The Microsociology of Aesthetics: Face Judgments at Fashion Shows

• In Event: 243 - Regular Session. Microsociologies: Values and Evaluations in Social Interaction

Abstract

Despite the pervasiveness of aesthetic judgments in fashion and in everyday life, the situated context of their formation is not well-understood. Using ethnographic data and in-situ interviews collected as a casting agent and assistant backstage manager at Philadelphia Fashion Week, I examine the aesthetic, phenomenological, and pragmatic considerations of selecting models for fashion shows. I argue that ethnographic detail and the micro-dynamics of judgment are critical to a broader understanding of taste. In addition to a discussion of time, I focus on three targets of judgment which only appear on the micro level: the walk, height and heels, and size. I support the argument theoretically by introducing a microsociology of aesthetics, a general contribution which frames and solicits attention to the local context of judgment.

Author

• Alexander Hoppe, University of Pennsylvania