CjB

Person #1

This person is a tall middle-aged man who appears to be of Indian decent.  He has short hair and a thick moustache.  He is wearing an old fleece jacket and has dress slacks on.  He is also wearing beat-up sneakers.  He is carrying a canvas book bag.  The thick moustache leads me to believe he was a young man during the 70’s when moustaches were more popular.  An assumption that can be drawn from this man’s clothing is that he is of lower-middle class.  His lack of professional dress also tells me he is likely a student rather than a professor.  His race leads me to believe that his religious orientation may be Hindu, but it is hard to tell because typically men of more eastern religions aren’t required to adorn themselves in a specific way.  These assumptions are based in the stock I put into clothing to be an implication of a person’s class and status.  Further, my assumption about this man’s religion comes from my lack of detailed understanding of eastern culture.

Person #2

The second person appears to be a young man of Asian descent.  He has short unkempt hair and is wearing glasses.  He is wearing an athletic jacket and dark jeans.  He has dark athletic shoes that have a few tears in them.  There is a long silver chain from his belt look to his wallet.  He is carrying a small black nylon satchel.  His unusual clothing and use of a bag instead of a backpack leads me to believe he is not American and maybe an international student.  The wallet chain is linked in my mind to criminal activity or counter culture of some sort, but there is no other part of his appearance that makes him look threatening.  Therefore, it could also indicate he feels unsafe and as though his belongings are at risk of being taken. One can assume he is of middle class because if he is an international student, studying here is difficult and expensive, but his shoes are falling apart.  His unkempt hair makes me believe he may not take good care of himself and may be unhealthy or sick.   Regardless, it is clear he doesn’t place high value on his appearance, but rather values practicality.

Person #3

The third person is a young white woman with blonde hair.  She is wearing a Northface down vest and backpack, a Lululemon zip-up jacket, yoga pants and clean Nike running shoes.  She is very thin and conventionally beautiful.  Her hair is in a bun and exposes pearl earrings on her ear lobes.  She also has a small nose ring with a little diamond.  While ear piercings are traditionally considered normal for a white woman of privilege, the nose ring deviates from this image indicating she might have counter-culture interests. Her clothes appear to be new and expensive, which makes it easy to assume she is of upper-middle class.  She appears to value her health because of her exercise clothes and her body shape.  I believe she also values her appearance as a female because her hair is tied up perfectly and she is wearing makeup.  Because her appearance is the prototype of popularity and coolness, I automatically assume she has an active social life and is well liked by her peers and classmates.  My own understanding of this woman’s class comes from my privileged knowledge of the brands she is wearing and the cost associated with dressing in the style she is wearing.