Mens wear

Men’s wear it was fabulous to focus on males for a change, the topic was broken down into looking at men’s fashion and uniform. Jen book on uniforms brought a great realisation and made me open my eyes I had never thought about looking into the history of uniforms for men’s fashion trends. Guys always wear cargo pants which are camouflage or khaki, and this topic finally opened my eyes to men’s fashion trends and where they have derived from.
A uniform shows that you are a part of a organization bigger than yourself, every person wearing that uniform is expected to express ideological characteristics of that organization eg. Behaviour, mannerisms, law, etc.

There are a variety of uniforms, school, local scout, lifesavers, army, police, navy, air force, fire fighter the list goes on. As a part of a fun mini task we got into groups analysed and re-designed from our perspective a uniform for a particular organization.

AFP was our organization of choice, here are our final idea’s:

Gender + Sexuality

Gender and sexuality such an interesting topic! I can talk for hours on our reading where females actively work just to be seen as feminine, our impeccable grooming, make up techniques, diet, exercise, body manipulations etc. All these aspects take up many hours of our time which for many people in today’s fast paced society is very precious, the big question is why! We put in SO much effort and so many hours to look feminine, only to walk outside and to appear beautifully effortless, and portray that we simply “wake up” looking this good. In discussion Kate had brought up the case study done on women in job interviews, and the amount of women that got turned down from the employer because they weren’t wearing enough make up and there wasn’t to a good standard, or wearing to much make up.

Another interesting aspect of Gender and sexuality is of those who completely break the rules, Drag queens! One of my regular clients [who doesn’t want his name mentioned but he wants his picture shown!] Loves to break all the rules of masculinity and femininity! This short interview gives a great inside to his mixed gender lifestyle!

Q: Mixed genders a male from mon - thrus and a female fri – sun what are the pro’s and cons?
A: Oh! It’s super exciting, pushing the boundaries. Men’s fashion can only be tolerated 4 days a week! Men have limited variety in work clothes, unless yours a village man, you are wearing suit pants and a shirt, different varieties in fabric and colours but not much else. Women’s clothing is extremely beautiful as the lead female singer in a band, and because I love to look good I constantly am shopping for something new, there is so much variety dresses, sparkles, shirts, hot pants, fitted pants the list goes on and on, what also excites me is make up and hair, it takes me hours to look perfect, I can literally change every thing about myself when I’m a woman.

Q: Challenging your gender and sexuality there has to be some pro’s and con’s!
A: bloody boobs and a waist! I do workout because that is important, I generally wear a corset for shape, cause my body is like a bloody ruler, and with how tight my corset is it gives my pecks cleavage which I love. Being a male not much has to go into it, a lot more effort goes into being a woman.

Q: The mardi gra being an annual event and a massive hit, you always participate in the parade and for as long as I have known you, you choose to be a female why?
A: its simple more choice when you’re a woman! It takes longer to prepare with hair/make up, which adds to the hype we will experience.
See why I love this topic! So many questions and different views and topics that branch off gender and sexuality. As I mentioned before I could go on for hours.

pic: abc.com.au

Subcultures

Subcultures are people who have formed a distinctive network of behavior, beliefs and attitudes to what is classed the "norm". When mentioning subcultures automatically punk rolls off the tounge.

Working as a make up artist, subcultural trends influenced each era with great dramatical changes, one of my favourite subcultures in regards to make up are The Mods, the pic on the right is a typical make up look, this look was popularised by iconic model Twiggy and has been replicated over and over in the fashion circles. Here is a little insight of my favourite subculture:

A Mod was a product of working class British youth of the mid-sixties. They portrayed an image of being stuck up, emulating the middle classes, and acting snobbish. The Mod boys dressed in suits, neat narrow trousers, and pointed shoes. The girls displayed a boyish image, they darkened their eyes and wore their hair short to fit a unisex type of culture.

The Mods were essentially from London and the South East and were complete followers of the latest fashion. Each had to have a Lambretta GT 200 or a Vespa GS 160, scooters that they rode as part of their stigma that connected them to being a Mod. Like most gangs of their time, The Mods had a very distinct, yet common interest in music. They adopted to modern jazz, which was a style of music originated in Black America. Through the jazz music of Black America, the Mods appeared to distinguish themselves from mainstream society. They seemed to be attracted to the "cool" demeanour and elegant clothing possessed by jazz musicians, and strived to emulate their style.

I feel in todays society especially in multicultural australia we have come to accept all nationalities, cultures, and subcultures. In the past subcltures shocked society because they were not the "norm" and stood out, in todays society so many people stand out, we dont look differently apon them, well at least i dont, its a look of acceptance of there culture, of their lifestyle choices and self expression.

luxury

Week 1

Luxury it’s a representation of high aesthetic values, quality patternmaking + craftsmanship, its high exclusivity makes the pieces highly sought after for those people who can afford them, and a dream for those people who cant. Daslu this week’s reading topic was a perfect example of luxury in the fashion industry, it’s over the top “shopping villa” provides everything a shopper needs under one roof. Its luxuriousness is alluring and captivating, and if you have the money to spend then why not spend it in style. The debate that arose today in class was that these people who shop at places such as Daslu should pay more attention to the poor economy in Brazil and not be so over exuberant about spending thousands on shopping!

I understand the cultural importance of putting money into the economy, but my personal opinion on this topic is that, these socialites work hard and have a high percentage of disposable income, why not spend it on the luxuries companies like Daslu can provide.