Model-Samantha Hamilton
In your opinion how do you think women are perceived today?
“Of course I think women are perceived better than in past years. And I definitely believe that women are powerful and that we can do anything that we put our minds to. However At the same time that doesn’t allow women to go gallivanting around on some high horses, as well as it’s unacceptable for men to do that. As for trashier, style and attitude comes with age and changes in society. Some women may choose to dress trashier or act rude – it’s their life.”
Do you think it is difficult for a women to be powerful without coming off as bossy?
“Difficult yes, impossible no. I think the main solution to that problem is to be respected.”
How do you feel about the dress codes women today have to follow in the work world?
“I refused to wear heels and makeup if I am being told. I believe having dress codes is repressing women.”
What type of career would you like to work? And if they required a certain dress code in order to get the job would you follow them in order to work there?
“If anything I would wanna work at a marine reserve or something. That’s not really the environment for a dress code. Unless you count slosh boots. I wouldn’t do cleavage maybe make up. Cause then I could file a claim tis for work and they’d have to reimburse me.”
Do you take pride in your appearance?
“Clothing wise yes I take pride in what I wear (most of the time) and I enjoy shopping. Body wise not so much, but I am working on that.”
What does your style say about you?
“Well I like to think my style is modern, it incorporates casual fashion nowadays while remaining simple but classy.”
What do you wish brands would do to design clothes for specifically for your body? Do you have a hard time finding pants to fit you perfectly? Or sleeves that are too long?
“God yes! It’s so hard trying to find pants. And when they do fit (no hemming) they are too small around the waist. I don’t really have the sleeve problem cause my arms are pretty long for my height, but sometimes there’s a little wide.”
How was this experience? How did you like the clothes? How did the clothes make you feel? How did you like the photo shoot? Lastly, do you think think other girls would want to wear clothes like mine?
“ So if I wasn’t as busy as I am I probably would have enjoyed it more. I enjoy fashion and it was really nice being able to experience everything a fashion designer does. The clothes were great, I felt like a total badass with the entire package; the jacket, the shoes, and the makeup. The photoshoot was great i just wish we had more time. And most definitely your clothes made me feel empowered and I think other girls would enjoy wearing your clothes”
Model-Emma Bystrom
In your opinion how do you think women are perceived today?
“I think women are perceived as equal in some ways but not in others. Obviously we’ve made a lot of progress in the workforce and have a lot of working and educated women, but when it comes to what men ( and women) think about our bodies and the way we should act definitely needs improving. There’s a big range of assumptions about women and their bodies and its\’s changed from the last generation to ours. It used to be that women were expected to act “lady-like” in that they wore long dresses and said “pardon me” and never rose their voices. Now the new “lady -like” is wearing short shorts, skin tight dresses, push up bras, and 5 pounds of make up. We are expected to look our very “best” every single day, which for a lot of girls involves hours of getting ready every morning. All of this is because we are still, in the mind of society, just things to be looked at and judged for our appearance. To an extent this applies to men as well, but men aren’t expected to pain on a new face or change their lifestyle to make themselves more appealing. Overall, women are still seen as sexual objects.”
Do you think it is difficult for a women to be powerful without coming off as bossy?
“Definitely. I hate to bring up Donald Trump because, well, he’s just not pleasant to talk about, but he’s the perfect example of a man using a omwens sex to “explain” her power. Calling women “nasty” because they have strong political opinions and blaming women;s hate towards him on their menstruation cycle, all perfectly explains how many men view powerful women. It seems to me that these men are easily intimidates, and blame the power a women might have over him for her just being “bossy” or an unpleasant person. All of this ties back to the idea that women are supposed to be less powerful. When a situation arises, which is far more often now, that a women has more power than a man he feels inferior. It’s not even necessarily the man’s fault, because he was taught by society and his parents that he is supposed to be superior, and when he’s not he feels like he’s failed. In reality, we need to start teaching kids that both sexes are equally as powerful, so men will later stop trying to justify women for being successful.”
How do you feel about the dress codes women today have to follow in the work world?
“I don’t know a lot about dress codes when it comes to an office or work setting. I do know that i’ve heard stories of women being denied a job because of their curves. For example, wearing a perfectly conservative and appropriate formal black skirt, with tights and a cardigan, and then not getting the job because they have cleavage. Its honestly disgusting how, in both school and working world, we expect to hide our bodies and be ashamed of ourselves because we are “distracting.” The most ridiculous dress codes come from school administrations or employers being concerned about male coworkers being distracted. The fact that this implies that women are simply distraction from men’s work is so depressing. People need to understand that the hard working women are not the problem, men need to learn that they are not just something to stare at and think about, no matter what they wear or how they express themselves. Maybe if women didn’t think they were only appreciated for their bodies they would learn in their adolescence to start wearing more respectable clothing. That being said, they still shouldn’t have to change they way they dress to make the men feel less distracted.”
What type of career would you like to work? And if they required a certain dress code in order to get the job would you follow them in order to work there?
“I would like to be a veterinarian. I am sure whenever I decide to work there would be some sort of dress code, but I think they give you working clothes anyway to make everyone uniform and clean. I would definitely wear something very conservative and professional to a interview, because i would be too afraid of being judged for my body rather than my experience. If they had some sort of ridiculous dress code I would probably find a way to follow it anyway and complain later, because i’d rather comply tan sacrifice my career.”
Do you take pride in your appearance?
“Not really. I mean I get plenty of compliments about my appearance but I don’t take any special pride in it. I’m always wishing I would change something, and I rarely believe it when somebody does compliment me. There are a few things that I take pride in and that’s my strength and my ability to tan. Other than that it seems silly to me to be proud of how I look when there’s always something I want to change or improve.”
What does your style say about you?
“My style rarely reflects who i am honestly. I like to wear things that are comfortable, but also that wont make me look like a homeless person. Ideally I would wear pjs everyday. At the same time I do absolutely love to dress up, and during the summer I almost always wear a dress or a skirt. I feel like being an individual when it comes to clothing has become really difficult in a society that expects you to wear specific kinds of clothing. Sometimes i get looked at if I wear something a little different, but I really don’t mind what others think of me. I guess that how I reflect myself, by just wearing what makes me feel comfortable and powerful/sexy at the same time. It depends on my mood. My style changes ridiculously from day to day based on how much sleep I got and how Im feelings about my body.”
What do you wish brands would do to design clothes for specifically for your body? Do you have a hard time finding pants to fit you perfectly? Or sleeves that are too long?
“It would be nice is stores starting offering a wider selection. For me it’s really hard to find pants because I have really muscular legs from dance and cheer, and a smaller waist. I end up needing to wear a belt on all of my jeans, and a lot of things I can barely get past my hips and then they are too big around the waist. Overall it’s pretty difficult to find comfortable clothes, so it would be nice if stores started offering more realistic clothing. I know a lot of girls with teh same problem as me, and I know girls who have the opposite, so stores should start designing clothes for all body types.”
How was this experience? How did you like the clothes? How did the clothes make you feel? How did you like the photo shoot? Lastly, do you think think other girls would want to wear clothes like mine?
“The experience was wonderful. I especially loved having clothes tailored to make me look good. It felt like I wasn’t trying to manipulate my clothing to my body to make sure I looked good, the clothes just naturally made me feel good. Because of the fit and the design, I felt safe, but also totally hot. I think girls might not understand why they would want to wear these type of clothes, until they actually put it on. Like I think that if they saw it their reactions might not be, “oh I want that”, but once they put it on then they would definitely want to wear it everywhere. The photo shoot made me feel really confident. People stated and I was like “heck yeah you should be staring, Im wearing an original Soline Gauthier.”