Interviews

For assignment 4 I conducted a series of interviews on how students dress sense has changed since they left home. In order to find some answers I asked questions on their background as well as friends and family to see how this may influence their personal style.

One of the first questions I asked was if their friends back at home were similar to their friends at uni, two answered yes and two no. I found that the two who said yes liked to go shopping with their friends for an opinion and reguarly shopped on the highstreet. This may indicate that their friends thoughts, opinions and similar style was important to them. I then went on to ask them to describe their style and found one of the answers to be quite interesting. The girl I asked said she felt she did have a unique style and wouldnt wear something someone else had as she didn't like looking the same as others. However, she then went on to say that she shops on the highstreet and would follow a trend if she liked it. This I thought was quite contradictory as the highstreet sells mass produced stuff and if she shopped there there would be millions of other girls out there with the same top/jeans/shoes as her. She also said that she wouldnt let her friends influence what she wore but at the same time she likes to go shopping with them or her sisters for an opinion. I found this to be very interesting as it indicates to me that she is influenced by them without being conscious of it.

Another question I asked was where they liked to shop and if they had always shopped there. 3 out of the 4 said they now reguarly shop in Primark or charity shops whereas before they would have shopped in Debenhams or Topshop. This indicated to me that as the majority of students are skint they are having to spend less on their clothes and shopping in these shops will have an impact on their style. All 4 of them said they cared less now about how they looked as they are more confident and have realised there are more important things then looking good. This indicated to me that their dress sense may have changed in a way that they would just chuck anything on and wear comfy clothes rather then dressing to impress every day. The typical student style is quite laid back and comfy and my answers to this question backed up that point.

I found that the men preferred to shop on their own whilst the girls liked shopping with their friends or family. Guys were also more likey to criticise their friends clothes,they never asked their friends opinions on clothes and to buy something they knew someone else had - whereas the girls liked to think of themselves as having more of a individual style and usually asked their friends what they thought of an outfit.

Overall I found the interviews to be very successful on gaining data on how students dress sense has changed. In conclusion the majority shopped in cheaper shops and cared less about how they looked. I also found there to be distinct differences in the way the two genders felt and thought about their style. All the students I spoke to have had a notable change in their dress sense since leaving home wether this is a concious decision for them or otherwise.