LENS


Fashion is all about making a statement. Some of those are serious: In France, the burqa is not only unwelcome but publicly denounced by the president; in many parts of Afghanistan, women are afraid to leave their homes uncovered.

But many fashion statements are in keeping with the frivolous nature of the world of clothes and shoes, and are examples of how unintended consequences can resonate.

Brian Govern, a 32-year-old law student, recently wrote a farcical review on Amazon.com of a T-shirt emblazoned with three wolves and a moon. He wrote, among other things, that once he put the shirt on women flocked to him. Others joined in on the fun. And another Web frenzy had been created, Peter Applebome of The Times reported.

The shirt has been among Amazon’s top-selling items of apparel every day since May 19. The company that produces the shirt, The Mountain, went from selling 2 or 3 shirts a day to 100 an hour on Amazon.

Mr.Govern, whose initial review was rated as helpful by more than 7,000 Amazon readers, was unaware of the consequences of his fashion statement until Amazon contacted him. “I tell my parents and friends that it’s sad, but this is probably the most impact I’ll have on the world in my life,” he said.

Some fashion statements are bound to outrage, and not for the right reasons.

The wardrobe of Frederick Chiluba, the former president of Zambia, fits that category. Mr.Chiluba likes designer suits, monogrammed dress shirts and silk pajamas. He also savors his 100 pairs of Italian shoes made from snakeskin and ostrich, Celia W.Dugger reported for The Times.

But when a president of one of the world’s poorest countries, a president whose salary is only $10,000, spends more than $500,000 in a single shop (Boutique Basile in Geneva), then suspicion and resentment are aroused. Mr.Chiluba’s credit card statements now serve as evidence against him in court, where he stands accused of corruption. He denies that he ever stole public money, saying with a sniff that “the party’s president has personal needs,” Ms.Dugger reported.

Women over 50 will not end up in court for making provocative fashion choices, but Cathy Horyn writes that they risk making fools of themselves, unintentionally.

After years of a brash sense of style, even fashionable women past a certain age should no longer wear coy Lolita socks or pork pie hats , Ms.Horyn suggests. The irony no longer works and is best surrendered in favor of more classic choices. Struggling to capture a more cerebral look is futile.

“It’s like fighting with the wind,” Luca Stoppini, the art director of Italian Vogue, told Ms.Horyn.

Fashion has revealed to Japan and Korea that their mutual tastes are not exclusive, despite a bitter history that included the Japanese rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945. Now the invasions are sartorial, and fashion statements from Seoul are finding receptive audiences in Tokyo, and the Japanese sense of style is animating Seoul.

Rebecca Voight reports that Wooyoungmi, a Korean designer, will open three spots in Japan in August, making her the first Korean men’s designer to expand into the Japanese market.

Similarly, Juun J., another Korean designer, said, “I think Korean men are becoming very Japanese. They want to look good at work, and they’re interested in fashion.”