WhereAreYou Going,
Where Have You Been?
“She wore a pullover jersey blouse that looked one way
when she was at home and another way when
she was anywhere else that was not home.”
I
n the Joyce Carol Oates short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” a female character named Connie rebels from her parents, seeking out male attention by spending her nights picking up boys at a drive-in restaurant. In the end she gets more than she bargained for when a man named Arnold Friend pays her a visit. In 1985, director Joyce Chopra developed the movie titled Smooth Talk based on Oates' short story. Just like in the story, in the movie Connie is a conceited teenager obsessed with her looks. She equates her selfworth with her physical beauty, but has to tone down her looks at home so that to have a peaceful family dynamic. In order to keep a booming social life it is necessary for her to change certain aspects of herself when not at home, particularly her fashion choices. This month we decided to put our own modern spin on Connie's outft choices, both her risque and conservative looks. During the poem's setting, which is assumed to be the 1950's, society's ideal woman was a curvaceous sexpot housekeeper type (kind of confusing, right?). At the time, sex icons like Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot had just broken onto the scene and were strongly infuencing society's vision of the ideal woman. Nevertheless, they still preferred their women to get married young, have babies, and take on the role of the perfect housewife; cooking, cleaning, and never making a peep. In the story, the way Connie reacts to the pressure she feels to ft the mold is to secretly rebel against her parents by dressing more provocatively when away from their judging eyes. Take a look at our fashion picks and interpretation of Connie's sexually charged and attention grabbing looks. We found some pieces similar to the looks seen in Smooth Talk and some not so similar to ultimately create a revamped look for Connie.
BEAUTYPICKS
CONFIDENT CONNIE
FALL2011
COY
CONNIE