I spotted an album recently on imgur that relates to my ‘shoe’ images. The album is a series of shoe images in which people have attributed a personality / person to the shoe.
The gallery can be seen here:
https://imgur.com/gallery/PttpU
Category: Research for – Diary
Shoes & Memory
I came across yet another research article around shoes and identity, this one is entitled ‘Shoes & Self’ and is by Russell W. Belk of the University of Utah.
The full article can be viewed here :
http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/8730/volumes/v30/NA-30
There are a number of really intriguing points about shoes and how not only do they affect our perception of our self and others but how we have an expectation on shoes to transform ourselves.
The article also talks about shoes representing the rite of passage into adulthood, and I can relate this, as many women possibly could. As a child I was never allowed to buy shoes with a heel, firstly the school did not allow them and secondly by parents considered them to be impractical. As Parents we want to nurture and care for our children and this means making choices that would affect their well-being, of course I too myself never put my child in heels or pointy toes shoes as this would have been irresponsible. However I can remember clearly my first pair of heels, They were only probably around 1″ but I loved them. I had been coveting them as we walked around the store, we were in Tesco’s of all places! In Lakeside. I was around 11 and had fallen in love with a pair of cream leather pixie boots. My parents eventually relented and I owned my first pair of ‘heels’. Not quite a rite into adulthood but looking back this was a turning point for when I started to have a say over what I wanted to wear. I wore these continually over the summer, even when I was riding my bike or climbing a tree!
My first ‘proper’ pair of heels were electric blue stilettos that I purchased by myself as a rebellious teenager. My parents frowned over these shoes, but the more they frowned the more I wore them.
In the article it also states:
‘ For adolescents, shoes are a key signifier of their identities, and the shoes they desire often conflict what their parents regard as appropriate. shoes appear as a key vehicle through which adolescents and young adults work out issues of identity, individualism, conformity, lifestyle, gender, sexuality, ethnicity and personality.’
It also mentions how shoes feature heavily throughout childhood in the form of fairy-tales and stories; Cinderella, Puss ‘n’ boots, The wizard of Oz, The red shoes, The old woman who lived in a shoe.
Shoes have a magical ability to transform us into an ‘other’ self. Cinderella was transformed from a maid to a princess. Dorothy’s shoes gave her the ability to find her way home and walk the yellow brick road.
This study suggests that the reason we buy new shoes is an attempt to renew the magical newness and transformation (I must need to renew my magic quite often as I own far too many shoes!) They also act as invisibility cloaks to help people blend in rather than stand out.
Shoes have been important in our lives as well as that of our predecessors. Back in history just owning shoes was a status symbol of the rich and wealthy, with rich people being known as “People of shoes”.
The article also looks at the difference of men and woman in their habits of shoe ownership. A study of 30 revealed that an average man owned around 12 shoes or boots whereas a woman owned in excess of 30. It would be interesting to see if a study of a larger group would reveal the same, I am fairly sure it would.
So why do we own so many shoes when we only have one pair of feet? Apart from practical variations, i.e trainers for the gym and Wellington’s for the rain we still own more than we need. The secret may be memory. Shoes are apparently memory-laden consumption goods. I myself have shoes stored under my bed which I doubt I will ever wear again, I tell myself it is because they still fit and might be useful another time with a different outfit. This article suggests however :
“Shoes act not only as temporary carriers of our identity in the contexts in which we wear them. Rather, shoes move from being identity prosthetics and props for self presentation to being seen as inseparable parts of our extended selves. it is as if a part of our selves and our experiences have seeped into the leather and fabric of our shoes and resides there indelibly.
“Our soles are the mirror of our souls. We act and feel differently in different shoes”
Therefore looking back at my cream leather pixie boots I must conclude that every pair of shoes has a memory, a history, and a story…If only shoes could talk!
Shoes & Identity
In my continuing research to connect shoes with identity I came across a research study which had been carried out by Omri Gillath at the University of Kansas entitled ‘Shoes as a source of First Impressions’
The full study can be seen here:
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Shoesfinalacceptedversion.pdf (Accessed 22.03.18)
This study investigated the accuracy of people judging the characteristics of unknown people based on a photo of the shoes that they were most often. They were looking to judge age, gender, income and attachment anxiety of the shows owner. Previous research suggests that we only need a thin slice of information to make a judgement from two types of cues; dynamic and static.
Shoes along with clothing etc are considered to be static cues. The research article states
‘Accurate person perception is an important skill for understanding the social world (Asch,1946). If “perceiving is for doing” then the ability to form accurate impressions based on limited cues is an adaptive social function (Gibson,1979)’. Knowing what someone is like based on their outward appearance can save resources and even one’s life by giving him or her cues about potential harm doers (Zebrowitz & Collins, 1997)’
During this study it also showed that brief glances were all that were needed to form these judgements.
A theory by Gosling et al’s (2002) is the idea around ‘Identity Claim’ and that it is a symbol displayed to re-enforce their self image.The example given in this article is that extroverted people may think black and white is dull and may tend to wear more colourful shoes, people with higher incomes may wear high brands to exhibit social status. It also looks at behaviour and suggests that conscientious people may clean and organise their shoes, therefore they may look tidier or newer.
This study collected data from 208 participants, each one completed their own self questionnaire as well as providing a photo of their most frequented shoes.
63 undergraduate students were used to rate the personality and identity of the ‘shoe photos’ , they guessed age, gender, annual family income and political ideology.
The final results of the study revealed that the observers reached the highest level of accuracy in judging the gender of the shoe owner followed by age, income, attachment anxiety as well as agreeableness. They found however that judging extroversion was inconsistent.
It was interesting to read some of the correlation of views such as Attachment anxiety which is associated with fear of being abandoned and rejected, being observed in shoes looking brand new and in good repair which assumes that a highly anxious person would carefully manage his or her image to avoid rejection.
Extroversion (Gregarious, talkative and assertive) was associated with colourful , bright shoes.
Agreeableness (Friendly, generous, helpful and modest) was associated as the opposite of pointy, expensive, branded shoes.
Conscientiousness was seen as neat, well-kept shoes and Emotional stability was seen in comfy, casual shoes.
What do your shoes say about you?
I came across a Readers Digest article which looks at how your shoes can express your personality :
https://www.rd.com/health/beauty/shoes-personality/
(Accessed 21.03.18)
Hmmm I own / wear all of these styles apart from Clogs and Mules (Although I probably owned these at some point). So does that mean that I am all of these personalities rolled into one? or so I take on a different persona depending on whats on my feet?
I think it is the later, shoes are not only an expression of style and personality they are considered and are consciously or subconsciously chosen to send a message to anyone who cares to pay attention.
I also find a scientific study into shoes and personality:
(Accessed 21.03.18)
And here is a quiz to test your own ‘Shoe’ Personality:
Your Taste In Shoes Reveals A Surprising Insight Into Your Personality.
I chose Black Pumps :
Black pumps
Black pumps are a classic like you. You don’t follow trends. You are sophisticated and a bit conservative. You know what you like and what works best for you.
Shoes- Coded messages
It is interesting to read in ‘Consuming Fashions’ about the message we send using our shoes. One example is the choice of women academics which actually sends a message of gender and status in the fact that the ‘acceptable’ footwear would be flat sensible shoes similar to brogues , perhaps pumps which mimic male dress. It sends a message of intellectual credibility , to draw attention to the body would suggest diminished intellectual capacity.
High heels apparently are a signifier of authority which is why it is acceptable for female executives to wear the highest heels with diminishing their intellectual capacity.
When I walk out the door in a good pair of heels, and I’m not talking about that kitschy crap that you can buy on a trip to Frederick’s of Hollywood but a really solid set of heels from Manolo or Prada Chanel Clergerie, I never feel vulnerable, there’s no time for any weakness, I feel focused strong secure, my stride is potent and no one hassles me when i’m standing in the corner hailing a cab, you’d better believe i’m the first fare he’ll throw on his brakes for…Because I demand respect and my heels back me up… (Sarah Bernhard)
The stiletto is a symbol of domination and power for the wearer, submission for those beneath it! Yet it can also represent the sexual power of men , and women being subjected to their fantasy and desires. They also have a different connotation when worn by a man. Interestingly high heels were in fact worn by men towards the end of the 16th century to show their standing in class and stature.
The same is true of Doc Martins in that they were originally designed for older woman after the second world war to correct feet that had suffered from poor shoes during the war. These were then adopted by Workman and later skinheads, they are also associated with sexuality and rebellion. In our current age we can buy Doc Martins in various colours and styles, even children’s as well as silk wedding version are available.
It is obvious then that we make assumptions or connections based on what we see people wearing, we see clothes or in this instance shoes as a social language which can conceal or communicate the social identity of the wearer.
Advertising & Identity
Advertising has a very clever way of linking objects to identity, It communicates taste and desire to us, the consumer, and it offers this in a physical form… something we can buy into to express our personal identity. Branding of goods is so common place and recognisable they also act as signs and can add to social standing. We can equally recognise the logo of M&S as we can Chanel but each connects with a different social standing. Hence the introduction of designer ‘Diffusion’ ranges. We might not afford a Hugo Boss suit from the catwalk but we could go into a store and purchase a £50 T-shirt with the Hugo Boss logo. The fabric quality may be better but is there any real difference in the functionality of the Hugo Boss T-Shirt at £50 and a Primark T-Shirt at £2? Proof that we are buying in to an illusion and sending a subliminal message about our standing and wealth.
Advertisers cleverly use visual semiotics to hide signs within their own product identities that send promises of cultural and social ideals.
Even in the most basic form jeans are a sign of casual clothing and youth whereas a suit is a sign of formality and business.
To go back to my shoes, if they were part of an advertising campaign I would most likely see my date night shoes playing footsie under a table or my work shoes pounding the pavement, briefcase in hand. These signs that are embedded in our everyday lives via TV, magazines etc are the reason that we assign roles and identity with inanimate objects. There is no reason my work shoes can’t go on a date but advertising depicts them as too formal / functional they send the wrong message to a would be date whereas my date night shoes send a message of fun, flirty and sexy… a useful message on a date!
Identity
‘Finding out about a person from how he or she looked became, therefore, a matter of looking for clues in the details of his costume’
‘The role of dress was to render the body socially correct, while no longer coinciding with the identity of the person within that body’ (Sennett, 1976:161)
If everyone wore the same socially acceptable clothing then how can we see the true identity of the person. Uniform springs to mind, the emphasis is on the ‘group’ rather than the individual, there is no room for identity. How much can we tell about the identity of a person when they all look the same? What clues can we see? None, the importance is around the group, their identity is about their role rather than their individuality.
Signs and clues are hidden in our everyday choices. The fabric we wear can send a different message: denim or silk. Our coat could be a duffel or fur?
Each choice we make has similarity and difference, a shoe is a shoe but a lady in stocking-ed legs with patent black and red stilettos sends a very different message to a lady in pop socks and flats!
Throughout time fashion has provided clues to identity. From the embellished silk and wigs of the aristocrats in the early modern period, the trade guild emblems and uniforms of the lower classes and the rags of the poorest. These clues to identity have also been forced onto people as an outward sign of who they are such as prison jump suits of the star of David that the Jews were forced to wear.
Fashion has also been used to provide clues to gender and sexuality as well as cultural symbolism.
Conspicuous consumption
A book by Hugh Mackay ‘ Consumption and everyday life’ starts by introducing a number of theory’s, it mentions Marx’s theory of capitalism and Veblen.
Thorstein Verblen coined the term ‘ Conspicuous consumption’ :
Conspicuous consumption is the spending of money on and the acquiring of luxurygoods and services to publicly display economic power—of the income or of the accumulated wealth of the buyer. To the conspicuous consumer, such a public display of discretionary economic power is a means of either attaining or maintaining a given social status.[1][2] (Wikipedia accessed 17/03/18)
I don’t think that my collection of shoes for different purposes really meets with the theory of conspicuous consumption but the idea around the choices that people make between unbranded goods and branded goods certainly does.
From
This blending and confusion of the elements of expensiveness and of beauty is,
perhaps, best exemplified in articles of dress and of household furniture. The code
of reputability in matters of dress decides what shapes, colors, materials, and general effects in human apparel are for the time to be accepted as suitable; and departures from the code are offensive to our taste, supposedly as being departures from aesthetic truth. The approval with which we look upon fashionable attire is by no means to be accounted pure make-believe. We readily, and for the most part with
utter sincerity, find those things pleasing that are in vogue. Shaggy dress-stuffs and
pronounced color effects, for instance, offend us at times when the vogue is goods of
a high, glossy finish and neutral colors. A fancy bonnet of this year’s model unquestionably appeals to our sensibilities today much more forcibly than an equally fancy bonnet of the model of last year; although when viewed in the perspective of a quarter of a century, it would, I apprehend, be a matter of the utmost difficulty to award the palm for intrinsic beauty to the one rather than to the other of these structures. So, again, it may be remarked that, considered simply in their physical juxtaposition with the human form, the high gloss of a gentleman’s hat or of a patent-leather shoe has no more of intrinsic beauty than a similarly high gloss on a threadbare sleeve; and yet there is no question but that all well-bred people (in the Occidental civilized communities) instinctively and unaffectedly cleave to the one as a phenomenon of great beauty, and eschew the other as offensive to every sense to which it can appeal.– Thorstein Verblen ‘The theory of the leisure class’
Fashion is something to consider, why do I wear the shoes I do, is it practicality or am i seeking approval by falling in line with fashion? My cleaning flip-flops are certainly nit fashionable (They are croc’s after all!) but they are practical, would I wear them outside?…No! so subconsciously I am aware that they are not desirable or fashionable therefore I would be regarded differently. My social status would change.
My work shoes are old and are simply practical, I am currently on the search for a new ‘more fashionable’ pair, yet these are still perfectly adequate. I am suddenly realising that I am in fact a perfect example of consumer consumption!
Bourdieu took these theory’s one step further and introduced the notion of culture and symbolism or signs. Consumption is the way in which we express our sense of identity, our identity is born from our consumption of goods and the display of our sense of taste. It is an outward sign of our social grouping and our membership to a certain ‘set’ or culture.
Bourdieu also describes ‘habitus’ as the underlying system which is learnt in childhood and applied in life, a framework for culture and identity. His theory suggests that we consume according to who we are. Another theorist Baudrillard rejected the idea by Bourdieu that consumption is about need and that consumers are manipulated by advertisers instead he argues that we become what we buy, signs and signifying practises are what is consumed.
The idea that our ‘ taste’ is learnt behaviour is interesting, social acceptance and rules are subconsciously taught throughout our upbringing. If my parents had been more ‘arty’ and had rebelled against conformity then perhaps my personal fashion style would be more experimental or eclectic. Expectations of normality are reinforced from birth, we are told as children what is appropriate or not. This conditioning is part of my identity from birth, I could never dye my hair shocking pink and I am surprised when I see someone with shocking pink hair because subconsciously it does not fit with my social conditioning and what i have been taught is acceptable. I do believe however that we can reshape our ‘mould’ and learn more about our sense of identity perhaps by changing or fitting in to different social circles.
Consuming Fashion
I am so excited by my recent find, a book entitled ‘Consuming Fashion – Adorning the transnational body’ by Brydon & Niessen.
It is a collection of papers one of which is entitled ‘Sensible Shoes’. So far the reading I have done around fashion and consumption has proved to be enlightening I just need to try to piece it together in my own words. It has led me to think more about everyday consumption in our lives and a comment made recently by my neighbour. He commented about the amount of recycling and rubbish we have compared to him (And everyone else), the answer was simple to me; they are an older couple whilst we are a family of four with multiple pets, I also run a business from home, but it did get me pondering the level of waste and packaging we go through in a week. This might be an idea for another time?
Assignment 3 – Rework
Following on from assignment 3 and my tutors feedback I am commencing on a reading marathon , or at least a dip in and dip out, before a rework. I have also downloaded a numbers of books to my kindle which might aid me such as ‘Identity and Capitalism’, ‘The conquest of cool’ , ‘Image, Identity and John Wesley’, ‘Says Who?’, ‘Identities’, ‘Representing Ageing Images and Identities’.
I also might experiment photographing the shoes against black cloth rather than the white box as I struggle to get the whites consistent. And I also want to explore presenting the images as shoes boxes.
Wendy Rose Context & Narrative 