We thought that it would be interesting to get a second opinion on these eight participants and their clothing styles so we took our research a step furtherer. We asked eight, randomly picked out individuals, to describe each and every participants clothing style, by only showing them photographs where they were only able to see their clothes. We got a variety of answers which was exactly what we were looking for.
Our first participant was a young girl, standing outside her favorite store called Shock, and smoking. She was pretty calm, with an innocent face expression, and casual clothing style. She likes to listen to Rock and is pretty much inspired by her favorite musicians. She also likes to party hard and prefers drinking beer in company. She’s a babysitter during the weekends.
Observers comment: “She looks very casual. I would say her favorite store is Carlings or maybe H&M. This person definitely listens to rock, I can tell by the Rock inspired Converse.”
We got the chance to talk to the store manager of Shock and she was a very kind and generous young woman. She told us her favorite type of music is Hip-hop and RnB from the 80s and 90s. Her taste it music has nothing to do with her clothing. Her clothes are mostly bought in second hand shops, and her style is very personal. She even makes her own clothes. She’s a real movie watcher and she likes to spend most of her time with her daughter at home. She also likes to eat dinner with her friend during the weekends.
Observers comment: “This is a woman who likes to spend most of her time riding her motorcycle and listening to Hard Rock. She’s probably not a very kind person, looks a little bit harsh with all those tattoos.”
We got to talk to a student on her way home from school. She was very shy, we could tell by her body language and insecure answers. Her style was very simple and casual and she told us that she wasn’t the type spending all to much money on clothes. She likes to listen to Pop and sometimes others genres depending on her mood. Her favorite store was Carlings. A store where you can find casual outfits such jeans, shirts, leather jackets and t-shirts.
Observers comment: “Typical swedish young student wearing Converse and black jeans. He’s probably into Rock n Roll or something, smokes and likes beer”
We managed to convince a salesperson to talk to us. She told us most of her favorite outfits were pretty much casual. She was very similar to the girl we had talked to before both by their interests and taste of music. She liked to hang out with her friends, and that she liked both drinks and beer. She likes to party a lot and she is the type that spends a lot of money on clothes. The difference between her and the girl before is the fact that they wear the same type of clothes but don’t spend the same amount of money on them.
Observers comment: “This is a typical swedish young girl wearing white Converse and a cute little top. She’s probably into RnB and likes to hang out with her friends in the city.”
We got the chance to talk to an exchange student from Japan. We met him in a store named SOLO representing clothes a bit more elegant but still casual at the same time. He didn’t understand any Swedish so we had to do our interview in English. He told us he was a dancer and liked to listen to Hip-hop and RnB. His style was pretty personal but he also told us that his big inspiration was Jason Mraz.
Observers comment: “He’s a salesperson for sure. I can tell by the way that he dresses, and his shoes. Looks like the type of guy that spends a lot of money on his appearance.”
We walked into a store representing street wear and got the chance to talk to the store manager. He wasn’t really in the mood for an interview so we asked the store manager for permission to talk to his trainee. A nice young guy surrounded by the clothes he usually like to wear. He told us that he was a trainee and a student who spent most of his time skating with his friends. When we asked him about his clothes in relation to his taste in music he said that it had nothing to do with the music he listened to, only his interests.
Observers comment: “I don’t know actually. His T-shirt makes it easy for me to guess what kind of clothes he likes to wear. I think that he likes to listen to Hip-hop and Rap.”
We passed by a little store in the corner of the street. A woman was standing outside photographing the display window. She was dressed in a long elegant coat and was wearing heels. She was very nice and she asked us if it would be okay if we went inside and did the interview. She is an entrepreneur. Her style is very personal and she likes being a designer, making her own clothes. She also likes to listen to Jazz and Rock n Roll. In her spare time she goes out with her friends, in both restaurants and cafés. This type of clothing is very unusual among youths in Malmoe.
Observers comment: “This woman has a very unusual clothing style. I like it but I’ve personally never seen someone dressed like this in Malmoe. She is either rich or likes to design her own clothes.”
We got to interview another store manager representing a store with expensive, but very popular labels. He told us that not many students can afford to shop in a store like this one. His clothing style is very formal, just like the type of clothes his store is representing. He’s not wearing clothes from his own store though. His favorite musician is Frank Sinatra.
Observers comment: “This guy has a very formal clothing style. I bet it’s expensive too.”
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Dear Dajana and Amajla,
Great to see work progressing with interesting photographic methods used to produce data/material. We still cannot find a final version of your material for the blog, this entry above appears to be fragments/work in progress, where parts will go into the final?
Since you missed the deadline for the exam (oral presentation and final blog entry 27 March) contact me for re-exam.
If you have not already done so, I would consider for your exam and final entryt to consider using e.g. Chapter 11 in Gillian Rose Visual Methodologies (the chapter on using photos as part of a research project).
Also, consider ethical implications of letting informants commenting on photos of individuals on a public blog, if the comments can be considered to speak with disrespect towards the individual depicted in full or even in parts (there is for example one where an informant says ‘not a very nice person’).
All the best
Anders
the group was walking a very delicate line when they try to link clothing and interests (of their subjects) in certain tpyes of muci genre like hiphop, R&B etc. is there any intrinsic element that indicates one dressing connects with another type of popular culture. but taking one photograph of a subject and making conclusions over it of one’s interest is tricky, too. how if we had several photos of the same subject so that we may develop more reliable deductions.