RESEARCH OUTLINE
Title of the Capstone Project: Closet Culture Inc
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Topic Statement: How can a variety of subgroup find a community in fashion?
I. Introduction: a brief synopsis from the Literature Review.
Tall people, plus sized people, gender non-conforming, and other unconventional body types have little to no options in the fashion. Our social argument is that stores aren’t carrying a lot of clothing for subgroups such as plus-size, tall, and the LGBT+ community. Even though the fashion industry is making strides towards inclusion, the process is still pretty slow. With our website, Closet Culture, different groups will receive tips and help from others in their community, as well as recommendations to inclusive stores.
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II. Historical: 1-2 sentence about the central idea of the history of the problem of your Capstone.
The problem started in the early 1940s, standard women’s sizes were developed but only to the average body type. Unisex clothing didn’t become relevant until 1960.
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A. A resonating detail, fact or quote with a citation​
“They didn’t really get a cross-section of American women… It was smaller than what the national average should be.” said the Parsons School of Fashion professor Beth Dincuff Charleston.
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B. A resonating detail, fact or quote with a citation.
“The Laura Ashley woman is different from the Liz Claiborne woman, who is different from the woman whom Calvin Klein envisions,” opined the article’s author, who then quoted a designer saying, “Fit is a type of identity.” - The Times (1986)
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III. Current: 1-2 sentence about the central idea of the history of the problem of your Capstone.
Stores aren’t carrying a lot of clothing for subgroups such as plus-size women, tall women, and the LGBT+ community.
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A. A resonating detail, fact or quote with a citation.
“There are so many different ways to be gender non-conforming. Many gender non-conforming people don’t see themselves as being born in the wrong body, but maybe find themselves uncomfortable with the straightjackets of gender roles” - Ann Pellegrini, New York University
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B. A resonating detail, fact or quote with a citation.
“How can retailors, people who want to make money, turn their backs on 85 million women of this nation alone that are larger than a size 12? And those retailors that do decided to address those women put them in a completely separate department all the way in the back” - Tim Gunn
IV. Impact 1 [Financial]: 1-2 sentence about the IMPACT of the problem of your Capstone.
A. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS AN ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
In New Look, a clothing store in Great Britain, a customer named Maria Wassell, a retail supervisor, discovered that a pair of green-striped trousers cost 15 percent more in all sizes above 16, (size 12 in the United States) shedding light to their “fat tax” tactics (2018)
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B. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS AN ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
(2016) A petition was created by Renee Posey to note how Old Navy charges $12-$15 more for plus-sized women’s jeans, but fails to do the same for bigger men sizes.
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C. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS A COUNTER-ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
Christine Whelan (2016), director of MORE: Money, Relationships and Equality at the University of Wisconsin–Madison says, “The idea that equates to somewhere between a 30 to 50 percent price hike plays on the socialized culture that says women need to look a certain way.”
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D. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS A COUNTER-ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
There is a lack of unisex clothing which can cause larger brands to take initiative and introduce there variations, but with expensive pricing to take advantage of this opportunity (2017).
V. Impact 2 [Educational]: 1-2 sentence about the IMPACT of the problem of your Capstone.
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A. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS AN ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
According to Todd A.DeMitchell (2015), a well known teacher, professor, and administrator at the University of New Hampshire, such mandatory policies have even led to free speech violation lawsuits because students feel that they restrict their freedom of expression.
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B. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS AN ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
While shopping for uniforms for her 10-year old daughter, Deborah Cruz (2015) couldn’t find any sizes above 12, the size her daughter normally fits.
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C. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS A COUNTER-ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
Many students have been denied inclusion in yearbooks, class activities, and even prom simply because they decided to dress in a suit instead of a dress and vice-versa. In most schools, there are rules that dictate who can wear specific outfits, such as girls can wear skirts and boys cannot.
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D. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS A COUNTER-ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
In school, it is said that they can expect to be ridiculed for not looking as fantastic in their uniform as some of the better looking students (ProCon, 2017)
VI. Impact 3 [Social]: 1-2 sentence about the IMPACT of the problem of your Capstone.
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A. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS AN ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
Queer men and women who prefer to dress outside of their gender struggle to find the right fit when it comes to heteronormative women-are-feminine and men-are-masculine clothing of the fashion and retail industry
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B. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS AN ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
Study by Deborah A. Christel and Susan C. Dunn of Washington State University for International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education (1988-2010) shows that the average woman is around a size 20, but the plus sized section of stores are usually the smallest.
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C. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS A COUNTER-ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
However, brands are starting to show more inclusion like Rihanna’s Savage x Fenty. The singer has recently launched a lingerie brand and has brought joy to many shoppers because of the size range when it comes to bras and underwears. Savage x Fenty's Models Are So Diverse Because Rihanna Is Actually A Champion (2018) mentions that instead of the typical hourglass, the websites shows different body shapes throughout line.
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D. A resonating detail, fact or quote THAT SUPPORTS A COUNTER-ARGUMENT FOR THE IMPACT with a citation.
Campaign was launched by a clothing brand, Evans (2016), to challenge the fashion industry’s narrow thinking with the hashtag, #IamMe. According to #IamMe: The Fashion Campaign That's Championing Body Diversity, this campaign’s objective is to show that there is not one ideal body but a variety amount that exist.
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VII. Conclusion: A brief summary of the Literature Review. [2-3 sentences]
Our society needs a platform that everyone can use to find comfortability in the clothes they wear regardless of their height, size or gender. Within the school environment, student performance won’t be as affected because of their body type. This is the objective of Closet Culture, a website that acts as a forum and a place for underrepresented groups to discuss issues and find clothing catered to them.