On Standing Stylishly OR Standing for Style – Part 2
The Crossed-leg Stance.
An article entitled “Deconstructing the #OOTD poses” on Refinery29 (http://www.refinery29.com/instagram-ootd-fashion-blogger-poses) identifies a pattern in the poses used by those showing off their outfit of the day on social media. This light-hearted piece resonated with my thoughts on standing as a style statement.
The article lists 15 “fool-proof poses” described variously as the knee-pop, the armpit air-out, the first day of school and of course the cross-legged stance (as seen here used by Paul Weller amongst others). However, in this analysis of posing, the author notes that even these distinctive fashion poses need other elements to become a convincing #OOTD pic (and secure the ‘likes’ everyone is seeking).
Images (Left to Right): Paul Weller & Pete Townshend, Soho, 1981 (Janette Beckman), Street style from the 1940s, (image link), Amber Nash 2012 (image link)
In my previous post, I argued certain types of photos (those that say something not only about appearance, but also style and taste), should be considered as the material outcome of an interacting network of stuff - “mediations, bodies, objects, situations and equipment” – that at the moment the photo is taken, are attached. The photograph captures the point when the human and non-human converge. Images that document stylish standing are composed of the complex intersection of personal taste and everyday taste-making practices.
In continuing to unpack this idea, I’m proposing stylish standing relies on scaffolding (constructed of heterogeneous elements, not just key wardrobe items)! Whilst the initial focus for the viewer is usually the figure standing stylishly in the image, the outfit posts prompt us to notice the dress, the boots, or the way the garments have been artfully combined. Panning out from the central focus, the image is supported and shaped through notions of space: inside, outside, domestic, industrial or maybe a significant location; has the space been chosen as a blank canvas for the outfit or coordinated to match the colour palette? Space also becomes significant to standing stylishly when considering the space between camera and figure. Is the method of capturing all the interacting stuff in the hands of the individual standing for style (as a selfie) or is there someone else in this network of stuff, making judgments about how to frame the figure and when to click the shutter? After all, there are particular types of restrictions on how one can stand for style when taking a selfie.
Images capturing standing as a style statement are also influenced by time – the time of day or year (spring-summer / autumn winter), or in a visual genre understood via feeds, time since the last post. Stylish standing is also informed by the passing of time in another way. The stances of Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton posing the 1960s that were considered modern or radical, now appear kitsch and cutesy. And it is difficult to imagine another era when the armpit air-out would have been adopted as a statement of style. So, standing for style moves with the times, collectively and individually – or to put it another way… stylish standing does not stand still.