Shopping Experience Comparison
This week I went to Macy’s and Target to compare various clothing items, including boys swim trunks, girls pajama pants, and womens summer dresses. Attached is a chart containing my comparison.
Upon inspection, Macy’s proved to have more quality items, yet at much higher prices. However, the store had many sales to bring the price down. Many of their items were priced at fair value because they were marked down and good quality. The two exceptions are the girls pants, which were very marked down -- they were a bargain. The womens summer dress was marked down, but I felt that it was still overpriced. It was good quality yet high price.
Target had some good quality and some poor quality items. The boy’s swim trunks were not good quality -- the stitches were so wide I’m sure they would come out after only a few uses. The price for this low of quality was too high -- overpriced. The other two items were not as good of quality as the Macy’s items, but they were still decent and priced well. I would call them fair prices. Even with sales, nothing at Target struck me as a bargain because the quality was not high enough to compensate the price.
In conclusion, if you are willing to spend a bit more money, Macy’s has higher quality items. Yet Target has some good options for lower prices.
Side note: just for fun, I looked at a Calvin Klein tie at Macy’s and a Merona tie at Target. The only difference I could tell was that some stitches were visible on the Merona tie, which was $20 cheaper than the Calvin Klein tie (even with a 40% discount). It is my opinion that these ties were essentially equal and Target would be a smarter place to buy a tie.
Self-Concept
Fashion, that is, what people choose to wear each day, is influenced by many factors: ethnicity, daily activities, and social standing, to name a few. Yet fashion and the clothes a person wears can have an influence on that person as well. It can affect how they view themselves, how others treat them, and what they do during the day. I decided to experience this for myself over a two-day experiment.
On Wednesday, May 17th, I dressed nicer than usual. I wore a skirt with a nice sweater and a fancy necklace. I even wore nylons and heels! Which is way more than usual. I anticipated that since I was dressed nicer, I would feel more confident throughout the day. I had a big day planned of sewing class, test taking, and grocery shopping. As I walked out of my apartment, I was full of excitement and anticipation to see how others would treat me. Yet the day turned out quite differently. I was expecting others to talk to me and smile at me, and while some did, I was so focused on my appearance that I hardly noticed others’ reaction to me. Let me elaborate. I knew I was dressed nicely, therefore I tried to walk more confidently. I felt that if I slouched, then I would look like someone who was trying to be professional but didn’t know how to act the part. However, as I walked tall and kept my chin up, with heels clicking loudly on the sidewalk, I felt so self-conscious. It seemed to me that everyone noticed when I walked by and saw not a confident, beautiful young woman, but a haughty girl trying too hard. That isn’t who I am. For most of the day I felt like someone completely different.
Now, I did get some positive compliments from others. Many asked me what the occasion was for my attire. My sister-in-law seemed surprised when she saw me dressed up, but it was a good surprise. It is pretty unusual for me to wear more than my standard jeans and t-shirt combination. The lady at the store smiled as she checked out my groceries. Looking back, I think others saw me in a positive light and it was my own self-consciousness that formed negative interpretations of their reactions to me.
The following Monday from this experience, I dressed down. I wore the only pair of sweatpants I own with a ragged, paint-covered t-shirt. From the start I felt uncomfortable. Growing up, I was not allowed to wear pajamas or sweats to school or the store. So I learned to not wear those outside of my home. On this day, I was so paranoid on the way to class that someone from my ward would see me and judge me based on my appearance. I feared that they would think I was a slob, rather than someone who takes pride in being neat and organized. I noticed that other people glanced at me, then quickly looked away, much as I do on normal days when I pass someone who is dressed oddly. I feel weird looking at them so I avoid it all together. It was strangely hurtful being on the opposite side of the situation. This realization made me feel very hypocritical of the negative thoughts I have had towards people who don’t seem to care about their appearance. Yet on this particular day, I was the one who didn’t seem to care. I don’t know the factors that influence another person’s fashion choices, just like the people I met didn’t know mine. It isn’t fair to judge someone immediately by what they are or are not wearing.
This experience showed me that I am really comfortable and set in my styles and clothes. On each day of my experiment, I rejoiced the moment I was able to change out of my “costume”, whether nice or shabby. I normally dress simply yet conventionally. I am comfortable in my normal clothes because I can do most anything in them. It is simple to go to class or ride my bike to the store; sit in a chair or on the floor. When I was wearing a skirt, I couldn’t sit on the grass as easily as I normally do. When I wore sweats, they would catch on my bike chain. It was inconvenient to do things that I could easily do in my normal attire.
Given the choice, I would rather dress up than dress down. Although I felt self-conscious on both occasions, I noticed that the dress up feelings of self-consciousness came from within myself while the dress down feelings came from others. Another way to say this is that when I wore sweats, I was concerned that others would look down I me because of what I was wearing. When I dressed nicely, people treated me nicely and treated me like a leader. The negative thoughts came from myself putting those thoughts into others’ heads. One of the influences we discussed in class on fashion is society and how we want to fit in. I am a people pleaser, which means that I don’t want to wear something that myself and others would look down on. I don’t want to be judged.
In conclusion, I learned from this experiment that fashion really does impact how we act in our daily lives. Even if we don’t realize it, the way we dress sends signals to others about how we live and what we believe. Likewise, the way we dress sends signals to our brains and we act in certain ways because of how we feel and think about ourselves. Fashion has great power. As a society and as individuals, we need to be careful not to allow this power of influence to harm. Instead it should be used to lift others and help them feel good about themselves.
Disclaimer: All the answers are a summary or interpretation of their responses and not direct quotes.
Interview with Mom:
Q: Did you wear something that was a fad or trend when you were growing up?
A: When my mom was in high school, she and her friends (and most of the other students) wore button up shirts with the collar popped. This was “preppy” as my mom said. Another common style was to wear skinny jeans -- not the super tight jeans, but the more moderate style.
Q: Did these clothes help define you?
A: These clothes didn’t define her. She was aware that others were doing it and she wanted to fit in a little bit. However, she also realized that she didn’t fit in generally. My mom was a very education-minded student and often didn’t run with the popular, sporty crowds. She wore some of the trendy styles at the time, but they did not define her. Her sisters were more interested in fashion than she was.
Q: Would you describe yourself as a fashion leader, general acceptor, or a fashion laggard?
A: My mom considers herself as a general acceptor.
Q: Have you changed in your attitude toward clothing over the years?
A: Yes, she has. My mom began working at the high school when I began my freshman year. She said that since that time, she has been more aware of what fashions and styles her peers (the teachers and secretaries at school) are wearing. She tries to copy some of the styles she observes them wearing.
I have noticed that my mom began dressing up more for work. When I was younger, she didn’t really care very much about what the popular styles of clothing were. Yet when I was in high school, I would look to her for ideas of what to wear because she was more observant and up to date than I was on popular styles.
Interview with Sarah, my sister
Q: Did you wear something that was a fad or trend when you were growing up?
A: Bell Bottoms were sort of her style. My sister did not hold to the extremes in fashion, such as pants with huge, baggy bottoms. Her style was closer to flared bottoms, more moderate. She said they were comfortable and that’s the reason she wore them.
Q: Did these clothes help define you?
A: No, but they made her hate shopping. She struggled to find pants that fit because the styles were geared toward skinny girls and skinny jeans.
Q: Would you describe yourself as a fashion leader, general acceptor, or a fashion laggard?
A: My sister simply did not care about fashion. She would most likely be considered a general acceptor. Though, she didn’t wear certain clothes because she was trying to follow fashion. Nor did she rebel against popular fashion like a fashion laggard might.
Q: Have you changed in your attitude toward clothing over the years?
A: She told me the only way she has changed is that she cares even less about what she wears since she is now married and spends all day with a three-year old. However, she does “hate shopping less” because there is less pressure to find clothes that are considered stylish.
My sister is five years older than me and has always been my role model. I could tell she didn’t really take thought for what others thought about her based on her clothes, and I admired her for that. She considers herself a general acceptor for popular fashion, but for me she was a fashion leader. If there were days I didn’t know what to wear or I was afraid of what people might think of me if I didn’t dress “cool”, then I would think of how my sister dressed however she wanted to and didn’t allow others to define her. She was a fashion leader of her own style and her ideals, which gave me a clear path to follow. This has helped define me and connect me to her.
My mom and sister are similar in how they follow fashion moderately. Neither of them goes to the extremes to be noticed. I find it interesting that my mom is more “fashionable” than my sister, according to popular opinion. In most media shows the opposite is true. Yet my mom tends to keep up with the fashion cycle -- knowing when a style is on the rise or declining. My sister simply removed herself from the cycle because she doesn’t care. Considering the horizontal flow theory that fashion rises across groups then who knows, she might start a new trend!
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