ball of the super-rich nowadays, perhaps the gap between social classes hasn’t changed that much compared to 160 years ago.
看看如今超級富豪們光鮮亮麗的 Met Ball，與160年前相比，也許社會階層間的貧富差距並沒有改變太多。

Cramped rooms. Here, an Italian immigrant rag-picker is seen with her baby in a run-down tenement room on Jersey Street, New York City in 1887. During the 19th century, immigration doubled the city's population every year from 1800 to 1880. 狹窄的房間。 1887 年，一位意大利移民拾荒者帶著她的孩子在紐約市澤西街的一間破舊的公寓房間裡。在 19 世紀，從 1800 年到 1880 年，移民每年使該市人口翻一番。Jacob Riis/Museum of the City of New York/Getty Images

Holiday of the Month 本月節日

By Mr. S.

Juneteenth 六月節：以血汗換來的節日

Juneteenth was first celebrated in 1866, marking an important event in American history.
六月節這一天標誌著美國歷史上的一個重要事件。

Although President Abraham Lincoln had declared all slaves free in 1863 with his Emancipation Proclamation, the Civil War had not yet been won by the Union (Northern States), thus many African Americans remained in bondage. In April of 1865, Confederate states surrendered to the Union army. With this came the formal end of Slavery.
儘管亞伯拉罕·林肯總統在 1863 年通過他的《解放宣言》並宣布所有奴隸自由，但聯邦軍（北方州）尚未贏戰爭，因此許多非裔美國人仍處於奴役狀態。1865 年 4 月，同盟國向聯邦軍投降，隨之而來的是奴隸制的正式結束。

At this time in history, communication traveled slow and America was a vast nation. By the end of the Civil War, many slave holders moved to Texas, the farthest southwestward state which had avoided most of the fighting. Despite the Confederate surrendering, slavery still existed in Texas. June of 1865, the Union army marched in and declared General Order No. 3, stating that “ The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free…”
在這年代通信速度慢且美國是一個幅員遼闊的國家。 戰爭尾端時，許多奴隸主搬到了德克薩斯州（簡稱德州），這是美國最西南方的一州，（因地緣）免於了內戰大部分的波及。儘管南方邦聯投降，奴隸制仍然存在於德州，1865 年 6 月聯邦軍隊進駐並宣布第 3 號命令時，德州人民被告知：「根據美國行政當局的公告，（國內）所有的奴隸都是自由的……」。

Juneteenth is observed by celebrating African American culture. People read both historical and contemporary works of literature, listen to music and poetry related to the cause of ending not only slavery but racial injustice in America.
六月節慶祝非裔美國人文化，人們閱讀解放宣言、聽廢奴主義音樂和詩歌等歷史文件，這些作品不只與結束美國的奴隸制有關，更是與種族不公習習相關。