King's Fashion Trends

Those of you who have been to Thailand know that there are two uberubiquitous sights in Thailand - 7/10 and in recent years the King's Yellow shirt. Many people started to wear the yellow shirts several years ago in honor of the King's 60th Anniversary on the throne which was celebrated in June of 2006. The shirts sported a emblem designed specially for this celebration representing the many aspects of the monarchy. Once the anniversary celebrations were complete, people continued to wear their yellow shirts. Politicians are always sporting one when they make public appearances and the news anchors always have some splash of yellow if not the shirt during their broadcasts. Teachers and other government employees are asked to wear them every Monday and many wear them multiple days throughout the week. To continue honoring the King and his 80th birthday (which is on December 5th), a new logo was designed for the 80th birthday celebrations and people bought even more yellow shirts with the new logo. After nearly a year of wearing a fairly plain yellow shirt with a symbol, many companies began offering more stylized shirt with other designs and patterns in order to spice it up a bit. Nonetheless, there is still an abundance of yellow on every shirt (only now there is a little bit of flair). Over the course of the past year and a half or so I've collected roughly six different versions of the yellow shirt (both 60th anniversary and 80th birthday shirts). Anyway, the point here is that people have become accustomed to wearing these yellow shirts as a external representation of their affection and support for the King.

The King was admitted to the hospital about four weeks ago and upon his admission to the hospital swarms of people flocked to the hospital to sign a guest book set up in the hospital and offer their moral support for the King. Buses and water taxis offered free rides for people going to the hospitals and many international monarchs and diplomats expressed their wishes for a speedy recovery. For nearly three weeks there was a steady flow of people in and out of the hospital. He left the hospital last week. His departure became nothing short of a large celebration and procession. Thousands of people came to the hospital to see him off and it the entire journey home - from the moment he walked out the hospital doors to the moment his car entered the palace grounds - was filmed and broadcast on all channels. After paying respects at statues of his parents in the lobby of the hospital he got in his car. The entire hospital ground was covered with people sporting their yellow shirts. The entire route from hospital to palace was lined with more people. What was interesting (and what has become a little absurd lately) was the countries response to his attire. The day the king left the hospital, he wore a pink collarless shirt and a pink blazer. I've been told that an astrologer reportedly told the king to wear the color typically associated with baby girls and bubble gum because it also symbolizes Mars and would help him gain strength. This sparked an almost fanatic rush by the countries loyal royalists to purchase pink shirts and show their support. Stores reported that their stocks of pink shirts were gone within hours of the kings appearance on TV. Manufacturers promised to increase production and retailers promised to increase their stocks of pink shirts. Several days later, the king returned to the hospital to pay a visit to his older sister who is also in the hospital. This time he was wearing a green blazer with a pink shirt, as green can reportedly bring success for someone like the king, who was born on a Monday. The rush to buy pink shirts was short-lived as people now sought out green shirts. Vendors immediately ordered more green shirts and people headed out to buy them. No more than two days after his appearance in a green shirt, he returned to the hospital for another visit this time wearing a blue shirt. You can guess what happened next. Anyway, I find this to be highly indicative of the typical Thai response to the monarchy. There is a tremendous amount of respect for the king and for the most part that respect is deserved. But much of this respect and admiration is blind and very few understand the relationship which the king has with the country and so many express their (somewhat blind) love by imitating him and expressing this love externally (by wearing the yellow shirt etc.). I've had many people who while claiming to love the king are unable to explain why. And it's not that they can't find the words or reasons, it's that it's not something to be questioned or thought about but simply done. It's a very complex relationship - one which has many different facets and intricacies and one which has been developed for 61 years. What this most recent trip to the hospital and the ensuing fashion trends does indicate though is that there will be a significant amount of change (which will be fiercely resisted) when the king dies. But until then, people will continue to wear these yellow shirts and follow his every move.