No, I Don’t Know What They Want for Christmas Either!

Prompt No. 49: A Fashion Theory Non-Gift Guide Gift Guide

Burt Lancaster as The Professor, acquiring a work of art

As an earnest homebody, I spend much of the year preparing for what I will refer to as highbrow hibernation. By December, I am Burt Lancaster in Luchino Visconti’s Conversation Piece, an aesthete surrounded by books, art, candles, and music. Never mind the fact that I cannot discern one concerto from another, unless it is Vivaldi, or that my home appears more crude than cultivated. Winter begs for a certain drama and I always oblige. I dress sumptuously for no reason, even if the voluminous sleeves and clunky cocktail rings sweep and catch on all manner of things. I leave the fireplace and oil lamps lit to dance from dusk to dark, ignoring the soot and haze. However, I found myself considering the meaning of this convention whilst fawning over the vintage Turkish rug my mother generously gifted to me for Christmas. Consumption reflects our enculturation, the process by which we learn our surrounding values and assimilate to its practices. We are familiar with the role enculturation plays in what we consume, understanding that we like what we like based on experiences and exposure. Yet, we hardly consider its influence on how we consume, or the way enculturation impacts something as innocuous as gift giving.