Social Demographics

Social Demographics; a word I was not intensely familiarised with, until my critical analysis class on Thursday morning. This subject which caught my attention in class made me wonder, how a social class which we are categorised into, creates a divide through a social path we may want to pursue in. It all comes down to our race, gender, income, how educated we are, and the area we live in, which create our individual social economic grades. As I was listening to Alexia Economou in class and scribbling down the notes, I could not help but wonder; do these social economic grades and grade listing really justify the type of people that we are. And what I mean by this is if I was an A Grade-(which is also known as the upper middle class person which only caters to 2.7% of the population in Britain) does that mean I would only read The Times and The Observer on a daily basis or could I still be an upper class person and read a publication designed for the working class such as Heat Magazine. Magazines such as Vogue cater to the upper class and the upper lower class. Through the advertisements they use in their magazines which feature designer labels such as Yves Saint Laurent and written articles based on subjects like Gianfranco Ferre life in fashion; the editors are creating a magazine written to capture a fantasy and a dream / imaginary vision in their writing which the lower class thrive on. As I took the hour journey back home on the bus; I found myself flicking through Another magazine and Wonderland. Two magazines which I have not analysed before. These magazines made me think about which publications the stores tend to use to market their products. The market research which goes into finding the right publication majority of their consumers reads, also comes down to social demographics. As I flicked through the magazines I was not at all surprise that I did not come across an advertisement featuring Primark. Another magazine mostly features ads for Miss Sixty and Vivienne Westwood. You can generally see that they cater for the more artistic customer who may be into photography- Again by reading Another Magazine you can see the difference between Another and Heat or Another and Glamour. Although as I soon became aware of; these two magazines are exceedingly different to a magazine such as Vogue. There is a sense of reality and realism in these publications where vogue is surreal.

Fashion Journalism Week 1: Notting Hill

Picture of Shop owner at 'one of a kind' Notting Hill Fashion thrives on the latest trends, whether they are fads or a continuous fashion craze. It strongly depends on the biggest names in fashion to create an everlasting and implausible collection; even people on the streets contribute to trends which we see in most stores. By wearing our favourite brands it creates a status for ourselves and a society we are categorised into through the clothes we wear. But where do we go to be inspired? As I explore the streets of London within 10 weeks, I will be looking at boutiques, small independent companies and developing businesses. I will be analysing how these small independent stores connect with fashion on the runway and how they make an impact on society. First Stop Notting Hill As I walked through Notting Hill on Friday, I felt a slight joyfulness amongst majority of the people who were walking through the busy and crowded market stalls. People chatting and shouting in the streets, cars beeping their horns through the crowds and endless queues for the outdoor food stalls, was like a discovery through grand opens doors to a continuous road of great fashion finds. Shop owners were successfully getting the public to notice their products being sold, and their consumers were happily parting with their money for items which they believe are individual and key finds. Among all of the clothes, bags and accessories being sold, my main priority was analysing what people were wearing. Saddle Bags, Vintage Boots, Boy fit jumpers, Skinny jeans, Trilby hats, Vintage Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent blazers, Chic knit jumpers and 1950’s shift dresses were all things I discovered on my search. As I walked down the streets of Notting Hill Portobello Road with a grand Double Mocha Macchiato in my hand, I found myself steeping into ‘one of a kind’, a chic vintage store, filled with designer pieces dated from the late 1920’s elegance mixed with the 1980’s colourful style. Clothes draped along the walls, and couture pieces dangled from the ceiling, fur coats warped over the counters like the animals flaunting themselves in the zoo, endless shoes by Gina, Chanel, YSL, Christian Dior, Gucci and more, placed precisely around the shoe room. Every room was different to the next; it was as if it was a wardrobe showcasing some sort of an open gallery to the public. On the runway this season two main trends I came across were chunky knits and the colour purple; both which I noticed in store often. The shop owner spends his time finding couture pieces and selling them at a fraction of what they are worth but the key to effective visual merchandising his collection in store is obviously of great importance. There was a great collection of knitwear at the front of the store and with his shoe display; the use of different colour blocking was very strong. Strong and intense colours such as purples, pinks, yellows and oranges were shining the doors. This was a statement itself he made with the shoes; a trend he took from the runway to create this impact with colour. I remember this store quite well from The Clothes Show, where Louise Redknapp featured some of his recent fashion discoveries on the show. But I never imagined being smothered in a room with Soft cotton and Satin silk materials, some even with fine lace with jewels and beading applied. This was my first stop; and I felt lost in a fantastic discovery I found; not knowing where to look; or where to begin.

Media Analysis:A discussion today which kept me thinking.

This morning I woke up feeling rested and fabulous, on my way to a media analysis class at the playhouse. Although at the time I wondered why we were having such a critical module within the theatre, but eventually realised that our lesson today was as interesting as a play I would have paid to see. The lesson began with an interesting discussing about consumer, trade and contract publications and the different types of magazines that we come across more often on a daily basis. We then gradually drifted into discussions about how different types of magazines are being portrayed, how diverse some publications are with the style of writing used, and the different target audiences they are trying to attract. But one particular topic we discussed today in class, continually made me think about improvements I feel should be made for teenage magazines. Alexia Economou talked about how majority of teenage magazines can gradually effect and decrease the self esteem of a teen. While most teenage publications issue editorial pages about how to kiss a boy, or how to buy the latest products to look cool, it makes you think by analysising this how much confidence a teenager must still have after reading these articles. Is the type of teenage magazine which issues articles based on “ways to look cool” or “ways to impress boys” a good base in life for teenagers to reflect on? When reading such articles, is it a way of manipulating teens so when they mature they rely on ways of not impressing themselves but ways to impress others? Is this right? Throughout I couldn’t help but wonder how much more improvements teenage magazines need.

The beginning of an idea!

The beginning of my idea starts with inspiration. The beginnig of my 10 week blog starts with a subject that gets majority of people excited! What that idea is .... and what the beginning of my blog is....is a source of information that gets me searching.