Category: Unit 05

When doing this people watching assignment I noticed that the people my eyes focused more on were those who were dressed in socially different clothing. The people who did not conform with society’s norms for what to wear are those that standout in crowds compared to other people who conform with society’s expectations on what one should wear. One person that stood out to me was a boy in my dorm. When he walked by me, he was in all plaid pajama-like clothing. It was 9am and he was still in these clothes. My first assumption was that he had just woken up. One thing I thought about when I saw this kid was that he had not taken the time to get changed from when he woke up. I think he may value sleep more than taking time to try to make himself look better. Another person that stood out to me was a girl who seemed to be in her early twenties. She had bright purple hair, nose rings, multiple ear pierces, and she was wearing fishnet leggings underneath jean shorts, with fishnet arm sleeves and a bright pink shirt. At first, I thought this was very weird. I assumed she was odd because she was wearing contrasting colors, fishnets and shorts when it was cold outside and that she was somewhat rebellious because of all her piercings. A final person that stood out to me was a middle-aged man. He had many tattoos and wore ragged clothing. In my opinion I think he values being rebellious because he has covered his body in art through the use of ink and tattoos. I also assumed that he was homeless because he was carrying a ragged bag on his back and he did not look like he could afford other clothing. However, this may not be the case. I may just be assuming this because his clothing was not totally in tact. This assignment showed me that at first glance, I can be judgmental based on how others dress because they do not dress like what I am used to seeing, which is preppy, well-put together clothing that fills the New England atmosphere that I have grown up in. But, this assignment has helped me make a personal goal to try to not judge what others are wearing because they are different than what I would wear.

When I think about how I dress, the first thing I think of is athletic clothing. My ideal outfit would be a pair of Nike yoga pants, a sweatshirt, a vest, a hat, and sneakers or L.L. Bean Boots. I guess this is because I value comfort. Because I am very athletic and take pride in being in shape, I would rather spend my time on other things rather than spending forty-five minutes getting ready in the morning. When I do try to dress up and look nice, the brands I shop from are popular East Coast brands, such as J.Crew. This shows that I am not too original or unique in my style. When reflecting on my outfit choice, I am perfectly content with conforming to society and shopping at places that my friends do. These include J. Crew, Lululemon, Nike, Express and L.L. Bean.

When assessing my wardrobe and outfits of choice, I have noticed that the personal beliefs that my wardrobe shows is that I am okay with dressing conservatively and not worrying about having to show a lot of skin like other people in my age-group do. This is an example of how my family has a direct external influence on my values and me. When I was growing up, my parents were pretty strict when it came to what I could and could not wear. They made sure my shorts were long enough or that I did dress in a well put together manner. My mom also encouraged me to dress in a nice, well put together manner. This meant that when I was in middle school I was not allowed to wear athletic attire everyday.

As I look back over the years and look through pictures of how I dressed, it’s funny to see the different trends that I thought were “in-style” at that time period. For example, in middle school I would rock the tank top underneath every shirt, and make sure that the top shirt was tied in the back by a pony tail holder so that the under tank could be seen.  I also would go through phases where I would wear my hair in a ponytail with half of the front hanging out because I thought this was “cool.” I think that during middle school, especially, my style was influenced greatly by my peers and classmates. If others were wearing the layered tank tops, then I would do that too. I would always make sure I did not conform too much to what others were doing. I would try to wear clothes that were not too different from what everyone else was so I was not an outcast, but I would not wear things that others wore that I knew violated my values. This included not wearing super short shorts and halter-tops when I felt that that was not the appropriate clothing for the occasion.

The core beliefs and values for the peers in my community are different depending on friend groups. Being from Massachusetts, my friends back home dress differently than they do here in Oregon. At home, they like to dress nice and preppy, which shows the atmosphere and attitude of New England. That is why almost all of my friends wear Vineyard Vines or J.Crew back home. The wardrobe with my peers here on the West Coast is much different than at home. Here, it is socially acceptable to wear athletic clothing and outdoors clothing all the time because the attitude here in Oregon is more relaxed and less uptight. People seem to be freer to dress with less conformity. A similarity I have noticed between coasts is that most of my peer group is supporters of body piercings and tattoos. Most of my friends either have multiple piercings or they have tattoos. The main reason most of them get these is a way of rebelling against their parents. This could show that they value independence and this is a way for them to break free from their parents’ controls and make themselves unique. However, I probably will not participate in this because of

However, one thing that I have decided is that I am not into piercings or tattoos. That type of body art is not my thing. I have my ears pierced, but I only have one hole. I do not think that I will get anything else pierces. The same goes for tattoos. I am not against them, they just do not fit the way I customize myself. This could be because my parents have had a strong influence on this aspect of my life. They have never been a fan of body art and I guess since I grew up with them not having a lot of body art, I never became a fan of it because it is so permanent and I am afraid that when I get older I will outgrow this phase and not be able to unchanged it. Since I have regretted some of my outfit choices when I was a younger kid now, I guess I am just scared to get more body art because what if I outgrow that too and then it’s too late.

This assignment has allowed me to reflect on my personal style and see how our families and friends base body arts on our values that are shaped.