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Rebecca Koehler
Mrs. E. Richardson
University English II
17 November 2014
Characterization through Clothing in A Choosing: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead
Thesis: Lochhead provides a significant amount of indirect characterization through mention of
clothing in relation to the characters in her poetry, particularly through the characters’
type of clothing, condition of their clothing, and the sexualization of their bodies through
description of their clothing.
I.
Type of clothing
A. Patio-party wear in “Fourth of July Fireworks”
B. Big boots in “Poem for Other Poor Fools”
C. Coat and hood in “Kidspoem / Bairnsang”
II.
Condition of clothing
A. Waistcoat in “The Bargain”
B. Suit in “Smirnoff for Karloff”
C. Boots and overalls in “The Baker”
III.
Sexualization of the human body
A. High heels in “Poem for my Sister”
B. Damped muslin in “Dreaming Frankenstein”
C. Neckties in “Neckties”
D. Stockings in “Social History”
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Rebecca Koehler
Mrs. E. Richardson
University English II
17 November 2014
Characterization through Clothing in A Choosing: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead
A Choosing: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead is a collection of poems from Scottish
poet Liz Lochhead, with poems arranged by placing similarly-themed poems in succession.
Most of the poems focus on the mundanity of life or the realization that the world is not as idyllic
as the person once thought. Lochhead describes the characters in her poems largely through
indirect characterization, describing their appearances and belongings that manage to speak
volumes about their personalities. Lochhead provides a significant amount of indirect
characterization through mentioning clothing in relation to the characters in her poetry,
particularly through the characters’ type of clothing, condition of their clothing, and the
sexualization of their bodies through description of their clothing.
Type of clothing tells much about characters, as in “Fourth of July Fireworks” where
Lochhead describes attendees of a high-class party: “All eyes are on the soignée cling / of this
year’s leisure favorite, velvety stretch toweling / for patio-party wear” (lines 36-38). Lochhead
gives many ideas about the personalities and lifestyles of these party goers by describing them as
upper-middle class through their clothing. The idea of “patio-parties” almost exclusively brings
to mind either a grilling, cook-out picnic or an image of older women, perhaps a women’s club,
celebrating around small tables with dainty finger-foods. Words such as “soignée,” which means
elegant in dress or grooming, imply that the party is dissimilar to an ordinary, cook-out party.
“Of this year’s leisure favourite” (37) refers to what could perhaps be a selected favorite outfit
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from a line of clothing designed for “leisurely” activities; this would be a luxury the middle-class
could likely not afford to have. The fact that the clothing is of stretch toweling, a highly
absorbent material, says that the party is likely near a pool; in-home pools are oft associated with
higher classes of wealth. Conversely, if the party-goers were to instead be wearing a fabric such
as cotton, their aura of wealth would deflate, as cotton is a cheap and widely available choice of
fabric in clothing. Though a Scottish author, Lochhead manages to accurately describe
American celebrations such as Fourth of July, as critic Tom Pow mentions: “[Lochhead’s] poetry
has always shown her to be receptive to new experiences and different cultures--she has written
notably about North America.” Through describing the clothing of the characters in the poem,
Lochhead provides a significant amount of indirect characterization as to the inner lives of the
characters in the poem.
Similarly, a beggar is described in “Poem for Other Poor Fools” only through his actions,
clothing, and, ultimately, lack of clothing. However, more than enough information is provided
through this to identify his state of being. In lieu of a hat to collect change from passers-by, the
beggar offers one of his boots: “Instead of a cap, / his boot for alms” (20-21). This offers insight
into the true level of despair this particular beggar is in, as even the poorest homeless person
often at least has a hat. Lochhead goes on to describe how the beggar’s boots do not fit, and he
even lacks socks since his feet are bare: “his foot bare in the gutter in the rain, / his big boot
before him, empty, begging” (24-25). The oversized quality of his boots implies that they were
given to him, or perhaps otherwise found somewhere while the beggar rummaged in the streets.
“Big” when used to describe the beggar’s boot could have also been intended to symbolize how
empty of change it was, as the holding capacity of an object can seem larger when it holds an
amount that is less than desired. Regardless, the beggar’s clothing is described in a manner to
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provide significant characterization of the beggar’s life. Much information about characters and
relationships can be made in “Poem for Other Poor Fools” through indirect characterization
made possible through description of clothing within the poem.
Finally, in “Kidspoem / Bairnsang,” Lochhead writes about the narrator, a young boy,
whose mother is preparing him to attend his first day of school. The beginning features the
descriptions in a “Scots” dialect, which are later translated into Standard English. This created
language ties in Lochhead’s ideals of Scottish nationalism into her work: “The most obviously
Scottish quality . . . is its language; the Scottish characters speak not English but a synthetic
Scots which Lochhead had developed” (Koren-Deutsch). In the “Scots” dialect, the narrator
from “Kidspoem / Bairnsang” speaks about his clothing: “the first day Ah went to the school / so
my um happed me up in ma / good navy-blue nap coat wi the red tartan hood” (3-5). These lines
translated later in the poem into Standard English: “the first day I went to school / so my mother
wrapped me up in my / best navy-blue top coat with the red tartan hood” (15-17). There are very
strong themes of maternal love that are made apparent through the warm clothing that the mother
dresses the narrator in. The hood is described as “red tartan” (17); there are many different types
of tartans which, in practice, were intended to be worn by members of the same region or
Scottish clan. If the mother is dressing the narrator in a red tartan hood, it is likely that the tartan
is their clan tartan; this implies that the family has very strong ties to family and nationalism. In
“Fourth of July Fireworks,” “Kidspoem / Bairnsang,” and “Poem for Other Poor Fools,” the type
of clothing that characters wear provides the indirect characterization to infer much about their
lives.
The condition of the characters’ clothing, rather than just type of clothing, also provides a
basis upon which to learn about their lives. One of the poems in Lochhead’s collection, entitled
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“The Bargain,” describes a day in the life of a couple who mutually love shopping at flea
markets and thrift shops. The narrator’s partner has selected a “pin-stripe waistcoat that needs a
stitch / it just won’t get” (102-03) that he purchases. Often, the people who purchase cheap
items for novelty value and not out of necessity are youth, particularly those in post-secondary
education or similar. This makes the character out to be a young man in a likely short-term
relationship, who has a leisure budget to spend, but not enough to spend that budget at high-end
retail stores. The stitch that the waistcoat “just won’t get” (103) is reminiscent of a child-like
mentality, where items are beloved to the point where the item’s ill-comings are not even
acknowledged. This reinforces the impression of the character being young. Perhaps the stitch
that the waistcoat lacks symbolizes an aura of authenticity and historic value to the young man;
he may associate olden possessions with wisdom, which he wishes to gain. His choice of
clothing piece to buy also may say something about his subconscious desires. In the 1700s,
“wealthy men had several everyday breeches, waistcoats, and coats” (“Made”). The symbolism
of the waistcoat may imply that the young man from the poem has a desire to be wealthier, and
he enacts his desire through buying what could be considered clothes of the wealthy. Pinstripes
as a fabric pattern are also most often associated with business attire and suits of high-class,
which adds to the idea that the man bought the waistcoat as a way to seem classy or wealthy.
The condition of the clothing the young man chooses to purchase manages to provide abundant
information about the young man’s life.
Moreover, in “Smirnoff for Karloff,” the bitter narrator speaks vaguely to a character
who can be characterized by the suit he wears. When the suit is first mentioned, the poem reads
“in your funeral suit – / the one you wear to weddings” (19-20). This indicates that the character
is not particularly well-off financially or is not of a financially well-off family, as his best suit,
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which he wears to weddings and other formal events, is the same suit in which he is to be laid to
rest in the future. The narrator then goes on to say the following more about the ensemble:
“With the too short drainpipe trousers / with the brothelcreeper boots with the / tyre-track soles”
(21-23). The “too short” slacks likely mean that the suit was either inherited from someone else
and consequently not fitted for the character, or it was fitted long ago and he has now outgrown
the suit. The “drainpipe” descriptor could refer to the lack of “break” near the cuff of the pants
that are present in well-tailored suits: “The ‘break’ is the small wrinkle caused when the top of
your shoe stops your trouser cuff from falling to its full length. This should be a small, subtle
feature. One horizontal dimple or crease is usually ideal” (Centeno). Brothel creeper boots were
a popularized style in the 70s and earlier decades, which suggest that the shoes of the character
from the poem were secondhand. However, this character’s choice of shoes could also imply
that the character is particularly shady or dishonest, as the name of the shoes is derived from
“one who creeps at brothels.” The soles of the brothel creeper boots were also described as
“tyre-track” (23), which likens them to the tires of a vehicle. Vehicular tires are generally dirty
and old, made of thick soles; this implies that the narrator thinks lowly of the man’s shoes. If the
man’s shoes are unclean and inappropriate, it may speak for the character that he lacks the
wealth to obtain and maintain nice dress shoes. However, all of these descriptions could also
imply that the suited man simply exhibits a great deal of apathy, and does not care that his
ensemble is not up to par with societal grooming expectations. The description of the character’s
suit and ultimately the condition it is in helps to provide characterization for traits of the
character.
To continue with information gleaned through clothing condition, Lochhead’s poem “The
Baker” features a detailed description of the baker’s attire: “my work-night whites, / The cracks
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on my dusted boots, / My overall trousers of flour-stiffened linen” (5-7). The conditions of his
clothing tell much about his life. The baker’s “work-night whites” (5) refer to the white shirts he
wears under his overalls. White is often the cheapest color of shirt to buy, as white clothes are
generally the result of not dyeing a fabric. If his white shirts are simply a result of lack of dye,
the shirt is likely made of cotton, a naturally white fiber, which is also extremely cheap and
widely available. The fact that his overalls are of linen is perhaps significant: since at least the
Middle Ages, linen has been a relatively common and inexpensive fabric due to the availability
of the flax plant from which it was made. The fabric even has more uses than merely clothing:
“Textiles were needed not only for clothing, but also for many other uses, such as sacks and food
wrapping. Cloth [in the Middle Ages] was most often made. . . from linen” (Findon). The baker
may also store his breads and other baked goods in linen, reinforcing the idea that linen is a
“working fabric” since he wears the same material to work in that he utilizes at work. His
clothes are “flour-stiffened” due to repeated exposure to dampened flour and sticky doughcovered hands over the years; this makes the character out to be the classic depiction of a hardworker, who is so engrossed in his job that he cares little for appearance as he knows the value of
being dressed effectively for work. The “dust” on his “dusted boots” is more likely to be flour,
as he wears them to work every day where he encounters flour constantly. His boots are also
described as cracked in “The cracks on my dusted boots” (6); leather can crack from repeated
exposure to extreme heat, which is likely the cause here as the baker regularly tends to hot ovens.
His dirty and old clothing both seem to indicate that the baker is a hard worker and an older man
since his clothes seem to have undergone years of the same baking routine. All of these
examples help to prove that characters in Lochhead’s poetry can be characterized simply by the
condition that clothing they wear exists in.
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In a similar way, clothing is also described in ways that sexualize the characters in such
clothing, which gives insight into the characters’ lives. A young girl in “Poem for my Sister”
walks about in shoes that belong to her older sister, the persona: “My little sister likes to try my
shoes, / to strut in them” (1-2). The little sister enjoys the way she feels older and more
sophisticated, by pretending they fit her well: “She says they fit her perfectly, / but wobbles / on
their high heels” (5-7). The narrator is perturbed by the sexualization of her younger sister
through the high heeled shoes, as evidenced in the poem: “I should not like to see her / in my
shoes” (19-20). Michelle Scalise Sugiyama speaks on why high heels are instruments of such
immediate sexualization: “High heels accentuate the ‘female’--elongating the legs, elevating and
making more prominent the buttocks, and causing the hips to sway pronouncedly.” Putting on
the shoes makes the young girl, her older sister, and by extension, the audience, immediately
aware of her “womanhood,” though she is only a girl. Sugiyama again supports the linkage of
high heels to emerging sexuality: “In this way, shoes and feet ultimately come to symbolize
female sexuality.” Critic Pow also comments that “Lochhead has always been more than an
occasional poet: her love poems were often an exploration of gender issues,” wherein “gender
issues” refer to gender equality. All of the poems that explore sexuality, particularly feminine
sexuality as in “Poem for my Sister,” support Pow’s comment by hinting at the way emerging
sexuality for women is often repressed, particularly when compared to males. This remains true
in this poem as the narrator is uncomfortable with the emerging sexuality of her younger sister.
The way that the girl’s sexuality becomes apparent through the high heels proves how Lochhead
provides significant indirect characterization through the description of the clothing of her
characters.
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Additionally, in “Dreaming Frankenstein,” there is a female character described as
“dressed in damped muslin” (39) as she goes to sit at her desk. Referring to muslin and other
thin fabrics as “damped” has had many controversial definitions throughout historical research
on early fashion trends, and all mention of damped petticoats, chemises, and other dress layers
refers to the United Kingdom’s Regency Era between 1811 and 1820. Daniel Pool remarks,
“The more daring [Regency girls] damped down their chemises underneath for a more revealing
effect—the idea being to capture the ‘natural look’” (214). There are many similar references to
damped layers, though all seem to side with the opinion that it was a lustful or sensual practice,
as Vic states: “The unusual (and rare) practice of dampening one’s gown at the turn of the
century was most likely followed by light-o-loves, courtesans, ladybirds, cyprians, and women of
ill repute.” Vic goes on to say, “no proper lady . . . would for a moment consider walking out in
public without the protection of a chemise or petticoat, much less wet her gown to make it more
revealing.” Readers know that the damped muslin is likely a historical reference, as Lochhead is
drawn to historical characters: “Lochhead was drawn to the project for two main reasons: she
finds it easy to care about characters from history in general” (Koren-Deutsch). Koren-Deutsch
goes on to say, “[Lochhead's] plays demonstrate a fascination with history,” and it is logical to
assume that such a fascination carried over to her poetry. It becomes apparent that the character
in this poem is not of a particularly noble birth, and is assuredly preoccupied with libidinous
thoughts. She is brought to be seen in a sexualized light through the choice of clothing she has
chosen to wear, and therefore she is able to be amply characterized.
Another instance of this characterization through sexualization of clothing is through the
poem “Neckties.” The neckties in this poem show a rather obvious connection to sex, and
therefore sexualize the narrator through the discarded neckties her partners wear: “Once neckties
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were coiled occasional serpents / on the dressing-table by my bed” (19-20). The reference to
“serpents” bluntly brings to mind phallic imagery, as reinforced in “the Snake (the most phallic
of creatures, ironically)” (Margolis) and “serpent . . . [a] 'malleable phallic symbol'” (Bishop).
This makes sense, as neckties in general are a symbol of masculinity and even power: neckties
are known to be a staple of men’s clothing, to complete casual ensembles or classy business
suits. Through the poem, it becomes apparent that the discarded neckties end up strewn about
the room as a result of the narrator engaging in sexual activity with various necktie-adorned
partners. In the poem, the persona also says: “They were dangerous nooses on the backs of
chairs” (23). This quote is significant in that it may indicate the narrator feels trapped in her
relationships or coerced into engaging in sexual activity with her partners. Even the patterns on
the neckties are described in a sexually explicit manner, as in “Paisleys squirm with
spermatozoa” (1), to liken the paisley print to writhing sperm cells. Through the sexualization of
neckties in the poem, substantial indirect characterization is made possible.
Furthermore, in “Social History,” the activities that a group of girls participates in are
known to be sexual in nature almost without contextual clues, due to their choice of clothing
being described: “swinging their lisle-stockinged legs” (53). “Lisle” is a type of thin and smooth
thread that is often used for hosiery, such as the aforementioned stockings. The stockings are a
strong indicator that the females were engaging in sexual activity. As Roderick Watson writes,
“Liz Lochhead has always been alert to social, sexual and literary cliches [sic]” (262), and
stockings are certainly a type of social cliché. How stockings came to be associated with
sexuality, however, is seldom reported. The association of stockings or other hosiery with sexual
interaction likely developed throughout history, as stockings were common place for both men
and women to wear in the Middle Ages. In The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, the
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Wife of Bath is a character who is associated with her history of lustful encounters. In Middle
English, she is described as wearing gartered scarlet-red stockings: “Hir hosen weren of fin
scarlet reed, / Ful straite yteyd, and shoes ful moiste and newe” (Chaucer lines 458-59). The
purpose of her stockings being described, particularly as red, were probably only described to
indicate her status of wealth, as red dye was made from the increasingly-expensive cochineal
insect. However, over time, stockings could have become closely associated with lustful activity
as contexts of characters such as the Wife of Bath in stories such as The Canterbury Tales are
slowly dropped throughout history. In Lochhead’s poem, it is apparent that the girls are acting
promiscuously even though only one article of their clothing was mentioned. This sort of social
connection has only been made possible through developing fashion trends and what was known
as social commonplace throughout history.
Clothing that a character may wear seems to be a basic way to describe a character in any
poem or novel, and yet description of that character’s clothing can provide a significant amount
of information about them due to the stereotypes and assumptions society can make regarding
certain articles of clothing or ensembles. Liz Lochhead’s collection of poems entitled A
Choosing: The Selected Poems of Liz Lochhead features many poems where clothing descriptors
can provide more information about the characters than alternative descriptions. It may be useful
to question why exactly Lochhead has seemed to place so much emphasis on describing
characters through clothing; she provides other methods of characterization in her poetry that are
more direct, such as through actions and words, but clothing descriptors seem to have a stable
use in Lochhead’s poetry. Whether or not Lochhead’s use of clothing as a primary
characterization feature is more frequent than most other poets of the same decades is debatable.
However, Lochhead manages to provide a significant amount of indirect characterization through
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mentioning clothing in relation to the characters in her poetry, particularly through the
characters’ type of clothing, condition of their clothing, and the sexualization of their bodies
through description of their clothing.
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