My Style

The survey contained a lot of interesting questions about personal style. It made me realize how much my sense of style has changed through the years. As a child, I was very girly but I mostly wore jeans and t-shirts. My favorite color was pink and I loved glitter This was fairly consistent until age 15, when I began to be interested in fashion. Vintage fashion in particular began to interest me. I started wearing dresses more and shoes other than sneakers.

Around age 17 was when I started going more in my current style direction. I stopped wearing most colors other than black, and I started wearing the same pair of boots every day. I started wearing flannels and turned to a more "alternative" style of dress. These changes probably had something to do with my decreased happiness in that time period. I didn't feel bright or happy, and this showed in my clothing. At the same time, I became more confident around that time. I began to like the way I dressed more and was content with my appearance.

At this point, my style is similar to that. I try to be somewhat put together every day and I really enjoy planning outfits for different events and occasions. I still wear mostly dark colors, but with some splashes of red, green, purple, or blue. I wear lighter colors more frequently now. I'm not sure where any future changes in my state of mind will take my style. My emotions are projected in what i wear. If I'm not dressed particularly well, I probably don't feel  particularly well.

Model Casting at NYFW

Model casting for New York Fashion week is, of course, very competitive. Hundreds of models attend castings, and only a select few are chosen. With this comes designers searching for a specific "look." Unfortunately, this look is usually rail-thin, and pale. With so many choices, casting agents can afford to be picky. 

“She needs to have a nice body, a nice neck and good ankles,” Gregori-Boina, a high status-casting director, said in a BCBG casting. He mentioned personality and intelligence second. Good ankles come first, clearly. These specific aesthetic needs lead to, whether unconscious or not, lack of diversity. 

Models often attend multiple castings a day, sometimes 12 or more. The models meet the casting agents, hand them their portfolio, and showcase their walk. To be cast, a model must stand out. Despite this, mostly pale models are cast.

According to Jezebel, in the fall/winter 2014 season, only 21% of the female models were non-white. In a city as diverse as New York, you would think that would be a higher number. New York has every kind of person you can imagine, from all over the world. So why are white models overwhelmingly represented? Statistically, it doesn't make sense. There  is definitely some sort of underlying racism that exists in every industry, but in one so heavily based in appearance, it is prominent. 

Kate Spade

The general aesthetic of Kate Spade is fun, colorful, and feminine. Their ads are filled with whimsical and quirky designs. Kate Spade conveys a very particular image that many women aspire to.  Polka dots, glitter, and stripes are plentiful. Everything about the brand is preppy and polished, while maintaining an air of whimsy.

Their ads consist of bright colors and designs, frequently the color pink. Kate Spade has become iconic; it represents a modern woman with classy retro influence. The brand's motto is "Live Colorfully," and it lives up to that. The whimsical elements are very visible in their novelty handbags. 

Kate Spade has advertised with several celebrities in recent years. Anna Kendrick was featured in an ad campaign, in which she experiences quirky misadventure. She interacts with Lily Tomlin, Gloria Steinhem, and Zosia Mamet.

Here, she is mistaken for Lily Tomlin's yoga instructor.

She inadvertently ends up dining with Gloria Steinem.

She and Zosia Mamet share a taxi by mistake.

All of these women are white self-identified feminists. In Gloria Steinem's case, she is a feminist icon. Kate Spade does feature some models of color in their ads, but they contain (of course) primarily white models. The company's aesthetic is generally classy, quirky, feminine, white women.  These celebrities very much reflect that. The fashion industry as a whole has a huge diversity problem in many ways. and Kate Spade is no exception. Carefully chosen poster-women and carefully chosen designs and color schemes give Kate Spade Clothing a distinct image.