Category: Fashion and lifestyle

Brainstorming Ideas

20 Story Ideas

  1. Community Events

– Local shops sponsoring events around town to help themselves and each other

  1. Farmers Markets

– Exploration of the multiple farmers markets around Athens

  1. Coffee shop lifestyle

– What’s the fascination with local coffee shops? Why are they any better than Starbucks?

  1. Local, Local, Local

– Co-ops, farm to table, farmers markets, small businesses; a millennial trend that isn’t really a trend at all – the return to local-based economy

  1. Hipsters

– What does it mean to be hipster? Is there a definitive point at which you achieve ‘hipster status’ or is it what you make of it?

  1. Having it All

– The “having it all” lifestyle phenomenon—a woman is no longer permitted to just work or just be a stay at home mom, she has to try and have it all or is seen as lazy. What kind of lifestyle does this expectation entail?

  1. Trend Alerts

– How are trends established? Where is the black market of ideas from which trendy stores receive their insider info? How do they catch on in time to stay relevant?

  1. Big bad Outfitters

– How are small town boutiques surviving in the face of massively funded stores like Gap and Urban Outfitters sneaking into downtown turf?

  1. Thrift Stores

– The draw of trendy hipsters to thrift stores since Macklemore’s song came out

  1. Health Food

– How to maintain a trendy health food lifestyle on a college student’s budget

  1. Fun for Pennies

– How to find and attend the best events of the season on a college student’s budget

  1. Hip with the Youngsters

– The story of boomers and Gen-x-ers and how they stay adrift in a sea of ever changing tech and trends

  1. Grocery Underdogs

– EarthFare, Daily Co-op, and La-Z Shopper—how do they compete with stores like Kroger and Publix?

  1. Nesting in Athens

– How students establish a connection with Athens when they’re only here for 4 years (or a few more)—how they make Athens their home

  1. Music Scene

– Athens is known for its music scene, but how can fledgling musicians compete in such an intimidating music market? How do they get going? What is the process they go through to get a foothold?

  1. Grad Student among Children

– How is it being a grad student in a town full of undergraduates when every event is aimed at a younger crowd?

  1. Special Snowflake

– In a trendy town like Athens, only the fresh survive. How do the hippest places in town differentiate themselves to stay alive in a dog-eat-dog trend-focused town?

  1. The Plight of the GDI

– With the massive Greek population at UGA, it can sometimes feel difficult to feel apart of the action of the university and feel as if you’ve made a concrete group of friends—how do GDIs find a niche beyond the obvious Greek life?

  1. Technological Integration

– Apps, widgets, social media, and geocaching—how does evolving with technological innovation keep the Athens lifestyle fresh and moving forward?

  1. Bars vs. Pubs

– The advantages and disadvantages of pubs and bars—which style of social drinking atmosphere is better?

 

Profile Ideas:

  1. Hipsters– this is the perfect story for which to conduct a profile. In a hipster town like Athens, it wouldn’t take too much digging to find a hipster to profile– their personal style, what it means to them to be a hipster, etc. and apply it to the movement in general. Or better yet, find a sort of store that supplies fashion and trendy items to said hipsters and do a profile of the owner on what their motivations are and how they themselves contribute to the ‘hipster’ lifestyle.
  2. Community Events-– this would be another prime story to shape as a profile. The local boutiques for which Athens is known are constantly sponsoring and organizing events for the community. One example is the Cine Fashion Show from August. I could profile the coordinator for the event, Rachel Barnes of Dynamite. She is not only the event coordinator for Cine, but is also a manager at Dynamite Clothing. She would be the perfect person to do a profile on to cast a light on community events in Athens.

Trend Ideas:

  1. Thrift Stores — we all know of Macklemore’s wildly popular song ‘Thrift Shopping’ which called attention to a potentially massive new frontier for clothes shopping. After his song was released, though hipsters would argue that they always shopped at thrift stores, collecting the newly cool-again pieces from the 80s and 90s for dirt cheap prices at thrift shops became the coolest way of shopping for fashion. This is a cut and dry example of trends and simply talking to fashion merchandising majors and thrift store owners would provide adequate source material.
  2. Local, local, local— hip towns across the country are jumping aboard the buy local bandwagon and insisting that the best and only way to ensure merchandise and food products’ authenticity and quality is to locally source the products. Farmers’ Markets have always been founded on this principle, but in recent years, the backlash against big business has driven the masses to a new wave of cultivation. Small, local vendors are selling in bigger name stores, storefront family businesses are popping up everywhere, and even big name food corporations like Chipotle and Barberitos are being founded on the local farming principle. This is a perfect example of delving into a developing trend.

Pick’em Ideas:

  1. Behind the Scenes– Farmers Markets— it would be incredibly simple to go behind the scenes at a local farmers market in Athens. The Athens Farmers Market meets every Saturday in Bishops Park and is FULL of local vendors. I could get in contact with the lead coordinators of the market and find out not only how the market came to be but watch the day-to-day or hourly functioning of the market on Saturdays to explore the extent of the project and how it affects the community.
  2. Localizer– Big Bad Outfitters— a well known battle in our country is the fight between big and small business; the fight between capitalistic gain and local distinction. Small business Saturdays are a big movement in this fight between store types, for instance. To localize this issue, one needs to look no further than downtown Athens. Urban Outfitters has moved into a large commercial space downtown leaving controversy in its wake with townies and students decrying it for pushing out the ‘little guy’ boutiques and small businesses so ingrained in Athens’ downtown. An exploration into this smaller instance when compared to the larger issue in the nation would be an interesting perspective.

Brainstorming List

Quick Story Ideas: 

  1. Religiously inspired fashion choices–How does faith influence what we wear? This idea arose from controversy over the burkini ban in France, but could be expanded to include clothing choices made by Jews, Hindus, and Christians alike.
  2. Fall football fashion. How does what football fans wear to games make a statement beyond what team they support? What trends are most noticeable? Are name-brand items especially in prominence? What do these observations reveal about football culture?
  3. Community Fashion School showcase in December
  4. Plus-size fashion show in October (Rachel Barnes). Highly relevant in terms of rhetoric about female body positivity circulating on social and news media. Relate to Amy Schumer, Tess Holliday
  5. Lickskillet artist’s market. Use as an example of how independent artists attempt to market themselves and their brands.
  6. Tattoo art. What is art? How are society’s thoughts/reactions to tattoos different from how we react to other forms of art? How do we characterize the tattoo scene in Athens? What rivalries/comraderies exist between different tattoo shops in Athens? Is there a “type” of person that gets tattoos?
  7. Ekkos Apparel–Ekkos Apparel was founded by Athenian Rachel Ehlinger to raise money for secondary education in Africa. How does Ekkos operate? How much have they been able to donate thus far?
  8. Craig Page and Sweet Beijos Treats–local bakery founded by former PLACE executive Craig Page and his Brazilian partner. Perhaps relate to other local bakeries.
  9. How has the rise of the film industry in Atlanta affected the fashion industry? (Based on group discussion. As the growing film industry in Atlanta attracts celebrities to the area, will designer brands follow?)
  10. Frugal Fashionable Farmer–ties between fashion and sustainability at a local vintage-inspired artist’s farm
  11. Southern Bon Vivant–the rise of a Southern online fashion and lifestyle magazine. What makes Southern fashion different?
  12. Photographing Athens fashion. I’m less sure about this one, but I do think it would be interesting to photograph and write about styles observed downtown, perhaps during a specific event, but probably just on an average day. Athenians demonstrate such creativity in fashion, but I’m still not sure exactly how I’d flesh out the writing for this piece.
  13. Trends, Athens-style. I am learning from my reading that velvet and bomber jackets, for example, are expected to be big trends this fall. How do we see these trends reflected on campus and downtown?
  14. Many new boutiques open in the downtown area every year, but many close after a few years. Is Athens actually a good place to own a boutique?
  15. My Athens Style (and associated hashtag). How do people connect over fashion in Athens.
  16. What makes an Instagram star? Investigate fashion and lifestyle-inspired Insagram accounts and see what they have in common.
  17. Interview Athens-native designer Lucy Blue. How did a small-town designer get started?
  18. Interview a costume designer involved with UGA’s upcoming production of Jane Eyre?
  19. Dead malls–the Athens GA Square Mall is filled with more and more empty storefronts. Explore changes in shopping habits that are contributing to this phenomenon nationwide.
  20. This may be veering off-beat here, but I often find myself thinking about all the new student housing developments in the downtown area. How many people are actually living there? How full is any one of these buildings? How have student expectations about college living quarters changed over the years?

Expanded Story Ideas:

Athens Boutique Openings/Closings: I just had this idea the other day, so it is not exactly well-fleshed out. But each year, I see some new boutiques open and others close. And every time I see this happen, I wonder if Athens is a good place to own a boutique (because stores keep opening), or actually a terrible place (because stores keep closing). What are the more long-lived boutiques doing differently? What are challenges that Athens boutique owners face? There are abundant sources for this story–Heery’s, Dynamite and Cillies have been around for as long as I can remember and still seem to be doing fine (at least on the surface). Community is relatively newer on the scene, but has been highly successful (again, at least on the surface). Archived Athens Banner Herald/Flagpole stories on the openings/closings of stores would also be helpful here. Contacts: Sanni Baumgärtner, Dynamite, Heery’s

Costume Design: I am especially enamored with this idea at the moment, perhaps because I just thought of it and also because I particularly love Jane Eyre. But as I was fan-girling about the fact that UGA is doing a production of Jane Eyre this fall, it occurred to me to wonder how costumes and set design come together with a licensed script to create a production. I have grown up attending UGA theatre productions and have always been impressed with the quality of student performances and creativity behind the scenes (prop design, etc). I know from friends involved in the theatre department that students usually design costumes, props, etc., and I think it would be very interesting to learn about that process. How much liberty do costume designers have to make the designs their own? How do they get ideas? Who does the actual construction of the costumes? Contacts: Alexis Havrilla, former student prop designer for UGA Theatre; Dina Canup, dept. of theatre PR;   Joan Buttram, UGA Dance department head (if venturing into costumes for dance department)

Southern Bon Vivant and Southern Fashion: I have been in contact with Molly McWilliams Wilkins, the creative mind behind the Southern fashion and lifestyle magazine Southern Bon Vivant. I have also been investigating Eide Magazine, a southern-based fashion and lifestyle magazine that went national in Spring 2014. I think coverage of these publications could be incorporated into an interesting piece on Southern fashion in general. The South is not associated with high fashion in the way that New York or Paris are, but certainly there are still trends in the South that make our approach to fashion different. What are those trends and how are they being covered? Is this still an untapped niche in the market? Contacts: Molly McWilliams Wilkins

Dead Malls: The Athens-area GA Square Mall is filled with more and more empty storefronts. This is a national phenomenon–Time reported in May of this year that “about one-third of malls in the U.S. will shut their doors in the coming years.” I would be interested to research this phenomenon on a national level and relate it to what we are seeing locally (closings at GA Square Mall and Tanger Outlets, for example).

Tattoo Art: As a person with tattoos, scarcely a week goes by without someone asking me questions such as “did it hurt?” or “why did you get it?” or “what does it mean?” Tattoo culture is certainly prominent in Athens, and there are a few relatively new shops that are less well-known than iconic shops like Pain and Wonder or Walk the Line Tattoo. My ideas here are still broad and under-developed, but I think I could produce an interesting piece on tattoo culture in Athens, rivalries and camaraderies  between shops, etc., perhaps while incorporating some history on tattoo art. I have contacts at American Classic, Pain and Wonder, and Walk the Line alike who would speak well to this subject.

Photographing Athens Fashion:  I have something of an artistic attachment to this idea, but perhaps need to speak with Dr. Suggs about its appropriateness for this class. I would like to do something of a photo essay, perhaps in accompaniment to a write-up on local boutiques and fashion culture, celebrating the variety of styles that can be witnessed in the Athens GA downtown area on any given day. I would accompany each image with a brief blurb about the individual pictured and what fashion means to them. Is this too out there?

 

 

Brainstorming List

  1. Is Consignment on the rise, at a peak point, or declining in Athens?
  2. How do consignment store employees and owners view the downtown boutiques and the addition of chain stores?
  3. Profile of the Cheeky Peach owner about the growth and continued success of the store, the plans for the future, and how she has incorporated digital and social media into the website and various platforms.
  4. The terms “Shop” vs. “Boutique” when it comes to thrift, vintage and consignment. Which works in Athens and why?
  5. How downtown stores merchandise in order to appeal to Athens townies as well as UGA students.
  6. Cover an event held at one of the stores for a local cause or philanthropy and discuss how it impacts the community.
  7. How places like Cine, Creature Comforts, and Terrapin help support and showcase the local fashion scene.
  8. Cover a fashion show put on by the student group, “The Agency,” and interview one of the board members about their involvement
  9. The fashion side of game days, how it has changed throughout the years and what staples stay the same.
  10. Interview the owners of The Red Dress Boutique and talk about how their store has changed and grown since being on Shark Tank.
  11. How Atlanta has become the “New York of the South” in the fashion and lifestyle world.
  12. Ekkos apparel, founded by a UGA student to provide secondary education to orphans in Africa
  13. On campus vs. Off-campus, how student’s style changes from day to night at UGA
  14. Athens as a backdrop for photoshoots, music videos, and movie scenes.
  15. Denim through the years, how jeans have made their way from pants, to vests, to skirts and back.
  16. Revival of sneaker culture for all occasions
  17. Beading, how students have started their own businesses making jewelry
  18. Bene Scarves, a company started by UGA grads that gives proceeds to children in Ghana
  19. Non-downtown boutiques such as “Simply Southern,” and “Entourage” and how they feel advantaged/disadvantaged by their location.
  20. Pop-Up shops around Athens, strategy, plans, and reasoning for this retail format

A budget is a list of stories that explains what the story is about, summarizes what’s been written about it in the past, and how you plan to go about reporting it, i.e. who you’ll talk to and what challenges you might find.

Profile

  1. Ekkos Apparel founder Rachel Ehlinger graduated from UGA last May, and she still resides in Athens working on expanding her business. Many people have written about her growing success, but what would be covered in this piece is why stay in Athens after graduation? Ehlinger believes that Athens is where her apparel line will grow, and I want to know why she believes that and how she is going to make the small town lead to big growth. There are many other philanthropic fashion lines based out of Athens, especially for being a rural community, how will Ekkos stick out from the pack and continue to reach new markets and consumers from staying in Athens. Ekkos is all about providing education for children in Africa, and this profile would discuss how Ehlinger’s personal education influenced this organization and why she feels that providing education to children specifically is important to her.
    1. Sources: Rachel Ehlinger – Owner, Samantha Hertzig: Photographer for past Ekkos shoots as well as Social Media intern, the local seamstress, Contact Ehlinger to get in contact with one of the “traveling interns,” Molly Samuel: Ekkos Customer.
  2. Cheeky Peach has been open since August of 2010, and the owner Katie Jacobs, has worked to grow this boutique from the ground up. As a UGA Alum, she has put everything into this store and what it stands for. Not only has she made the store a local hotspot, but the majority of interns and employees are fashion merchandising students. This profile would cover not only her own personal story, but why she feels it is important to train UGA students in the retail setting, what she hopes to teach her employees, and what mentors she had or wishes she had to help her as she created Cheeky Peach.
    1. Sources: Katie Jacobs, Lainey Felsenthal: New employee, ask Jacobs for a source that has mentored or inspired her in her career.

Trend

  1. Pop-up Shops across Athens and the entire country are becoming a prominent outlet for retailers to reach new customers and target markets that they would not normally reach. Cheeky Peach has done a pop-up shop at Terrapin, and UGA Fashion students have created “Couture A La Cart” to sell fashions off a cart on campus. This trend is a new and exciting spin on retail, and I would love to cover it from the fashion students perspective as well as from the well-established boutique perspective. Will this continue to be a trend for much longer or will the surprise aspect go away? Have new customers been gained from these efforts?
    1. Sources: Katie Jacobs: Cheeky Peach,
  2. Technology in Retail downtown: Compare how different stores, from local boutiques to Urban Outfitters and discuss how retailers are using technology to their advantage. What are they doing that makes them different from their neighboring stores. How shoppers can come to a store with only their phone and be able to make a purchase. Discuss Urban Outfitters app, Apple Pay, and other technological advancements. Sources: Urban Outfitters manager, Red Dress Boutique Manager, stop local shoppers on their phones and ask for an interview.

Pick-em

  1. Is consignment on the rise, at a standstill or on a decline in Athens? Consignment and thrift seems to be a thread woven through the Athens downtown culture, but how do people on the inside of the industry feel? Interview Dynamite, Community, and other thrift and consignment managers to see how they feel about this issue. Where do they see their stores going and how do they compete or coincide with the other retailers downtown?
  2. On-Campus vs. Off-campus apparel, how students dress and shop differently for both occasions. Interview fashion merchandising students and non-fashion merchandising students to see their different point of view on this subject. Also interview a Fashion Merchandising professor and a non-fashion merchandising professor to get their views on how their students dress. Is the dress too casual or does it not impact the classroom?

More Research

1. A Brief History of Denim Cutoffs
http://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/a-brief-history-of-denim-cutoffs-from-daisy-duke-to-debbie-harry

2. Why Are So Many People Obsessed With Supreme?

http://www.vice.com/read/supreme-and-the-psychology-of-brand-devotion

3. Fashion and Culture Drive Chinese Tourists to Italy
https://global-factiva-com.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/redir/default.aspx?P=sa&an=CHNDHK0020160905ec950002d&cat=a&ep=ASE

4. The CFDA Calls For More Diversity At New York Fashion Week

http://www.harpersbazaar.co.uk/fashion/fashion-news/news/a37937/the-cfda-calls-for-more-diversity-at-new-york-fashion-week/

5. The relationship between Media Consumption and Eating Disorders in the Journal of Communication 1997
Media Consumption and Eating Disorders

5.

Brainstorming: Fashion & Lifestyle Story Ideas

1. I would like to profile the experiences of college females who work in the lucrative positions of promotional models in the beer industry.

2. An assignment discussing the impracticality of women’s clothing vs men’s clothing and why the former seems to suffer for aesthetic design in the way men’s doesn’t (possible titles include “WHY ARE WOMENS POCKETS MERELY AN ILLUSION I CAN’T EVEN CARRY CHAPSTICK WHILE WEARING JEANS BUT MY BOYFRIEND CAN FIT HIS NISSAN PICKUP, TABLE SAW AND OUR CAT ZELDA IN ONE OF HIS BACK POCKETS”)

3. Are sin taxes (those against cigarettes, tanning beds, etc) effective in curbing specifically college age consumer behavior?

4. A look at up-and-coming female film directors in the South. Possibly delve into their specific aesthetics, casting, style or how their experiences/barriers in the film industry may be different than males in their field (I’m also not sure if this is at all relevant to my beat, but after reading this: Vogue Elizabeth Wood’s Film White Girl Controversy possibly an article about the differences in critic responses to similar male and female films or male/female art in general when it comes to grants, music etc.)

5. A look at full-time UGA undergraduate students who are balancing an already blossoming professional career in art or business, for example, a student who is still enrolled full-time but recently started a business or clothing line or is selling crafts etc)

6. A behind-the-scenes look at trying to break into the fashion world as a model featuring new models around Georgia.

7. Looking at the monetary value of certain art degrees (in an admittedly more anecdotal way) by talking to photographers, graphic designers, and other artists who have gone to colleges like SCAD vs those who are professionally successful without a college degree.

8. An article about the paid nude (or “live”) models that work at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at UGA.

9. A look at the ethically murky trend on social media of advertisers paying for sponsored featured mentions or “testimonials” (many of those being paid by companies fall under the “Instagram-famous” or “Instagram model” category of someone who has a follower count in the thousands, hundred thousands or even millions but who would not be considered a celebrity in the conventional sense outside of the social media platform) that are not explicitly labeled as advertising but rather could be confused as unbiased testimonials to their followers, many of whom are underage.

10. An article about different trends in skin care with expert advice on what skin care mistakes/lifestyle choices different college kids are most likely to commit (i.e A Dermatologist’s Skin Care Guide For Smokers and Partiers)

Brainstorming

  1. Is Consignment on the rise, at a peak point, or declining in Athens?
  2. How do consignment store employees and owners view the downtown boutiques and the addition of chain stores?
  3. Profile of the Cheeky Peach owner about the growth and continued success of the store, the plans for the future, and how she has incorporated digital and social media into the website and various platforms.
  4. The terms “Shop” vs. “Boutique” when it comes to thrift, vintage and consignment. Which works in Athens and why?
  5. How downtown stores merchandise in order to appeal to Athens townies as well as UGA students.
  6. Cover an event held at one of the stores for a local cause or philanthropy and discuss how it impacts the community.
  7. How places like Cine, Creature Comforts, and Terrapin help support and showcase the local fashion scene.
  8. Cover a fashion show put on by the student group, “The Agency,” and interview one of the board members about their involvement
  9. The fashion side of game days, how it has changed throughout the years and what staples stay the same.
  10. Interview the owners of The Red Dress Boutique and talk about how their store has changed and grown since being on Shark Tank.

 

More Research

EIDE Magazine: Fashion Magazine of the South Goes National. India Retail News. Published April 21, 2014. Located via LexisNexis.

This article is about the Spring 2014 national launch of Eide Magazine, which focuses specifically on Southern fashion and lifestyle. I had not heard of Eide, so I was excited to have a new source for my research. My ignorance of its existence, along with the article’s assertion that Eide is “filling an essential niche in the marketplace,” makes me wonder if Southern fashion is still a relatively untapped area of reporting, which would relate well to a piece on Southern Bon Vivant.

Cultural Arts Alliance: Judith March Founder Launches Southern Fashion House. India Investment News. Published August 11, 2013. Located via Lexis Nexis. 

Another example of filling the Southern fashion “void”?

Tommy Hilfiger scores touchdown with football-themed show at New York fashion week;
Designer constructs American football pitch for catwalk as part of spectacular show debuting sportswear collection and celebrating 30th anniversary of his clothing empire. The Guardian. Published February 17, 2015. Located via Lexis Nexis. 

Describes a 2015 Tommy Hilfiger fashion show in which all aspects of the show, from tickets to backstage arrangements, were inspired by American football. Possible reference for a piece on fall football fashion?

DKNY gets football fever. House and Home. Published January 28, 2014. Located via LexisNexis.

Another possible reference for a piece on fall football fashion. Describes a DKNY Spring-Summer 2014 collection inspired by American football.

Athens, Ga., clothing boutique promotes positive attitude. By Don Nelson, Athens Banner-Herald. Published February 24, 2008. Located via Lexis Nexis.

This article is about the 2008 opening of a now-defunct Athens boutique called Blonde. I stumbled across this article by accident (along with several others about boutiques no longer in existence), and it made me wonder if there could perhaps be a story idea in there–is or is not Athens a good place for clothing boutiques? Why or why not?

 

 

More Research

Style Matters Valerie Steele represents fashion’s ‘brainy side’

Valerie Steele, The Director of the Museum of Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, was interviewed about the art and business of fashion. Steele conveys to the writer that she believes that fashion is art and that people who say fashion has nothing to do with their lives make her laugh. This could be related to a story about by fashion merchandising majors, minors, or faculty and their viewpoint of the business.

Events designed to tug at public purse strings

This story revolved around high-end fashion weeks adding consumer events to their schedules. The US fashion week looked at how the media coverage of the events could translate into sales, and these events seemed to be the answer. Events like these, but on a much smaller scale, happen around Athens all year long. Coverage of a pop-up shop, a sorority philanthropy sale, or even a grand opening party use social media and word of mouth to attract the UGA community to attend.

8 Podcasts to Feed Your Appetite for Fashion

From the assignment where we found social media influencers in our beat, this story is very relevant. Many fashion bloggers are beginning to host their own podcasts, inspired by the success of “Serial”. This article lists multiple podcasts and give their overall “vibe” and “noteworthy episodes”. As a fashion minor myself, I will probably check some of these out. I would also be interested to see if there are any Athens-based podcasts, fashion related or not.


Frugal fashion sense; Cost-conscious shoppers flock to consignment stores


Consignment and thrift is a focus that I would love to write about and learn more about throughout my coverage of this beat. This article was written in 2009, but there are many posts written about it from the past 20 years.  I believe that this topic is a huge part of what makes Athens the unique city that it is, and I think it will be a main focus of my writing done in this class.


Treasure hunters find gems at consignment shops

This article discusses the idea that consignment was “on the rise” in 2009. I would like to get local consignment store owners and employees to comment on that. Is it still rising? Has it declined at all since downtown has been flooded with upscale boutiques? The article also discusses that consignment can be somewhat addicting and that shoppers who go to one consignment shop want to know where the other good locations are.

Fashion and Lifestyle Story Ideas

  1. Religiously inspired fashion choices–How does faith influence what we wear? This idea arose from controversy over the burkini ban in France, but could be expanded to include clothing choices made by Jews, Hindus, and Christians alike.
  2. Fall football fashion. How does what football fans wear to games make a statement beyond what team they support? What trends are most noticeable? Are name-brand items especially in prominence? What do these observations reveal about football culture?
  3. Fall fashion events in Athens (Community, Fashion Design Student Association, Lickskillet). Each of these would probably stand alone, as they are too far apart to be combined into one article.
    1. Community Fashion School showcase in December
    2. Plus-size fashion show in October (Rachel Barnes). Highly relevant in terms of rhetoric about female body positivity circulating on social and news media. Relate to Amy Schumer, Tess Holliday
    3. Lickskillet artist’s market. Use as an example of how independent artists attempt to market themselves and their brands.
  4. Tattoo art. What is art? How are society’s thoughts/reactions to tattoos different from how we react to other forms of art? How do we characterize the tattoo scene in Athens? What rivalries/comraderies exist between different tattoo shops? Is there a “type” of person that gets tattoos?
  5. Ekkos Apparel–Ekkos Apparel was founded by Athenian Rachel Ehlinger to raise money for secondary education in Africa. How does Ekkos operate? How much have they been able to donate thus far?
  6. Craig Page and Sweet Beijos Treats–local bakery founded by former PLACE executive Craig Page and his Brazilian partner. Perhaps relate to other local bakeries.
  7. How has the rise of the film industry in Atlanta affected the fashion industry? (Based on group discussion. As the growing film industry in Atlanta attracts celebrities to the area, will designer brands follow?)
  8. Frugal Fashionable Farmer–ties between fashion and sustainability at a local vintage-inspired artist’s farm
  9. Southern Bon Vivant–the rise of a Southern online fashion and lifestyle magazine. What makes Southern fashion different?
  10. Photographing Athens fashion. I’m less sure about this one, but I do think it would be interesting to photograph and write about styles observed downtown, perhaps during a specific event, but probably just on an average day. Athenians demonstrate such creativity in fashion, but I’m still not sure exactly how I’d flesh out the writing for this piece.