** Caution: I will embarrass myself in the post below, so grab the Maltesers, a glass of wine and enjoy.** Fashion has always been somewhat embedded into my life, even when I was young. My mum was in the fashion business herself. Her proud comment on this blog post would be about my matching paten shoes and handbags as a little girl or multiple matching frilly bloomers, as it was never acceptable for my nappy to show. Of course, she’d also mention the hassles of my increasingly opinionated behaviour and that I knew exactly what I wanted or did not want from a very early age, including my appearance (insert the many “choosing glasses sagas”). Although I have long since broken her heart for my dislike of matching items, it is really no surprise how attentive I am to the fashion I choose. I would not state that it is a “love for fashion” but more the welcomed power that it beholds. In today’s society, appearance is everything, regardless if people wish to accept that or not. C’mon! The world’s clothing and textile industry reached almost $2,560 trillion in 2010 (TreeHugger, 2015). Although highly controlled by popular culture, I’m not really the type to admire something because it has a label or a magazine says it is “in”. But I have my reasons. To me, fashion depicts the type of person that I want to be portrayed as. I am a quirky person who is also a teacher as well my many personas and I can choose if I want to extenuate that or not. I have a succinct and punctilious taste where other’s opinions are rarely considered. When I began my undergraduate degree, I was able to experiment with my style and clothing after being strictly regulated by a private girl’s school. Strangely enough, I feel a ponytail still needs a ribbon. But, oh the outfits and things I wore in my undergraduate days! Furthermore, this really became quite evident when my dad got sick. All of a sudden the world was falling apart and I found a way of coping with the sudden changes. As long as I looked okay, everyone thought things were okay and, therefore, everything was okay. The charade of a clean cut, refined person is the only thing people needed or wanted to see. This is where I saw the true value behind “dress to who you want to be”and it is still incredibly prominent in my day to day life.
This article instantly struck a cord with me in an inconclusive manner. My best friend’s guffaw dismissed any lingering thoughts, but it would continually pop into my head. It wasn’t until discussions in my Popular Culture class did I realise that this could be a chance for me to explore my curiosity. Embracing participatory culture in which is a creative and informal process of consumers and prosumers that are bound by cyclical contributions that are seized and informed by others’ experiences that will incidentally inform and be seized by others (Jenkins, 2009). It was decided! I would replicate Matilda’s endeavour for a set period of time as a type of social experiment. Bye-bye wardrobe. Just like she describes in a Harpers Bazaar article, I chose a simple black and white uniform, which I chose for simplicity, versatility and anonymity. Two white linen business shirts, 2 black pants, black ballet flats and a black blazer and all bought in a one day shopping trip nightmare. On a side note, it seems if you wish to buy simple corporate wear, you must spend big or every asset of the female body must protrude or pop out. I also decided to give myself SOME allowances. I was allowed to wear whatever accessories and I had a black knee length coat for colder weather. I did quite a lot of research in minimalist wardrobes and what the internet and media happen to say. Ofcourse, our own Karl Stefanovic’s same suit social experiment, as well as the pros and cons of Steve Job’s point of view on simplicity. There were productivity and organisation sites that spoke highly of minimalist living. There were plenty of sites complaining about spending or cost and, of course, Matilda Kahl received some internet coverage. My research ventured into some brain studies about the morning decision making process and the effects of that early morning stress plays out on the day. Regardless of my research about all these positives, my hypothesis was simple. This is going to kill me. Although initially I wanted to create blog posts as I went, I was concerned about the unfair depiction of vanity. So, instead, I will simply synthesis my experiences of personal perturbation with weekly observations. WEEK 1 Day 1 I completely regretted the entire decision, yet surprisingly Day 2 wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I swear I was expecting the entire world to shout out horror the fact that I was wearing the. Exact. Same. Thing. For the purposes of this blog, I attempted to take a photo everyday. But then I realised it’s the exact same thing and it doesn’t even matter! Photos are below! With Week 1 over - no one had really noticed or even said anything to my shock. The big problem that I didn’t forecast were...blisters. Wearing brand new shoes everyday resulted in excruciating blisters. I mean, every where and bleeding. I could barely walk! Not kidding! But the social experiment had to continue. I’d invested far too much of my tax return to turn back now! The lovely ladies at my school’s office offered me some heavy duty bandaids to get me through my days. But seriously - the blisters. WEEK 2 Week 2 is where I saw the most anticipation. I was enjoying not having to decide what to wear and there were no morning freak outs. Blisters continued but were getting less tender. Week 2 also saw my love my bow ties bloom increasingly. It was my bit of something different. Strangely Week 2 saw many remarks even though I’d warn lipstick many times before. Furthermore, I noticed that weekend free dress began to be exciting and fun. WEEK 3 By Week 3 I could see the finish line in the distance. Not having to decide what to wear was highly convenient in a week full of mid semester uni assessment and Week 9 school assessment. It was only Week 3 that some people had the courage to kinda ask about it, although majority were yet to. Those colleagues and friends that were aware of the social experiment began to joke and chuckle about it. That made it all a lot more bearable as by the end of Week 3 I was not necessarily enjoying myself anymore. My mum couldn’t believe that I’d lasted this long. Even though she came shopping with me to buy my uniform, she was absolutely flabbergasted. WEEK 4 I was OVER it! I’d had enough. I was no longer enjoying it and no longer seeing the point of it, even with the finish line so close. I also noticed by Week 4 I started to feel very negative about my body shape and appearance. I hated that I couldn’t express myself or even see my legs! Bow ties were not cutting it anymore. People had started to notice and were discussing it without me and were only to be informed by those that knew! Afterwards, they would approach me with their wild and hilarious theories (that I will discuss below). At this stage, it was all humorous as I was over it. I decided on the final 2 days I’d ask people who I see everyday (even a parent) and who hadn’t mentioned it to me because I was aware that many people were uncomfortable to. Nope - they hadn’t even noticed. So... overall observations and comments of my participatory cultured Matilda Kahl social experiment. I’m shocked more people didn’t say anything. It really solidified that, although we think people care, many people are too busy operating their own lives to give a hoot. I do know that a lot of people did not feel comfortable to approach me and I am curious as to why. Those people that did say something were still very cautious and had clearly checked in with others beforehand. Upon asking some why, there were comments about not wanting to just incase I had been living out of my car or something. Maybe I had got into some financial problems. By far my FAVOURITE comment was the most amusing yet awkward conversation, where someone admitted that they thought I had recently changed my sexuality, as I was wearing more masculine clothes. That, beforehand, I had worn such pretty dresses and now I was dressing in a suit like outfit with all different bow ties. I took all of it very lightly as by this stage I felt many people were laughing with me, and not at me. Ofcourse, questions about how often I was washing my clothes were very common and I seriously hated the fact that I was washing every 2 days. (Seriously - white was the worse decision!) It’s funny because it must have been, for those that noticed, so foreign to think that someone could or would wear the same thing. Interestingly, more people had commented about the missing black and white on my first days back wearing my preferred clothing and colours. Productivity and organisation wise, although it was more convenient in the mornings and I had no freak outs, I did not have this overarching effect in my morning routine. Everything else was the same; even contemplating on which bow tie - spots or strips. Although, maybe if I had another person’s perspective of my morning organisation then I think they would have seen quite a difference. Additionally, the fact that my ability to walk was severely impeded was not all that appreciated. Mind wise and cogitating the brain studies, it was definitely a lot less stressful. Same black and white clothes day after day. But I did find this black and white to get very tiresome. I missed my other colours. As I previously mentioned, I started to really dislike my body. As most of my body was covered by the uniform (and I’m not saying I prefer to flash copious amounts of skin), I felt quite trapped in the uniform and conscious when I wasn’t wearing my uniform. This negativity about my appearance was probably the most salient observation. In hindsight, I can't believe how much my mind messed with me in the end of Week 3 and Week 4. My confidence completely bombed out, so it seems that I really do rely on the control and expression that is fashion. It really made me rethink and reevaluate school uniforms and the strict rules that are set for a large portion of a person's formative years. I also noticed that I did not actually buy anything or shop for those entire 4 weeks (Yes, that is a big deal for me). That was a nice change on my wallet. Money was a whole concept I hadn’t considered in my hypothesis and research. Which is crazy because the average woman will spend up to $384/month on clothes and those aren’t even the fashionistas (Roy Morgan, 2015)! Prisoner of Class (2013) sets out the average fashion culture and buying habits of the modern women. Simply, women aged 25 years and under rack up an average $200 000 during their lifetime on fashionable trends, at the current spending rate. With generation X as the worse spenders, it scares me to think that I would sit in this bracket, yet again how could I not (Lutz, 2013). It’s not just the women! The Daily Mail (2014) claims that while women spend $2331.07 annually, the average man spends up to $2118. 77. That’s just over $200 less than the average women! It definitely validates this manifestation that, thanks to popular culture, to be in trend is the trend. With Hollywood showing us how we want to look, the industry creating the look and the media telling us that we should want, this popular “love that look” culture is somewhat expected by all. Although, we may all have different styles and taste, or reasons for joining in. Great The Huffington Post article --> Click Here All of this was secondary to my main my main observation and evaluation. I had worn the same outfit to work and uni for 4 weeks. I had seen something on the internet that encouraged and influenced me to do something that I or those that know me well would NEVER expect me to do. Overall, I feel like my active participation in this social experiment took me away from my interpretation and affiliation of what fashion meant in popular culture and threw me into another. Though I learnt many things and did something unexpected, I don’t think I could be Matilda Kahl, the woman that is proud to wear the same thing everyday. Could you do it? REFERENCES AND HYPERLINKS
Becker, J., Foselli, J., Sikes, D., Jenkins, E., Behnke, L., & Martin, L. et al. (2015). 8 Reasons Successful People Are Choosing to Wear the Same Thing Every Day. Becoming Minimalist. Retrieved from http://www.becomingminimalist.com/wear-one/ Jenkins, H., 1958. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cambridge, Mass: The MIT Press. Kahney, L. (2010). John Sculley: The Secrets of Steve Jobs’ Success [Exclusive Interview] | Cult of Mac. Cult of Mac. Retrieved from http://www.cultofmac.com/21572/john-sculley-the-secrets-of-steve-jobs-success-exclusive-interview/ Lallo, M. (2014). Karl Stefanovic's sexism experiment: Today presenter wears same suit for a year. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/karl-stefanovics-sexism-experiment-today-presenter-wears-same-suit-for-a-year-20141115-11ncdz.html Lutz, A. (2013). This Chart Shows How Much Women Spend On Clothes At Different Ages. Business Insider Australia. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-much-women-spend-on-clothes-2013-11 Mail Online,. (2014). Men spend just £99 less than women on fashion and accessories annually. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2603739/Men-spend-just-99-women-fashion-accessories-year.html Minimalism is Simple,. (2013). My Minimalist Lifestyle Increased My Productivity - Minimalism is Simple. Retrieved from http://minimalismissimple.com/my-minimalist-lifestyle-increased-my-productivity Prisoner Of Class. (2013). Have You Ever Wondered How Much Women Actually Spend On Clothing & Accessories?. Retrieved from http://www.prisonerofclass.com/how-much-women-actually-spend-on-clothing-accessories/ Roy Morgan. (2015). The cost of style: women who want to look good do spend more on clothes. Retrieved from http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/5267-cost-of-style-women-who-want-to-look-good-spend-more-on-clothes-201310282258 The Huffington Post. (2015). 7 Ways The Beauty Industry Convinced Women That They Weren't Good Enough. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2014/04/29/beauty-industry-women_n_5127078.html?ir=Australia TreeHugger. (2015). 25 shocking fashion industry statistics. Retrieved 9 October 2015, from http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-fashion/25-shocking-fashion-industry-statistics.html
11 Comments
Sammy
10/11/2015 10:57:38 am
Bec, you are very brave! I am impressed and inspired that you were willing to change something so central to your identity in order to authentically explore participatory culture. I was particularly intrigued by your reference to how wearing a uniform made you feel, and what this might mean for students in schools who are forced to do so every single day. You discovered that less people noticed the fashion repetition than you expected- which is what we want in the classroom (minimal distractions) but it also made me wonder how school-goers might feel, and what effect this may have on outcomes, if they were allowed to express their individuality through the clothes that they wear.
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Bec
10/20/2015 10:00:43 pm
Hey Sammy,
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10/11/2015 03:23:07 pm
Hi Bec,
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Bec
10/20/2015 09:47:20 pm
Hey Jeffery,
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Sally
10/11/2015 05:32:34 pm
Hi Bec,
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Bec
10/20/2015 09:28:04 pm
Hey Sally,
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Well done Bec -
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Bec
10/20/2015 10:14:12 pm
Hey Ali,
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10/16/2015 12:01:22 pm
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Bec
10/20/2015 10:10:19 pm
Hey Karly,
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Ian
10/24/2015 12:48:59 pm
Hey Bec!
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