Hems and Cuffs

Is a cuff a hem, or is a hem a cuff?

A rectangle, a cuff; a square, a hem.

A hem is a cuff, but a cuff is not a hem.

A hem is a formalized cuff. Bureaucratic. Institutionalized. No longer ad hoc. Not permanent, but in place, securely. Stable.

A cuff can be undone and done at will. A cuff is not always a cuff, a cuff can lie in wait. A hem is no longer becoming, it has become. a cuff always has the potential for un)becoming.

A cuff can be improvised, autonomously. a hem requires strategy; technology, further intervention.

A cuff is a pocket, a hem is a cage.
This is not a moral judgement.



Thoughts?

1 comment:

  1. Yes - just today I was thinking about the improvised nature of some cuffs. And then there are others that feel so hemmed in (collars, for instance, or shift cuffs). So cuffs do indeed seem to tend in both directions. Are they more pocketed when they tend toward improvisation?

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