The Warmth of Beauty, the Beauty of Warmth
December 21, 2019 4:41 PM Subscribe
"Parkas have been here for centuries. And now people around the world are starting to clue into what Northerners have always known: if you want to stay warm, there’s nothing better than a northern parka." Jessica Davey-Quantick's "The Art and Science of Staying Warm" (Canada's Up Here) explores the great beauty and utility of handmade parkas.
"Karen Wright-Fraser flips over the hem of a parka to show the underside of the embroidered trim, where the tiny stitches that went into creating this example of Delta Braid are barely visible. “It’s like pieces and pieces of bias tape, with little tiny pieces folded under, they make beautiful designs,” she says. She’s the community liaison coordinator at the [Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre], and also a seamstress. “The techniques were pretty much forgotten,” she says. That’s changing. She’s seeing an upswing of people re-learning the skills their grandmothers had. “The young people, a lot of them weren’t interested before, now I notice that a lot of them are picking things up because they’re seeing beautiful things on Facebook. And they’re going to their grannies and learning. They’re having pride,” she says. Even more are learning online, and going to online groups for support and help. “There are so many different ways, then you choose the way that works for you! You’re finding your own path.”"
"Karen Wright-Fraser flips over the hem of a parka to show the underside of the embroidered trim, where the tiny stitches that went into creating this example of Delta Braid are barely visible. “It’s like pieces and pieces of bias tape, with little tiny pieces folded under, they make beautiful designs,” she says. She’s the community liaison coordinator at the [Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre], and also a seamstress. “The techniques were pretty much forgotten,” she says. That’s changing. She’s seeing an upswing of people re-learning the skills their grandmothers had. “The young people, a lot of them weren’t interested before, now I notice that a lot of them are picking things up because they’re seeing beautiful things on Facebook. And they’re going to their grannies and learning. They’re having pride,” she says. Even more are learning online, and going to online groups for support and help. “There are so many different ways, then you choose the way that works for you! You’re finding your own path.”"
Lovely article. I do wish that the pull-quote highlighted that this knowledge specifically comes from Inuit tribes, however - to be fair, the writer of the article does bury this lede far in as well. I think this is a rather important angle - it really highlights how white supremacy and colonism has undervalued Native knowledge to such a egregious extent.
posted by Conspire at 6:10 PM on December 21, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by Conspire at 6:10 PM on December 21, 2019 [6 favorites]
Thanks for posting this.
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:41 PM on December 21, 2019
posted by LobsterMitten at 6:41 PM on December 21, 2019
but the parkas are remarkably similar
The cape-y things on the shoulder are a dead giveaway those are from a more rainy climate. A super useful feature, I wish more modern raincoats had them.
the writer of the article does bury this lede far in as well.
Its right up front. The subject of the article is on Rankin Island, she's described as the most popular parks maker in Kivalliq, and you know "parka" is an Aleut word, right?
posted by fshgrl at 6:47 PM on December 21, 2019 [4 favorites]
The cape-y things on the shoulder are a dead giveaway those are from a more rainy climate. A super useful feature, I wish more modern raincoats had them.
the writer of the article does bury this lede far in as well.
Its right up front. The subject of the article is on Rankin Island, she's described as the most popular parks maker in Kivalliq, and you know "parka" is an Aleut word, right?
posted by fshgrl at 6:47 PM on December 21, 2019 [4 favorites]
“The traditional clothing system developed and used by the Inuit is the most effective cold weather clothing developed to date,” found a 2004 study by Aline Cotel, Raymond Golingo, Jill Oakes and Rick Riewe on the effect of Inuit fur parka ruffs on facial heat transfer.
The study placed sunburst style hoods, no hoods and military-style parka hoods into a wind tunnel to see what happens under extreme temperatures. In the wind, friction forms a collision of molecules next to the skin called the boundary layer—this layer insulates the skin, and the thicker the boundary layer, the better it works. Fur creates a thicker boundary layer by changing how air flows across the face—especially in the sunburst style, which moves air in a specific way other shapes don’t, and in natural fur. “The sunburst fur ruff design is truly a remarkable ‘time-tested’ design,” the study found.
If you've ever stomped around in a rippin' wind when the ambient temperature has been in the -25 to -30 C range, you'll know what this means.
The face. The face. Oh sweet Jesus. The face.
Here's the paper itself (pdf).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:28 PM on December 21, 2019 [10 favorites]
The study placed sunburst style hoods, no hoods and military-style parka hoods into a wind tunnel to see what happens under extreme temperatures. In the wind, friction forms a collision of molecules next to the skin called the boundary layer—this layer insulates the skin, and the thicker the boundary layer, the better it works. Fur creates a thicker boundary layer by changing how air flows across the face—especially in the sunburst style, which moves air in a specific way other shapes don’t, and in natural fur. “The sunburst fur ruff design is truly a remarkable ‘time-tested’ design,” the study found.
If you've ever stomped around in a rippin' wind when the ambient temperature has been in the -25 to -30 C range, you'll know what this means.
The face. The face. Oh sweet Jesus. The face.
Here's the paper itself (pdf).
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:28 PM on December 21, 2019 [10 favorites]
-matter of fact I was just stompin’ around in -42C and yes a fur muff is the best. Some of the ladies around here call them ‘parkys’. I am so in awe of the design of the Amautis, where a mama can securely carry a child next to her skin,& go about her chores and such while being intimately aware of the child’s needs.
posted by cabin fever at 8:40 PM on December 21, 2019 [7 favorites]
posted by cabin fever at 8:40 PM on December 21, 2019 [7 favorites]
Cool! Thank you for posting this. It reminded me of this news article I saw yesterday: Handcrafted Inuvik parkas that sat for years in a Vancouver shelter find new home at Museum of Anthropology.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:51 PM on December 21, 2019 [5 favorites]
A handcrafted Inuvik parka anonymously donated to a shelter in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has found a new home in the Museum of Anthropology's collection.I know a couple of people with these types of parkas (I love somewhere where they’re actually suitable for the winter climate, unlike Vancouver), and they are beautiful works of art.
The blue parka is one of four old-style coats that had been sitting at the Union Gospel Mission for years until a staff member realized the significance of the tags labelling them as "handcrafted in the Canadian Arctic by the Inuvik Sewing Centre."
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:51 PM on December 21, 2019 [5 favorites]
Two things that were a good surprise:
- Seeing beautiful parkas on social media inspired the younger generation to learn how to make them (and online tutorials etc have helped disseminate techniques).
- Hawaiian* immigration to Alaska brought the muumuu to the Arctic (in the article's Know Your Parka graphic) and influenced parka shapes.
*If they don't mean Native Hawaiian but just people from Hawai‘i then the writer should use a different word. Californian may mean a person from/of California, but Hawaiian does not mean anyone and anything from Hawai‘i. This is one of those things that North American writers often get wrong, usually in all innocence, and still is intensely irritating because it continues ongoing erasures and appropriations of Native Hawaiian culture and practices.
posted by spamandkimchi at 6:53 AM on December 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
- Seeing beautiful parkas on social media inspired the younger generation to learn how to make them (and online tutorials etc have helped disseminate techniques).
- Hawaiian* immigration to Alaska brought the muumuu to the Arctic (in the article's Know Your Parka graphic) and influenced parka shapes.
*If they don't mean Native Hawaiian but just people from Hawai‘i then the writer should use a different word. Californian may mean a person from/of California, but Hawaiian does not mean anyone and anything from Hawai‘i. This is one of those things that North American writers often get wrong, usually in all innocence, and still is intensely irritating because it continues ongoing erasures and appropriations of Native Hawaiian culture and practices.
posted by spamandkimchi at 6:53 AM on December 22, 2019 [2 favorites]
In the mid-eighties we got new neighbors in Mississauga, Ontario who moved from the Northwest Territories. The adults had the most fantastic parkas with intricate designs on them. My mom asked about it and was told that it was very important to have a custom parka because it was the only way anyone could recognize you in the winter if you were outside,
posted by srboisvert at 7:12 AM on December 22, 2019 [13 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 7:12 AM on December 22, 2019 [13 favorites]
Its true- when we see an unfamiliar coat in the distance we all think theres some new stranger in town but its only that someone got a new coat.
posted by cabin fever at 11:59 AM on December 22, 2019 [9 favorites]
posted by cabin fever at 11:59 AM on December 22, 2019 [9 favorites]
The light from the sun breaks through space, bathing our planet as it encircles the sun with life-giving warmth and light. Without the sun, there could be no life on this planet; it would be forever barren, cold, and dark.
posted by Lazylord at 4:56 PM on December 22, 2019
posted by Lazylord at 4:56 PM on December 22, 2019
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