FIVE

Day Five is my second to last day of alternative fashion, and one of the best. It was most certainly goth, and luckily everyone I spoke to was able to identify that.

I wasn't that out of place though, in the midst of a friend's Mad Hatter's Tea Party. I spent the day speaking to smart and/or interesting people, and interviewed most of them, as well as other miscellaneous park-goers in Botanical Gardens.

1) A little girl told me that if she had to give me a rating out of ten, she would give me a five.

2) A random hipster (beer in hand) commented that parts of me were attractive but others were not. He said if I was trying to go for a sexy look I shouldn't wear the boots that I was, and should try to go for more mainstream make-up.

3) Something one of my friends said, which I really liked, though it is sad, is

"Beauty doesn't really exist anymore. It's all conformity. And even when you are beautiful, you still aren't really beautiful enough."



FOUR

Today was an attempt at rock subculture, and also fairly uneventful. I think I'm very much desensitized to this look now. I went out tonight to survey Durban's thriving Pavilion nightlife (not really), which wasn't very exciting.

My person and I almost saw a movie. Then we spent about two hours in a book shop reading books about philosophy and Kurt Cobain. We did see some people from our church, who didn't really respond to my new appearance. Perhaps they thought it was normal and I only dress more respectably for church.

Oh! An amazingly cool and coincidental thing was this fun, interactive promotion for Rock of Ages outside the movies, where you can stand on a cardboard stage and interact with a cardboard Zakk Wylde-esque guitar. It also gives you a little lyrics screen to "I love Rock n Roll", even thought I'm pretty sure Joan Jett and the Blackhearts isn't in this movie.

Whatever. It was fun.

Learn ya damn subcultures people!

A shockingly irritating thing I've noticed in my short experience of this experiment so far is people's complete inability to tell subcultures apart. Often terms like "gothic", "punk" and "rock" are just lumped together and used interchangebly because they're all alternative when really they're nothing alike.

A subculture is a group of people with a culture that differentiates them from the larger culture which they belong to. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subculture) In the book Subculture the Meaning of Style, a subculture is described as a subversion to normalcy. Subcultures can be perceived as negative due to their nature of criticism to the dominant societal standard.

What I have been doing and will continue to do is attempt to dress convincingly to represent a specific subculture.

Let me clarify some basic ones for you:

1) PUNK is a subculture that developed predominantly in the United Kingdom in the mid-70's, possibly from the music genre punk rock, characterized by distorted guitars and noisy drums. Plaid, tartan and kilts are popular in punk fashion, as well as brothel creepers, Doc Martens, leather jackets and mohawks. Punk fashion often displays aggression, rebellion, and individualism.

2) GRUNGE is a subgenre of alternative rock music, and inspired a subculture that reached its peak in the early 90's with the popularity of bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. It originated in the United States, predominantly in Seattle. Grunge fashion usually consists of thrift-store and outdoor clothing like flannel shirts, and a generally unkempt appearance, placing importance on comfort. Grunge fashion is messy, raw and comfortable.

3) GOTH is a contemporary subculture that began in England in the 80's. It is influenced by 19th century Gothic literature and horror films. Stereotypical goth fashion is seen as dark and morbid, and usually includes dark eyeliner, painted fingernails and period-styled clothing (all black, of course). Styles often express pagan, occult or other religious imagery such as pentacles or medieval crosses. Goth is not an all-encompassing term for alternative fashion, contrary to popular belief, and is a largely feminine subculture.

4) ROCK developed from the biker subculture and rock 'n roll music in the United States in the 1950's. It is characterized by leather jackets, leather pants, ripped jeans, motorcycle boots and motorcycle goggles. Popular rock bands include Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and The Runaways.

5) HIPSTER is another contemporary subculture that is sometimes described as indie or alternative, though there are subtle differences between the three. It is generally associated with independent music, non-mainstream fashion, and alternative lifestyles. As for hipster fashion, that's hard to describe, so I'll borrow this from http://thedailycougar.com/2011/02/25/survival-guide-identify-avoid-hipsters/,

"The favorite accessory of a hipster is irony. A hipster will display his or her sense of irony through an ironic tee, a ’20s style hat worn with a pair of leggings from the ’80s and a dress from the ’70s with a pair of moccasins, a bowler hat worn with a pair of thick rimmed glasses from the ’50s and a Metallica shirt under a cardigan."



THREE

It is day three, and I tried out something grunge today. I had to pitch my design concept to a boardroom of scary Vega invigilators today for a design competition I'm taking part in, and while at first I was nervous about appearing in front of them like this, expecting someone even to ask me to take out my peircings, they were surprisingly unfazed. One even commented, "Oh, she's an artist, leave her". A photographer did, however, make me pose for pictures with the product I had designed. If I win anything or get put in promotional flyers it'll be with metal in my face.

I met up with some relatives who haven't seen me in years, and who appeared shocked when they saw me. Once I explained my art project to them, they were incredibly relieved.

Two boys of generic appearance and adolescent age found me apparently fascinating. One began approaching me but thought better of it, making a vomiting motion to his friend when he thought I wasn't looking.

I found a book called "Barbie be my Stylist!"... No wonder our youth is in the state it is

TWO

Day two and it's the beach today!

It wasn't as fun as yesterday, mostly because my look today was sort of frumpier than yesterday's one, and I suppose in the presence of the beautifully tanned bodies exhibited in barely-there clothing, it isn't difficult to feel frumpy.

I noticed something curious about the reactions of the different sexes of my age group. While girls express mainly shock, amusement or disgust, boys have only two: total apathy (I think this might be because I don't look like enough of a girl for them to pay me any attention) or curious interest (I think this is because I'm just something different and they don't have to imagine dressing like me).

What was different about today was that I actually spoke to people directly about what they thought of me, which was rather fun.

1) "Evil" was an adjective used three times by seperate people.

2) Two thirteen-year-old boys thought I looked very cool, and commented that I look like I'm "going to a rock concert, you know, like, heavy metal".

3) A little girl in a pink dress refused to speak to me, hiding behind her mother even after I tried to coax her out.

4) Someone said I looked "freaky" and "belong in Hallowene". The same person said he's often seen "goth-looking" people come out of a club near Davenport, and reccomended I go there, rather than the beach.
5) "It's very different. It looks cool, but... I wouldn't dress like that".

ONE

                     

   

                                                                                          
Today was my first official day in my alternative gear, my attempt at punk, and it's been the most fun I've had in a long time. The responses were varied, but mostly amusing.
Accompanied by a friend and my camera, I exhibited my appearance at Gateway, a popular shopping centre in Durban.
1) A little black boy with a big bald head and huge eyes stood in the passage for about 2 minutes to stare at me until his mother pulled him away.

2) A woman pulled her hand-bag closer to her body as I walked past.
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3) A tentative up and down look and finally an approving smile from an alternative-looking boy.

4) Various giggles from various primped-up tweenies and 'fashonistas'.

5) "That girl has holes in her stockings!" from a concerned old lady.

6) "Woah!" from a random preppy couple.

7) I think almost everyone who saw me today at least gave me a second of their attention. Eventually I started pulling faces at them.

8) I asked a little girl I know if she liked my peircings and she said "No, they didn't look nice. I like you when you look normal. Not when you have peircings and things in your face". Harsh, but refreshingly honest.

Ice cream time is all the time

Oh, and we got stopped by the mall popo! I was stopped and questioned by no less than three "mall cops", asking why I was taking videos in the centre. However, I do believe they might have been slightly less aggressive if I looked more acceptable. This is a permit I had to go all the way to the secret management floor to get.

Beauty and Conformity

So I just found this little jewel on http://9gag.com and it called out "Weakley... Weakley... Share me... I'm relevant...". So I had to share this, you see.

So what am I actually doing?

Preliminary alternative prototype

An issue that's affected me a lot personally since the realisation of my identity is the issue of conformity, not just applied to beauty, but to every aspect of a teenager's life. Music, school work, literature, general behaviour, I find myself in the frame of mind rather than the forced behavioural pattern of nonconformity.

So after thinking about what I actually want to do for my final art project, I decided, with inspiration from my friends, school, and other places, to film a documentary delving into the mindset of beauty only being a form of conformity.
In Layman's terms, it's the idea that I find prevelant among teenage girls that you have to look like everyone else in order to look beautiful.

So this is the line-up:

1) I've filmed some interviews with people whose opinions I find interesting, intelligent or relevant to this project

2) This week I am in process of dressing and changing my appearance to be as socially divergant and alternative as possible. While in this process, I will be filming people's reactions and conducting a series of 'vox pops' (word-on-the-street interviews)

3) The following week I will be dressing and changing my appearance to the opposite - conformist beauty applicable to my age and social group to the extreme. I will be following embarassing trends and trying to 'fit in with the people'. I will also film reactions at this time.

4) Finally, all these components will be combined into the final product of a video documentary.

Wish me luck!

Interview with Neith Moore

I recently interviewed my Art teacher, Neith Moore, which produced such gems as

"Try not emphasize the cuteness of the child. You know, she looks like little Annie therefore she is much more successful than the other child who looks like a hatchling girafffe."

and

"So if you go to your matric dance in black clunky boots and black organza looking like something out of the Addams family, that's amusing. I find that amusing. I don't think teenagers find that amusing though..."

Heavy Boots

These amazing boots belonged to my dad, who was in the air force. These are (for want of a better word) his "show" boots. The real deal. The ones you polish to death because if you don't you'll get kicked in the face by your commanding officer. Or something. 

They aren't very comfortable, but they do make you feel like you could kick someone's face in, if you wanted to. They're also rather heavy. Cold War Kids would have been proud.

The Opposite End of the Spectrum

While personally and, I suppose, for the purpose of this project, I find the appearances of people like Thelma Malna (http://lookbook.nu/user/31846-Thelma-M/looks), Lua P (http://lookbook.nu/user/18883-Lua-P/looks), and Masha Sedgwick (http://lookbook.nu/user/60494-Masha-S/looks) more interesting than a beauty stereotype, I suppose I would also have to offer the opposite end of the spectrum. It seems only right. 

             

 

So after perusing LOOKBOOK a little, the website of a popular South African clothing store, Mr Price, and a popular South African teen girl magazine, Saltwater Girl, I came up with this collection of photos. Don't ask me to say anything about them except "it's for research" and "these kinds of things are alien to me".