Please Help Me With My Homework/Research/Survey

[litto.moo]

Oh thanks so much for replying Lepip!

Umm I'll be a little more specific,
My Media Production is a mix between photography and print media.
I'm doing a fashion spread that is what you'd see in an editorial in a magazine.

(My idea was, in society there are too many stereotypes of people
To take people out of their usual habitats and throwing them into a completely different world makes them vulnerable. and it goes to show how much we depend on our surroundings as a comfort zone, trusting reliability over experimentalism (trying new things)
People try to fit into a certain mould
people strive so hard to be apart of something,
and when they are removed from their element they become vulnerable.
I'm using different locations for different stereotypes to contrast it, like having a nerd in a dark alleyway looking very scared.)


Common stereotypes are: nerds, snobs, goths, punks, etc
(there aren't many here in Australia like their is in America lol)

=P

 

[lepip]

haha, whoops!
got ya. great concept!
amish in a strip joint? hippy at a corporate desk/office scene?

true there are not many social/stereotypical groups here but you melbournites have a very unique style that us perthies can easily recognise! cool artsy vibe (better fashion sense than sydney!)

 

[litto.moo]

Yes! You've got it =D

hahaha what do Amish people wear?
Oh I just realised you're from Aus too ;]

Yeah I could do like, a Melbournite.. in the middle of a desert? LOL
Agreed with the sydney comment (i'm obviously biased)
I went to Sydney last weekend and err.. yeah.. got stared at a lot hahaha
it's like they've never seen a long sleeve lace dress before =O

 

[lepip]

yeah its all very sportsgirl latest hottest brightest. which is not necessarily bad, its great how we are all subsly different. im there for all of june so that should be interesting to see their reactions too!

um, amish are like church-ish and religious but traditionally they only use buttons and ties for clothing fastenings, no zips or velcro or elastic ect.

you gotta do a queensland surfie chick type!

 

[50two]

im from sydney too! also my first post

anyways i'd say in sydney theres really 2 main types of fashion cliche/stereotypes :

1 the people who dont care about what they wear ie. choose practicality over aesthetic

2 the sheep who follow trends because they look 'nice'

neither are experimental sadly.

 

[litto.moo]

Ohhh yeah, i just remembered there was an episode of The Simpsons where there were Amish people. And they live very modestly and such

I've got 9 sketches of stereotypes now, probably needing between 10-12 so I will take the surfie one definitely. Bad timing cos i've run out of space on the page before i read this LOL

Thanks so much for your help =D
(lol I just pictured a surfie stuck in a drought.)

What's Perth style like?

 

[litto.moo]

im from sydney too! also my first post

anyways i'd say in sydney theres really 2 main types of fashion cliche/stereotypes :

1 the people who dont care about what they wear ie. choose practicality over aesthetic

2 the sheep who follow trends because they look 'nice'

neither are experimental sadly.

Welcome 50two, it's my turn to welcome someone LOL
Haha we're like the noobies here!
I wonder how they select people to join ?
Probably wouldn't be pulling out of a hat lol. Wonder how often they actually let people in too..

I think you summed up what I thought about Sydney in those two sentences
But there's heaps of tourists so there's the odd few that are stand out =D

 

[lepip]

not really sure how to sum up perth style? so isolated here that we are possibly quite experimental? perth pretty much consists of people under 20 and over 30. everyone seems to move away to syd or melb when they hit 20ish and come back to settle down and have kids once they hit 30ish. thats why everyone here my age complains that theres nothing to do- theres nobody to cater to! thats why im looking forward to going to sydney for the month! haha! hope the assignment is going well!

 

[MulletProof]

I'm working on this assignment (that's due tomorrow ) about the impact of The Beatles phenomenon in the fashion industry. I feel so lost here cause not only I always held a bit of an aversion towards The Beatles but I also feel like something was already happening by the time they arrived.
Having said that, I do think that perhaps they made fashion more accessible to masses.. it generated a more public interest in the industry and that must've given more creative and financial freedom for visionaries like Cardin or Quant to push their design a little more forward. Could that be a point in my task? or am I totally off-base?. Beatles fans/observers, please help!.

 

[GasolineRainbow]

^I think you are on-base. The Beatles were the most visible example of the new kind of 'mod' fashion, longish hair on men being a prime example. While not the innovators of this style, they were a far more immediate influence on the masses than any of the other relevant fashion/art/cultural participants collectively.

You don't have to be a major Beatles fan to acknowledge their influence and clout on popular culture, but as you said, you don't have to argue that they were the originators of everything they're famous for. You can see this phenomenon happening with fashion and other related cultural shifts all the time, to this day. In terms of music, anyone from Madonna to Rihanna could be used as comparisons of people who pick up on an underground movement or trend and "bring" it to the masses through the sheer level of their fame.

 

[MulletProof]

thank you, gasoline!
I needed some reassurance on the direction I was going with my writing..
I see The Beatles influence on popular culture, particularly on music and until a couple days ago, I would've loosely claimed that fashion was deeply affected by them too but now that I'm having to put all my back-up material on the table, I get nervous that it could be so random or vague.. or stubborn. I don't know , it's clearly the kind of subject that makes me lose some confidence, though I keep reminding myself that I'm submitting this to someone that ONLY cares for anything Beatles-related and looks at fashion with suspicious eyes.

 

[GasolineRainbow]

it's clearly the kind of subject that makes me lose some confidence, though I keep reminding myself that I'm submitting this to someone that ONLY cares for anything Beatles-related and looks at fashion with suspicious eyes.

A biased professor is never a good thing. Don't lose your confidence; if your professor is dismissive of fashion, then you can disarm him or her with your insight. I mean, it's plain to see that fashion played a huge role in the whole Beatles hysteria, whether they 'invented' that style or not. Are you implying that your professor thinks the Beatles started all that? That is an opportunity to question why we tend to respect the Beatles more as originators than as messengers. Doesn't it also take a certain courage and intelligence to make something visible or accessible to many people? (Not that the Beatles weren't innovative in some ways, but certainly not everything.)

Plus, could your professor, or anyone else for that matter, sufficiently argue that popular music and fashion exist in separate dimensions? Perhaps that is something you could bring up; that the fashion industry is actually an active participant in popular culture, definitely not something that is created randomly on a whim. There is a treasure-chest of social commentary in those bowl cuts and skinny ties. And in all the Beatles' transformations, from mod to hippie.

 

[MissMagAddict]

Beatles not only influenced modern culture... but they were influenced by it. They changed with the times... there's a drastic change in their appearance and music from 1964 to 1967. Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, the Byrds, the Beach Boys... all influenced The Beatles.

I also feel like something was already happening by the time they arrived.

Don't forget the Beat Generation... The Beatniks whose life style was already in place before the Beatles arrived. IMO there's definitely a link between the Beatniks & The Beatles.

 

[MulletProof]

Gasoline R: Yeah, from the very beginning of the semester, our teacher (it's a woman) showed some distress over the fact that the chord of the course was fashion, she was teaching in another faculty.. literature or something, can't remember, and I think she clearly associates the world of fashion with this strange outlet where women 'doll up' their insecurities and hopefully find a way to represent certain status. I thought it'd be an interesting class but she's just made it so hard, first trying to get us out of fashion and then trying to connect back to the program.. I mean, in this case, The Beatles are obviously attached to our main subject but there have been other cases.. where she truly makes me feel like a brunette Paris Hilton.

Anyway, yes, she does seem to think it was all dunes before the Beatles. I like the point that you made about them being the messengers more than the pioneers of a movement, cause, at least in America in the mid 50s, there was already a kind of defiant subculture going on.. would the world had embraced it if the Beatles hadn't channel it in such a massive, almost sugary manner?.. I doubt it, but then I feel like there were also very determining times for the way we conceive marketing now.

MMA: thank you! (glad to see you here ), I was thinking of the Beat generation when I posted that, I actually brought that to my teacher and she gave me a big sigh and said that for the project, she suggested to do some extensive research on The Beatles' beginnings, which again, made me feel a bit insecure on my thoughts.. cause until now, it was for me The Beat Generation, New York, Dylan, The Civil rights movement, Vietnam.. I can't try to overlook or belittle the Beatles but I do think they were in charge of spreading what was being generated elsewhere.. I don't know.. I wonder how strong NYC's artistic groups were in England?, and then, I always forget that Elvis.

 

[GasolineRainbow]

I think she clearly associates the world of fashion with this strange outlet where women 'doll up' their insecurities and hopefully find a way to represent certain status.

Is this a fashion-focused course or Radical Feminism 101? There is a place within critical theory to analyze fashion on those terms, but I distinctly get the impression that your course is not that place.

I mean, in this case, The Beatles are obviously attached to our main subject but there have been other cases.. where she truly makes me feel like a brunette Paris Hilton

Professors should not make you feel like you need to apologize for your interests. I say you write an eloquent, insightful paper that emphasizes the merit of fashion as reflecting social change. Of course there are many facets of fashion that are frivolous, even vapid and shallow, but it's incorrect to dismiss fashion entirely as such. Furthermore, who is to say that much of the hoopla surrounding the Beatles isn't frivolous itself? Not all weighty subjects in world history are dark and glum and s e r i o u s.

 

[MulletProof]

she's definitely that kind of feminist, but I also think the other students are not helping in changing her perception of the industry in any way!, I don't know, she's quite nice, you can have long conversations about current issues with her, but the moment you inject fashion in it, I feel like the argument kind of loses its weight.

Anyway, thanks a lot for the points and the motivation, I definitely feel my head a lot clearer now.. and ready for action haha.

 

[GasolineRainbow]

Good luck!

Btw deriding fashion as a whole by focusing on its frivolous aspects is one of the oldest cards you can play. The card is used precisely because it's very easy to do, but you know, it's equally easy to call someone on it. I'm not saying your professor isn't likeable or intelligent or respectable, but just because she follows a certain line of thinking doesn't mean she can impress it on others as objective and factual. Never lose sight of that.

 

[BetteT]

MP ... Maybe I can add some personal insight. I was a teen when they first landed on this continent and it was HUGE! (I, actually was never a fan, either ... but I certainly can understand their influence ... I saw in in action.)

I had noiced the "London Look" taking force in the early 60's and the beginnings of a whole new vibe in fashion for teens in the UK. Skirts were getting shorter ... some really daring designers were starting to put out mid thigh dresses and skirts and it was scandolous! In London, they had "Rockers" (looking like rough hoods, much like James Dean) and "Mods" ... and it was the mods who were changing fashion in London.

We, in the US still had mid calf hemlines and nipped waists, a la Dior's "New Look" which was getting a bit old at that time.

So, when the Beatles landed in the US in about 1964 ... I don't remember, exactly ... they brought the "mod" look with them and exagerated it. It was when Beatle Mania was taking over and every teen took note of how they looked an emulated them. Guys started letting their hair grow, started wearing pegged pants and slim cut jackets with skinny ties .... and "Beatle Boots". The girls started letting their hair grown long and straight, hemmed up their dresses, bought the latest mod fashions (as soon as they were available) and started to wear "go-go boots" ... a la Coureges and Greinreich ... and tried to emulate the "London "Look'. (Forgive me for the spelling....)

It was the Beatles who brought the attention of the North American public to these new styles and it was their fans that changed how the American teen looked. And that was the first generation of teens that every had real buying power (the baby boomers, born after the 2nd. World War) so designers and retailers took note and before you knew it ... every store started carrying these types of fashions.

So ... they did not invent it ... but the were the reasons Americans got on that "London" bandwagon so fast. Without them, maybe the whole "Mod" thing might have never made it big in the US ... who knows?

Then they got on the Indian mystical thing (travelled to India to learn to meditate with the Maharishi) ... and brought the ornate, bohemian look to us with long skirts and beads (the hippy look) ... and such began the 70's. Then the Sgt. Pepper thing ... the ornate uniforms of that album ... sort of swayed everyone towards an Edwardian look. Yes ... they influenced us in our fashion, probably more than any other influence.

 

[MulletProof]

Bette, I forgot to thank you for the amazing and concise input the other day, I read it as a guest and finished the observation I was doing, which my teacher really liked. The downside is that she now thinks I'll be able to talk about it in front of strangers, which is quite overwhelming.. but anyway, I have until june to work on my confidence levels.

 

[fashionista-ta]

^ Yay, that's great!

I had a male Personal Essay professor, and I wrote something fashion-related for the class (I asked in advance if my topic was OK, because I didn't want to get dinged after writing it for not being 'personal' enough). I forget the grade or comments I got, but something about it I wasn't happy with ... I think he told me it wasn't interesting or something. He was a big basketball fan.

So I marched into his office and told him that while he may find basketball fascinating, I find it utterly dull. This is Personal Essay, I am interested in fashion, and I don't want to have my work downgraded because he is not personally interested in it!!!

My little lecture worked ... later, when one of the papers I'd written for his class won an award, he came by the office where I worked and said, Tell me I gave you an A on that paper ... if I didn't, I knew I was going to be hearing from you