CCDN 231: Glamour as a state of feeling

CCDN 231 project 2: Glamour and Jackets

Glamour is described as the attractive or exciting quality that makes certain things seem more appealing or special. I have decided to link it to my activity of putting on a jacket because a jacket is often used for this purpose, to add a sense of glamour to the person who is wearing it. To this end I have come up with three experiments I will conduct in order to attempt to add an air of glamour to act of putting on a jacket. A secondary objective of these experiments was to try and create a ‘manly’ glamour, as even though men can be glamorous it is a word usually associated with femininity (Dyhouse, 2011).

Experiment 1: Catered Jacket Application
This experiment involved the participant having someone put the jacket on for them, the only thing they had to do was put their arms out for the sleeves to be put on. This changed the physical side of the activity, allowing someone to perform an activity for the participant was described in depth by the participant as “nice”. Upon further questioning it was discerned that it made the subject feel more important as there was less effort required on their behalf. The sense of sight was also changed, as the subject had their field of vision taken up by someone doing up their jacket for them, this is where the experiment was considered unsuccessful. The subject claimed that this made them feel uncomfortable and self-conscious which is detrimental to the overall effectiveness of the experiment.

Experiment 2: Scented Jacket
This experiment was designed to change the smell of the experiment, cologne was sprayed on the cuffs and collar of the jacket with the goal being for the smell to wear off on the wearer when they put the jacket on. Being incredibly subtle, the addition of the cologne wasn’t actually noticed by the subject until it was pointed out. The subject then went on to describe how much of a change it did actually make; it made the experience more refreshing and gave a subtle confidence to the subject. They claimed they felt more attractive and more charismatic, simply because of the change in smell. Smell it seems is incredibly powerful at setting the mood of an experience (Owen, 2010).

Experiment 3: Garment Bag
Interestingly enough, putting more barriers between the person and the end goal (wearing the jacket) made it feel more “official”. In this case it was a bag that the jacket came in, however it wasn’t just that getting the jacket on was hard; Having it on a coat hanger and in a garment bag made the jacket feel more premium, like the jacket was not allowed to get dirty or be marred in any way. The subject felt it gave it an air of prestige and authority to the coat.

The experiment that turned out to be the most successful was the second one, the scented jacket, this is opposed to what Thrift said in ‘The material Practices of Glamour’ that appearances were the most effective at conveying a sense of glamour. This is most likely because smell is such a strong sense for affecting a persons mood (Owen, 2010) whereas - like beauty - the physical side of glamour is all subjective and in the eye of the beholder (Dyhouse, 2011).

Owen, D. (2010, January 25). The Dime Store Floor, What did childhood smell like? The New Yorker, 33-37.

Thrift, N. (2008) ‘The Material Practices Of Glamour’ In Journal Of Cultural Economy. 1:1

Dyhouse, C. (2011) Glamour: Women, History, Feminism. London: Zed Books.

Sensory ethnography: Project 1 Final Submission

Well this took a long time, but at least its done. My final submission for CCDN 231 Project 1: Senseory Ethnography is as follows:

P.S. Its better to look at the images than just read the text (I spent alot of time on them!)

With this assignment I Documented the ethnography of putting on a jacket with five different participants, the intention of this was to research the different ways that they “unbunched” the jacket on their back and also the different areas on the jacket they touched while the whole process was happening.

In order to record this information I got each participant to put the jacket on with their hands covered in chalk so that their hand-prints would show up on the comparatively dark material of the jacket. This process was also filmed from start to finish and then the areas of the jacket that were coated in chalk were then photographed, the results are as follows:

Participant 1:
David Kirschberg

Participant 1 grabbed the jacket from the collars right side with his left hand which allowed him to put his right arm through the right sleeve. This then gave him more freedom to control the jacket with his right hand once it was through the sleeve –he is right handed- allowing him to adjust it while his left hand through the left sleeve. He then used the momentum of the jacket travelling up his left arm to assist him in unbunching the back by rolling his shoulders and tugging the bottom of the jacket back down. This left very little of the overall jacket touched by chalk as a lot of the movement was done by his shoulders. Commendations should be given to Participant 1.

Participant 2:
Gideon Soares

Participant 2 was less confident with the jacket than Participant 1, he first grabbed it with his right hand by the collar and then swapped hands in order to insert his right arm into the right sleeve, he is also right handed. However Participant 2 did this differently, he lifted his right arm up and used gravity coupled with his left hand on the right half of the chest of the jacket to pull it through. He then reached back with his left arm and pulled the left half of the jacket forward as he had not pulled the right half all the way to his shoulder. He then employed a similar “rolling” technique to Participant 1, however this also was not as effective as the shoulders were still slightly bunched up which had to be manually repaired by the subjects left hand. This was followed by much more fluffing about trying to get the chest to sit right. This resulted in a very high chalk coating on the jacket after the subject  had finished, however Participant 2 did do something unexpected that the previous had not; he popped the collar. Participant 2 understood that style must still be taken into consideration.

Participant 3
Jaemyn Toa

Participant 3 approached the jacket cautiously, first picking it up with two hands. However once he seemed sure that it was harmless he dived into it, inserting his right and then left arms increadibly fast. However this created a problem in that Participant 3 had not employed (or even attempted to employ as in the case of Participant 2) any kind of “roll” or subsequent technique to alight the back and collar of the jacket accurately. This meant that Participant 3s initial vigour was followed by a lot of tugging at the chest and collar to make it sit properly. In the end though, Participant 3 did seem to be proud of his accomplishment as he looked down at himself proudly and then also the camera for approval. While far from a perfect performance the jacket was sitting well. Approval was given.

Participant 4
NIlesh Lala

Participant 4 was the participant that seemed most at home with a jacket; his overall demeanour towards it was welcoming and he wasted no time covering himself with it. Unfortunately this relationship did not seem to be mutual as the jacket turned out to be a few sizes too big for him. However this did not hinder him and his right arm was soon in the jacket. This should be noted as Participant 4 was the only left handed subject but did not lead the insertion with his left hand. His technique for arm insertion was similar to Participant 2 in that he lifted his right arm up and used gravity coupled with his left hand pulling on the chest to pull the sleeve right up his arm. He then let the left shoulder continue around his back until it was resting in its rightful place first, before inserting his left arm into its sleeve. This allowed him to avoid the whole bunched-up-fabric-at-the-back issue that had been such a sticking point for the other Participants. After some minor adjustments Participant 4 was standing with an overall clean Jacket. It should be noted that his collar was also popped.

Participant 5
Ricky Situ

Participant 5s behaviour should be noted as it was the quickest form of jacket application. He employed a swinging technique that started with him inserting his right hand into its sleeve and pulling the collar around the back of his body with his left before his hand was even through to the cuff of its sleeve. This meant that there was very little bunching up of the back of the jacket and he had his left arm in swiftly with minimal adjusting. All that was required was a simple tug at the collar and bottom hem of the jacket and it was sitting perfectly with a collar that was pre-popped by the momentum of the swing.

Sensory Ethnography: Final images and write up

Jacket

I first grab the collar with my right hand and lift the jacket off whatever it is resting on, a hook? A chair? That’s when I feel the texture of the woven cotton collar lining, a knitted sort of pattern you would expect to find on a jersey. The zip and buttons make a metallic jingle as I move my left arm –always the left first, I could not tell you why- towards the sleeve and across the cotton interior, which is decorated in a Scottish tartan pattern, then into the plain black polyester sleeve. The polyester is smooth and almost silky to the touch as my hand flows through it towards the cuff, the internal of which is the same Scottish tartan as the internal of the body. When my hand exits the sleeve the cuff stays cosy around my palm –an odd occurrence for a person with arms as long as mine. The process is repeated with my right arm, all the while the whole jacket is making the flapping sound of a bird trying to get into the air. When my right arm is all the way through the right sleeve the majority of the jacket has bunched up around my shoulders, because of the dense cotton fabric it is made of. Then I roll my shoulders to loosen it, more flapping and jingling ensues and the smell of manufactured cotton fills my nostrils.

Controller

When picking up the controller the first part touched is the palm rest, my fingers wrap around the smooth blue plastic which has an almost metallic sheen. My thumb wraps around the bottom of the controller and brushes across the seam between the two plastic halves, the same seam which on different parts of the controller is filled with brown grime. This brown grime is a mixture of sweat and dead skin cells, a by-product of extended use and something that is never widely noticed about all controllers and remotes. There is also dust acumilated in and around it, but only in places that aren't usually touched through normal play, these are smooth and clean as if they were just polished. When my finger tighten around the profile of the controller and triggers, buttons and sticks all make a faint clicking sound as they move around in their sockets. I then bring the controller to my other hand which instinctively grips it in its ergonomically intended place, thumb resting on the textured top of the analogue stick and first finger nestled in the gap between the two trigger buttons. The first hand moves to this position as well, inducing more sound from the buttons as they are touched. When the controller is in use the analogue sticks become very slippery as they are moved more and more, because of the fact that they are convex and rounded. Also when the sticks are faced inwards towards each other they wont move the entire way because your thumbs get in the way.
The buttons all give a satisfying click whenever they are pushed in, and there is a very definite limit to the distance they can go in.

Bean Bag

When first descending into the bean bag it feels incredibly fluid and melds to your body incredibly well, and for a while all the individual beans can be felt and heard moving all at once. However as you sink in further it gets tighter and stops moving, the bag has moulded to the shape of your legs, butt and back and just as your back hits the bag there is a dull thud. Your hand will graze the small black trim that runs around all of the seams of the bag to disguise them. At that point the smell of polyester becomes apparent as well as the faint smell of BO and junk food underlying it. Whether this is from the bean bags themselves or the room surrounding them is unknown, though hopefully the later. The fabric is on the finer side of coarse, its not unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination but you wouldn't want a blanket made of it. If at any point you decide to move while you are sitting all of the individual beans will be heard again as well as the sound of polyester rubbing against itself as the bag rubs with the one next to it.

Sensory Ethnography: Major senses

These are the major senses and the way they are stimulated by the three activities I have chosen:

1. Putting on my jacket

smell: cotton and polyester, faint iron from buttons

Touch: jaggedy zips, furry cotton interior, slippery internal sleeve, hands freed afterwards, encased and safe, neck rubbed by collar: no other clothes do this in the same way, it’s warmer, arm gets caught at armpit, seam of cuff just on your palm

Sight: large, present, masculine shaped torso

Sound: zips, sounds of cotton rubbing against itself, clicking and slight jingling of buttons, flapping fabric, popping sound when jacket is pulled tight (similar to flapping fabric)


2. Picking up and using my Playstation controller

smell: like nothing

Touch: Thumbs bumping together and slipping off the analogue stick, resistance when the button is all the way in, palms sticking to controller, buttons wobbling when you bump (not press) them

Sight: like coloured plastic – paint has metallic stuff in it to look shiny, dust in groves but only places that don’t have contact with hands (around the outside of the analogue sticks, down the side of the triggers), grime building up in the cracks around the palm grip, blue dust around the base of the analogue stick,

sounds: like clicking, sliding, popping, hollowness of plastic


3. Sitting in one of the bean bags on the fourth floor

 smell:poliester, mild BO and junkfood (wether this is from the beanbags themselves or the rest of the room is unknown)

Touch: the bag itself is moulded to your body, holding everything from your thighs to your upper back in a way that your body just naturally fits into. the fabric is on the finer side of corse, its not unpleasant by any stretch of the imagination but you wouldn't want a blanket made of it. The seams are trimmed by a black cord. you can feel all of the indevidual beens when you move but otherwise it is a seemless pressure, a seemless surface.

Sight: a large grey blob with black trim, shapped almost like a puffy chair by the dozens of bodies that have used it

Sound: Beans moving inside the bag when you move, dull thud when your back hits the inside back of the bag. the sound of poliester rubbing against poliester when you move and make one bag rub against another.