Shopping at Macy's

     For my excursion assignment, I went shopping at Macy’s. I decided that going on the weekend would be too hectic so over spring break I decided to go one day after work. I’m not sure if that was such a great idea since I hit the rush hour crowd, but the trip was informative. I tried not to go into this assignment without any preconceived notions. Coming from a family of all baby girls I tend to favor little girls’ clothes over little boys’ clothes. However, I was surprised at the fact that there was such a bigger selection of baby girls’ clothes than baby boys’ clothes. In the girl’s section there were jeans, skirts, dresses, and accessories to go along with each outfit. In the boys’ section I noticed a lack of variety. There were jeans and cargo pants, but no accessories to match.

Below are the differences in prices I came across:

Girls: Dress $26.60, Pants $15, Cardigan $15, Tights $8, Purse $10

Boys: Pants $13, Sweatshirt and sweatpants set $26

            As I looked around each section I noticed different things going on than in the other. For example, in the girls’ section I heard a lot more  “Awww How cute’s” than I heard in the boys’ section. This made me think about how much more expensive things are for women. Is it possible that fashion is a socially constructed ideology? As a woman you are made to feel that you must shop for accessories to match your outfit, always have a perfect manicure and perfectly done hair. By participating in these exercises we perpetuate the cycle of what constitutes a beautiful woman. All of these accessories that we need to be a woman really do add up.

            After doing this assignment I started thinking about how much easier it is to be a man in today’s society. This may seem like a biased view, but after comparing the clothes for baby boys and girls. I found that the less variety of available clothes, the easier it is to get dressed. This made me think about how simple it is for a man to put an outfit together. Men only need pants and a shirt to create an outfit whereas women need pants and a shirt, a skirt and a shirt, or a dress plus accessories to match such as tights, boots, high heels, a cardigan, and purse. Maybe if women stop encouraging this stereotypical habit we can change societal norms. I also wonder if men take a stance and ask for more variety, would the fashion industry change and gear more towards males?