Soho Fashion

I went into Soho during the morning and quickly noticed the types of outfits that people seemed to be wearing. Since it was a weekday, there were many businessmen and woman wearing their suits and uniforms for their busy workday. However, these suits were not just any, they were very fancy and extravagant. One of the first people I interviewed is featured in this image. At first I thought that she was someone who was meeting someone for a date because she was dressed this nice and standing in front of a restaurant. However, that was not the case at all. After discussing why she chose to wear an elegant black dress with nice black heels, I found out that it was not only her choice but was actually her uniform that she was required to wear for her job. This goes along with the discussion that we recently had in class about the idea that a majority of the time we do not have that great of a choice about what to wear because often times our employers or people who have authority, often make these decisions for us. This is the perfect example of that type of situation. Although this woman did not have the choice about the color option or level of elegance, she did have the opportunity to add her own touch of personality, which in this case was her lipstick. Paired with this fancy outfit she added a bright pink lipstick, which really added her own touch and made her stand out from the others who were dressed in business attire. So although Soho day life does seem to have a large amount of businessmen and women, it still allows for them to show their own personality through their clothing and style.

The other fashion choice that I noticed in this area was how trendy everyone seemed to look just for a day out shopping. Although in the other areas people seemed to dress up more, this place had a semi unique touch to it. This specific image I took of two friends who were spending the day out shopping. When I first asked them to take a picture they did not want to because they did not believe that they were fashionable enough for it. This proves how the people in this area do not think that this is a casual outfit for this area because it is such a wealthy atmosphere. What is interesting about this is they did not think they looked fashionable at the time, whereas Katrina and myself believed that seemed to be very dressed up and looked like they put a lot of effort into their outfit choices. On this particular street where this was taken was the one with a bunch of well-known designers. These two girls seemed to be close to my age but looked a lot older because of the “business” type look they were wearing. The girl on the left was wearing a long black dress with a leather jacket over it and black flats. She also was wearing very subtle makeup that looked very natural. On the other hand, her friend was wearing a navy blue dress with pink flats, which was very preppy looking. She also was wearing a nice, elegant jacket that added a touch of sophistication to her outfit choice. Another interesting idea about these two girls is that their outfits completely differ from one another but yet they were going the same place. This represents the different types of styles that are located within this area, even within two friends.

While in the area of Soho, along with the business workers there were also many young people that seemed to be out for the day shopping or going on a date. The next picture that I took included a young boy and girl that were dressed up in extremely nice clothes and looked like they were heading somewhere for the evening. Both the man and woman appeared very elegant and looked very presentable. I will first start with discussing the male’s outfit in this particular image. He is wearing a navy blue suit with a white undershirt. This suit is very elegant and seems to be something that many men would wear when brining their lady out on a date. However, he added his own touch to this suit by wearing a bright pink colored tie. This is unique because we discussed in class how for some reason there is a line between what men and women should wear. Somehow it has become something that is not right if a man chooses to wear a feminine color like pink. Because of this I found it to be very interesting that he chose to do this with not only a very manly suit, but also while taking a woman out on a date. This to me proved that these “gender lines” should not exist because he still looks very presentable and class even when he chose to wear that type of color.

His date in this image is also dressed very nicely. She was wearing a navy blue dress with white polka dots, a navy blue blazer, and a pair of nude heels. In order to break it up, she added a pair of nude heels and a red lipstick. In addition to that, her nails and purse were both a coral color. Although there are many different colors that were coordinated into this, they all seemed to work. I really liked this outfit not only because it is something that I would wear, but also because I think that it fits the environment that we were in very well. This outfit was also taken on the street where there were many wealthy shops, so because she looked so elegant that she fit in perfectly.

Differing from some of the other fancy and elegant daytime outfits, some of the people who were exploring that area were wearing something a little simpler. For example, the woman in this picture is wearing an outfit that seems more chic and trendy but is also suitable for a day out shopping. In this picture a younger woman is wearing a pair of black pants, a navy blue button up top that had designs on it, and a pair of light blue, fashionable shoes. In addition to that she added accessories such as sunglasses and a satchel that corresponded with her outfit choice. I chose to photograph this woman because her outfit is very different from the others that I saw. Instead of wearing a fancy business suit, she is wearing something a little more casual but is still fashionable. This relates to the discussions that we have been having in class because I believe that she is sticking out from the other girls in that area but this is probably what she feels most comfortable in, so it works. That being said, she is somewhat going against the norm of this environment and continuing to show her own unique style, regardless of what everyone else is doing. I really liked this woman’s outfit because it allowed her to stand out from the others in that area.  

Although the daytime life is very fancy and ritzy, the nightlife completely differs from that. The outfits that the people in that area wear at night are very edgy and almost punk like. One of the first outfits I saw looked very similar to this one. This type of washed jeans paired with a graphic t-shirt gives the impression of an edgy look. This was one of the most common outfits that I saw while I was wondering around Soho at night. This is extremely different from the daytime outfits because at this point of the day most people are out of work and now going to enjoy nighttime shopping, restaurants, and pubs. In addition to that, she is also wearing a bright red lipstick that matches her sneakers and scarf.  This was one of the main reasons that I like this area so much is because the diversity in the fashion choices. I believe that this allows for people to be comfortable in their clothing, even if it is not the ordinary wear in that area.

The final look that I am choosing to talk about refers to the excessive amount of leather that I saw while walking around. I saw many people wearing leather coats and black pants with some type of boots, which is very edgy but somehow still managed to be classy. For example, in this image here, the woman is wearing leather but it is still very elegant. She is wearing a very nice white shirt that has gold studs on the top, a black tight skirt, tights, boots, and a black leather jacket. To top it off, she is also carrying a very stylish black leather bag. After researching what people’s impressions were of black leather, I often came across the idea that it was too scandalous and could give the wrong impression. However, I strongly disagree with this after walking around the Soho area. I think that there are many different ways that people can wear leather and each one was different, but still seemed to be either classy or edgy. This is a common look that I saw while I was walking around in Soho and believe that it is very fitting for that areas nightlife. I really enjoyed this look because it is totally different from the previously mentioned nightlife look, but it is still very fitting for that time frame.

I am choosing to connect my project to the theories of Karl Marx and Kant. The reason that I could connect this to Karl Marx is because he talks a great deal about the issue of classes. This connects to this environment because it was obviously very wealthy and the people dressed like that, therefore it greatly shows the difference between the classes. Karl Marx would argue that fashion is unnecessary because it causes these issues. In addition to that Kant would also make sense because he would argue that we should all be equal and that all of these fashion choices are making that more difficult.

This area also proved many different pros and cons of the fashion choices that were being made. For example, one of the things that was negative about this area is that automatically it is known who is associated with what class. If someone is not dressed in the appropriate attire, they will quickly stand out from the others. However, a positive element of these fashion choices is how everyone looks very elegant everywhere they go but they are still able to add their own sense of style to this basic outfits/uniforms.