Voxsartoria's Weekly WAYWRN Subjective and Totally Unfair Digest - Page 85

This is like second order harmonics of style, for want of a better phrase.

The paralanguage buffs tell us it's not what we say, but how we say it and what we look like when saying it, that's actually important in conveying a message. On SF WAYWN, it's about how we translate that message into the second order (photographs). Clearly, good photo quality, good selection, a narrative structure and other details in photos will affect perception.

Style is very much about a narrative; conveying a message. The more you can control the medium and the overall environment in which your message is received, the more an audience can be enculturally trained to be more accepting of the message. This is one of the principles behind good advertising (even so-called guerilla or viral advertising which seems on the surface to be freer) or good propaganda (much the same thing). One theory of dress would be that we are trying to "sell" a narrative message about ourselves to the world, however subconsciously.

Translating that from the real world, into the SF world of the WAWYN thread, it's clearly much easier to control the WAYWN environment than it is to control the real world, so if care is taken about this, it will have an impact on our interpretation of people's outfits.

This is delving close to the fertile territory between psychology and aesthetics, an interesting field for sure.

The only correct answer is 'both'.

That is your field, mais non?

Not really, I'm in clinical psychiatric practice, so the academic side of the overlap between psychology & aesthetics is rather tangential, at most. I find it interesting (and it feeds my interest in clothes/fashion/style), but am very, very far from being expert in it. A vague grasp of the basics, at best.

But can you explain Teplitz?

Call me back after I win the Nobel Prize for Medicine; I might be ready then.

This week's digest teaches us that sticking your hand in your coat pocket goes a long way. Really, one big difference from the early days of WAYW is that people are making the effort to look comfortable in their clothes. This is a valuable lesson, I think, both for taking pictures and the general business of living. I wonder how many guys stand around with their hand in their coat pocket when they're not taking WAYW. One form of unreality may have replaced another.

Andrew and I don't scare each other.....

There is a candid picture with me doing this. So don't include me in this fell swoop.

I actually do, from time to time depending on the jacket. However, I may have to start doing this more in my WAYWN photos...while jumping in the air...next to a billboard with half naked women.

I have to admit, it strikes me as amusing. It's no less an affectation than leaving collar buttons undone, yet so far has inspired none of the backlash. It's an interesting process, how we choose what looks cool and what looks affected.

That said, whatever gets people to abuse their clothes a bit is fine by me.

Most of my suits are poly blends so hand in pockets not a good idea