SIX

Today was the last day of alternative experiment, sadly. I think I should feel relieved, but when I think about the coming week... not so much. It was a fairly subdued look today, sans piercings (because I finally lost them) and with punk influences again, also a little bit of metal fashion with the waistcoat featuring some of my favourite band (Nirvana, Metallica, Pink Floyd, Ramones) badges.

I went on a family fishing expedition with my person's family, and bought some socks (see their cameo in the pictures). I also had to touch a dead baby squid.

Also, I went to church with this look. It didn't provide much result, probably because they're used to me wearing strange clothing. I'd love to be able to say this is my band, but it's actually just the worship band I sing with occasionally.

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."



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".

    

 

 

                                       
                                                 

                                   

LOOKBOOK

While doing some 'research' for my PAT, this site right here was reccomended to me:

www.lookbook.nu

If you are a girl, and even if you are a boy, you will most probably either unashamedly love this website or at least be guiltily interested in it.

With the tagline: COLLECTIVE FASHION CONSCIOUSNESS, LOOKBOOK is an online community that showcases (according to their website) "member-uploaded street-style photography", which basically just means people take photos of themselves in whatever fashion tickles their fancy that day and puts it on the internet for the rest of the world to laugh at or draw inspiration from.

With obscure, unrelated photo titles like "I can't see your love anymore..." and "Fancy a cocktail by miuccia?" LOOKBOOK is the best place to find photography and fashion from everyday people and, depending on who you are, draw inspiration from it.

Personally I found it very useful - finding mainstream and alternative fashion from real people all over the world.

One girl in particular who I found interesting was Thelma Malna, a 17 year old from Finland whose photos mainly consisted of her in various black clothing and red lipstick on the floor with a very bright flash.  

Alternative Beauty?

In preparation for my upcoming 18-hour PAT, I researched alternative beauty, and discovered an amazing number of subcultures, and people who live them every day.



According to Wikipedia, 

"Alternative fashion is an umbrella term encompassing a plethora of styles that have one major thing in common - they, at least at one time, stood apart from mainstream commercial fashion. The term has long been associated with the fashions of specific subcultures (e.g.: emo, scene, Goth subculture, Hip hop, industrial, Cyberpunk, etc.), however it is not limited to this application. In general alternative, or 'alt,' fashion does not conform to style trends of the times that have widespread popularity.” 

And I quite like that definition, because it was the first one I found that had no hint of pretense or arrogance in it, an attitude I find commonly accompanies those who apply alternative fashion.

Some helpful and interesting alternative blogs I found: 

www.dirtyflaws.com

www.stopitrightnow.blogspot.com

www.garbagedress.com

www.hautemacabre.com

Alternative fashion generally lays down a challenge to accepted norms, and is often intentionally adopted to display a break from the beliefs of popular culture.

I like that.