Satorialist inspiration

Hope was not lost today, and the connecting thread that helped to foster understanding among my peers was my reference to The Satorialist and how this blog has inspired me. Scott Schulman has photographed people of different backgrounds, lifestyles and personalities wearing unexpected but undeniably beautiful assemblages of clothing.

The connecting thread amongst these individuals, is confidence. None of the images or outfits ever look the same. Each tells the story of the wearer. They are unique, they express freedom from the mass-marketed definition of beauty.

This is beauty– THE ACCEPTANCE OF SELF

Pecha kucha

Yesterday I spent at least three hours working on my capstone project, and the exciting thing is, I absolutely loved it! I believe more each day in the truth that when you find something you are passionate about, you find untapped strength. My mind was flying as I came up with new ideas and thoughts about what it means to be truly beautiful, and how it is defined within our society. I am fascinated by the depth of this inquiry and how it has developed in our world.

A weird thought that I had while working on my presentation last night, was that I WANTED to write. I WANTED to research. I WANTED to delve further into the topics I was beginning to brush though, and felt as though I could write; I actually caught myself secretly wishing that I could... My wish was granted as our professor mentioned that we will be constructing some sort of research paper in the spring, so my hope now is that my longings will remain until then!

I gave my second pecha kucha presentation today and once again, it went much better than I had anticipated! I am so glad that my friends and professor were able to track with me–that is always my fear. I am always nervous that my mind has gone wild, roaming through territory unknown to others and will leave me abandoned in the depths of my thoughts as I begin to discuss in public what I have been thinking of...

Studies of a self-proclaimed anthropologist

My studies within the School of Art have had me focusing on the idea of conducting visually appealing communication through the means of design.

My studies within the School of Business have had me learning how to effectively appeal to the needs, interests and desires of humanity through retail management.

My fascination with Italy, that began when I was twelve, has since had me thinking about and now currently studying the origins of beauty within the Italian culture and the affect it has had on our world.

My internship with Nordstrom had me experience, first hand, the success of appealing to the needs of humanity by communicating to our guests that we could provide them with something that would make them beautiful, and that we could provide them access to fashions from the most sought after designers, hailing from New York, Paris and my beloved Italy.

[Please note that this was not, by any means, the mission statement of Nordstrom, but simply the perception that I developed after my time spent working within and observing the world of fashion retail, first hand.]

I was a silent observer– a self-proclaimed anthropologist if you will, and was completely fascinated by the interests, ideas and desires of each individual entering our doors. This interest in humanity, fashion and the impact it has upon our cultural definition of beauty sparked the inquiries pioneering the direction for my design thesis!

In the image of fashion

Questioning beauty

Through my studies, observations and a life spent in clothes, I am beginning to realize the extent of which fashion has played a crucial role in the development of cultural standards for beauty. The standards we compare ourselves to and strive to uphold are based upon the definitions accepted by the greater society.

BUT WHAT IS BEAUTY.

Is there a universal standard for the ideal?

Can it be identified within differing cultures?

What defines beauty in art... in design?

In this regard, is it different–does the definition change when discussing one or the other?

How was beauty defined throughout history?

How is beauty defined now?

People typically define their "beauty" based upon their physical appearance and therefore develop their sense of identity in their physical appearance and outward adornment.

YET, THESE THINGS OR OUR SHAPES DO NOT MAKE US WHO WE ARE.

People are accepting of things that are beautiful, so how can we communicate this message clearly? We have to do it beautifully.

Perspective

As with different light, how we see and experience reality depends upon the individual.

L'aaventura comincia

Now that you have some insight as to what this is and have been welcomed as a participant in this journey, our adventure begins...

The class I am taking on Italian Fashion is absolutely incredible! My professor is bringing up topics in discussion and also through our assigned readings that exactly align with what I am planning to pursue for my capstone project. On Friday during our quiz section there was great discussion about the idea of "beauty" and the human connection to the act of shopping.

Inspired by the different perspectives within our class, I wrote, "...We are so much deeper than that of our physical appearance or by what we clothe ourselves in. This is just stuff, and the depth of the human soul is deeper than that, it does not define us–but yet, it does. We are not defined by our things, but we find personal definition in what we own or what we wear. We design ourselves and our homes, our very lives even, as a sort of self-expression. The things we own communicate something to the world about who we are, or who we want to be, telling a story, presenting an image, that we want society to recognize us by, but these things that create our visual identity do not make us WHO WE ARE."

As my classmate stated, the danger is in becoming encumbered by these things. We need to personally identify who we are and present our authentic selves to society–how do we know once we have done that? Is the me that I present to the world through my visual representation, the me that I actually am, or is it the me that I think the world will accept?

TUTU THEORY.

I feel so free in that crazy pink skirt. I am aware that I look unusual, a little indie if you will, but I feel like a blank canvas that has just been intentionally painted. I have to own that skirt when I wear it, accept that people will judge me as I would another wearing tulle on campus, but I cannot let my fears hinder me. The perceived judgement of others that I usually fear have to be overcome whenever I put it on. It is like Fear Factor Fashion Edition.

Through this though, I experience a reawakening and find myself enjoying life in a way that differs from when I wear my go-to pair of jeans. This is curious though. The only thing that actually changes is the bottom half of my outfit, yet what I experience is a change in so much more.

An idea I have to explore this further is to go to a thrift store and change up my wardrobe–not entirely, but significantly, and design a more "authentic" me–one that experiences the same spirit that I have with my tulle skirt. Will clothing of a different nature cause me to think differently, at least in the way of my perspectives of myself and of others? "All that's real is what you feel..." I do not know how I could prove my findings, except to record how I feel in specific outfits, then interview others to reveal what they think of my clothing, and then record how I feel about myself after true judgments are unearthed.

INQUIRY: How can I design a visual identity through clothes while establishing a deeper sense of self that transcends judgement of others? My goal will be to explore why this feeling is only experienced when I wear certain kinds of clothes.

[Secret. I want to be a chic-indie-bohemian.]