Browsing by Subject "Dress"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Aesthetic expressions: punk dress and the workplace.
    (2010-11) Sklar, Monica
    Work and non-work dress for individuals who identify with the punk subculture involves thoughtful manipulation of appearance. This study asked: What are punk individuals’ experiences concerning the apparel-bodyconstruct for their workplace environments? These individuals negotiate between aesthetic expressions of their subcultural identity and the role they believe they are expected to play at work. An online survey with 208 individual participants identified interview candidates. Participant suitability was based on fulltime employment, selfidentification with punk, demographics, workplace dress codes, and evidence of appearance labor (Peluchette, Karl, & Rust 2006). Interviews were conducted with 20 men and women, aged 26 – 45, and located in three major cities in the Midwestern United States. Interviewee professions ranged from law to education to sales. Interview topics included: commitment to punk and their profession, concern for others’ impressions, and aesthetic details. Data were analyzed using DeLong’s (1998) framework “Form, Viewer, and Context.” Literature incorporated punk dress, workplace dress, aesthetics, identity expression, postmodernism and globalization. All interviewees try to look “appropriate” for the workplace, which can be an obstacle for those whose dress expresses an ideology. Interviewees expressed that feeling “appropriate” and feeling like “oneself” are sometimes competing concepts, resulting in appearance labor and necessitating accommodations. Interviewees reported a balancing act of blending in and standing out, taking into consideration viewer interpretations and subsequent positive and negative outcomes. Efforts to wear “appropriate” dress included modifying one’s punk appearance by conceding to dress codes and using perceived nonconfrontational aesthetic choices. Dress is manipulated per context and features selectively revealing or concealing of punk symbols, with punk cues subtly coded to appear conventional. Some individuals develop two wardrobes representing work and non-work while others prefer one versatile wardrobe. Interviewees strive to push with the boundaries of workplace appropriateness while reaching toward satisfying aesthetic self-expression. How interviewees manipulate form was influenced by demographics and feelings of commitment to one’s profession. Multiple interviewees expressed a willingness to forego punk dress if their career incorporated ideas from punk ideology. They reported higher emotional comfort related to job satisfaction and status within the punk community and in the workplace.
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    Dressing the dancer: identity and belly dance students.
    (2010-05) Deppe, Margaret Anne
    Dressing the Dancer: Identity and Belly Dance Students Dress is a primary tool in the public presentation of the self (Stone, 1962). Clothing, grooming, and the physical appearance of the dressed body contribute to self image in both professional and recreational settings. Attending belly dance classes is a popular leisure activity among American women, and for many, dress accouterments are a significant part of the class experience. Dressing of the self for recreational events gives individuals the opportunity to express alternate aspects of the self not typically evident in other social settings and provides an opportunity for female socialization. The appearance of vendors selling specialized dancewear for classes, seminars, and workshops suggests that dress plays a significant role for students at all levels of belly dance activity, not just among those who perform professionally. This study examines the types of dress worn for belly dance classes and the motivations for dress choices made by students learning to belly dance from professional instructors in dance classes, seminars, and workshops. The study will further investigate how dress contributes to the expression of identity in the belly dance class context. The methods used for this study are participant observation at locations and events where belly dance classes, workshops, and seminars are held as well as half-hour interviews with students attending those events. The procedure and interview schedule have been approved by the Institutional Review Board, study #0804P29690
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    Ephemerality and dress traditions: a qualitative investigation of wearer-object attachment in participatory dress traditions
    (2014-05) McKinney, Meghan A.
    This qualitative study sought to understand how dress traditions are formed, cultivated, and maintained by their networks of participants. The research sample used detailed interviews and material analysis to collect information on use of a bridal dress tradition from a single extended family. Using Attfield's theory of ephemerality as applied to activity theory, data were collected and analyzed for ephemeral attachment activity. This research indicates that dress traditions create a strong feeling of connection with others. Key findings illustrate how traditions are formed, maintained, and cultivated over time, affirming the role of traditional objects as an ephemeral mediation aid.
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    Korean immigrants and their aesthetic perspectives on appearance
    (2013-12) Park, Saet Byul
    In the United States, as the population of immigrants is constantly increasing, the adaptation of immigrants to the host society emerges as an important issue. Cultural differences between the culture of origin of immigrants and the host culture and dynamics of these two cultures shape their migratory process in the United States. The sense of belonging into the host culture as well as their culture of origin are simultaneous and often conflict with the formation of social identity. The needs for inclusion and differentiation in their dual or sometimes multiple cultural contexts make an impact on immigrants' attitudes and behaviors concerning appearance. Therefore, this study focuses on the influence of migratory experience and social identity of Korean immigrants both in their new culture and culture of origin towards their aesthetic perspectives on appearance. Conversations with thirty first generation Korean immigrant women show that immigrants negotiate and plan their strategic practices related to their appearance. This helps them balance the needs for inclusion and differentiation in dual cultural contexts. In this way they resolve the conflicts coming from different cultural values, ideals, thoughts, and standards of the host culture and heritage culture and relationships with peers in Korean society, other immigrants in Korean immigrant community, and mainstream Americans. These practices are shown in two appearance forms in choosing to wear the same ensemble for both contexts or two ensembles for each context.
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    Wearing a cause: personal motivations for expressing beliefs through dress
    (2008-12) McElvain, Jean Elizabeth
    This qualitative research used data collected during 35 free response interviews to explore personal motivations of individuals who wear dress items that have text, images, or symbols that state an opinion or affiliation with a cause. The review of literature focused on researchers who had addressed issues of the self and symbolic interaction, the printed t-shirt as a social dress object, identity creation and postmodern theory, the impact of consumerism on identity creation, meaningful dress objects, and stylistic messaging through dress. Five research questions developed out of the review of literature that addressed concepts of self, validation strategies relative to wearing cause representational dress, how individuals established boundaries around appropriate opinions to voice through dress, and how individuals viewed the ability of mass produced objects to relay meaningful messages. Transcribed interview text was analyzed to identify recurring themes that were relevant to the posed research questions. Because of the large volume of data collected, NVIVO 7™ was used to organize and manage analysis. Themes, described as nodes in NVIVO 7™, were refined over time and reviewed by a second party for validity. Themes that surfaced out of the data indicated that the self is impacted by heightening an individual’s awareness of the relationship between personal beliefs and the dress that he or she wears. The process of validation was found to be situational and grounded in a participant’s ability to find dress that accurately reflected his or her personal beliefs and concerns. Participants were overwhelmingly concerned about offending others with derogatory sentiments communicated through their dress. Additionally, participants exhibited a tendency to assess social situations ahead of time and gauge how others were likely to react to the cause representational dress that they considered wearing. Finally, it was found that individuals can find meaning in cause representational dress that is produced as a good, but that the integrity of the dress item representing the cause does break down with mass production and mass adoption by others.