Observing Other Observations

This week have to comment on other students blogs from the previous week.  It was interesting to see what my other fellow bloggers had to say about qualitative research and their interpretation of how it is used in everyday life…

One blog that caught my attention was Kayla’s Blog on fashion.  She discusses the different ways designers such as Michael Kors and department store Bloomingdales decide on what is going to be the “it fashion” for this season and how they determine what methods are best to reach consumers.  Kayla explains that through qualitative research fashion designers observe perceptions and attitudes of people in their natural environments.  It was interesting to read Kayla’s blog because it was very similar to the one I wrote about Tommy Hilfiger.  It is an attention-grabbing idea to think that the clothes, jewelry, shoes and accessories we wear were all brainstormed and designed through designers using their sensory intuitions and observations in how people shop and what they are shopping for.  Every season a new line of fashion merchandise appears on the floors of stores across the world.  Each of these products was carefully discussed and thought out as a result of qualitative research. 

The other blog I looked at was Brittany’s.  She had a very similar concept as Kayla in that fashion is extremely qualitative and is the result of designers observing what is around them and making them into beautiful cloth creations.  Brittany quotes “every element of fashion represents a certain attitude, period of time or personality.  Every day we observe these elements of fashion through street fashion.”    I really liked her connection to Elle Magazine and how they photograph “street chic” photos of woman everyday and then give comments and observations. As she mentioned, Elle is an extremely well reputable fashion magazine and the fact that they are using qualitative observation show how important and popular it is. This idea is very compelling because when working in Manhattan this past summer I was the one walking down the streets observing what the people on Park and Fifth Avenue were wearing and tried to make it my own by using their ideas.  Fashion is something that everyone observes and interprets for themselves, and whether they want to believe it or not is interpreted through qualitative observation.  Brittany also discusses how runway shows are now using street inspiration for their lines in hopes to relate with the consumer on a different level with hopes that their products will be more appealing and personal.  Just by making a few simple observations, you are gaining insight into those girls’ attitude, behavior, values, culture and lifestyle.