Thursday, November 5, 2009
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EMily Post T-SHIRT
The Simple Modern Man’s Guide To The Clothes Of A Suave And Attractive Millennium Gentleman
A real man dresses like a gentleman. The easiest method is to stay classic, stay sharp and stay clean. Just as a woman in Paris can buy frightful clothes- or the most beautiful, so too can a man in Adelaide. Without any guidance, results can be disastrous. Let us suppose you are young, or at least youngish and fit. And without a doubt dashingly good looking, you have unquestioned social standing, and you are going to get yourself an entire new, charming, ‘modern’ wardrobe. Good luck with that. The Pub A place to sip frothies with the boys, generally a relaxed and ‘merry’ atmosphere. Jeans Can be worn to the pub, the current trend being ‘skinny’. Don’t skimp on jeans. Good jeans look great, bad jean look terrible. As a rule, the lighter the denim, the more casual it will look. A button up shirt looks smart with jeans and doesn’t have to be too dressy with the sleeves rolled up and the top button undone. Sometimes the top two buttons look good open. Never three. Ever. Unless you want to look like a try hard latino pop singer. These days ‘nice’ T-shirts, whether they be polo’s or fitted printed T’s are acceptable at the pub with jeans and neat slip on shoes or lace ups. Don’t wear thongs to the pub. First of all, thongs look cheap with jeans. Secondly, no respectable establishment will even allow thongs as part of their entry dress code because they look tacky. On that note, sneakers are also a huge no no. the ‘sneans’ look never has been and never will be acceptable. Do not wear sneakers with jeans. A Dinner Date Depending on the location of the date, the attire can be quite varied, but generally a first date will not be too formal. After all, you don’t want to scare the poor girl off. No suit is necessary, Pub attire is generally acceptable. A shirt is probably preferred, If it’s an upmarket restaurant (Main meals over $30) you are taking the lucky lady to, then an unbuttoned shirt with a smart blazer (looser fitting and more relaxed style to suit jacket) can be worn over the unbuttoned shirt. Wear with jeans and smart leather shoes or boots, in either brown or black to match the leather belt. Avoid white, tan, grey and snake print at all costs. And never settle for vinyl. A Barbeque Usually barbeque’s take place either in someone’s home or in a park or open outdoor area. This makes them more casual events. They are a place to relax, and enjoy warm weather and good company, but this is no excuse to look like a dag. Shorts may be worn to a barbeque, but not the basketball or football variety. ‘Preppy’ fitted above the knee shorts are the ‘in’ thing this year, and they can be worn with either T-shirts or shirts. Try to wear bright colours on either your top OR bottom half in summer as this will highlight your charismatic and ‘happy’ personality. Thongs may be worn to a barbeque because you are in the company of friends only. Ensure that feet are clean, callous free, trimmed, and moisturised before public exposure. There is nothing more disgusting and unfashionable than dirty feet. The Beach Assuming you have a fit and tanned body, board shorts are appropriate for a day at the bay. Like shorts, the above the knee style is more popular this season. Board shorts always look better with print. Plain coloured boardies are boring. A cap (as long as it’s not a freebie and not a piece of merchandise for a team you support) may also be worn if you require some sun protection, a panama hat is preferable however, these look good on most people and show that you have a bit of style, even when wearing the bare minimum. A Wedding Weddings are glorious places to meet new people, and how better to make a grand first impression than with your beautiful taste in clothes. Unless specified on the invitation, a suit is always appropriate at weddings. Avoid any shade of cream or blue. These colours look cheap. Polyester is non breathable and hideous. Velvet is not in fashion. Padded shoulders are an abomination. Look for fit in a suit, not the price. ‘Fit’ means perfect set and line, not plaster tightness. Two buttons are best, but never do both of them up. The tie is where you make your statement, bright colours and patterns show personality. Stick to spots and stipes though, tie’s with little pictures of penguins or cars or ‘humorous’ cartoon characters are for primary school teachers and taxi drivers only. Home The only place (besides the gym) where track pants and ‘wife beater’ style singlets can be worn. Comfort is essential when in ones own home, but one must never forget that at any single moment there may be a knock at the door. Wear shoes, even if they are thongs or slippers, because bare feet equal dirty feet and dirty feet make you look poor. Slippers must look like slippers though, and may not be worn outside the house. Do not wear cartoon head or puppy dog slippers, they are not cute.
say NO to sneans
Sophia Rebecca
MY FINISHED EXEGESIS
EXPANDING ON EMILY POST
Issues in Publication and Design- Sophia Thomson
One of the main components of the Issues in Publication and Design course this study period, has been focusing on understanding the works of theorists such as Walsh, Reep, Parker, Schriver and Wheildon. All of whom look at the relationships between communication, graphics and design. Another component of the course was studying an etiquette guide written in 1922, by American author Emily Post. This exegesis breaks down the three Emily Post related artefacts which have been created to tie in with the theme of the book and looks at the reasoning behind the design choices made in the process of creating the objects and the comparisons of these choices to the ideas and suggested design ‘rules’ of the theorists studied. It also looks at how the reader may interpret the artefacts through the use of language and context, semiotics, meanings, and graphic design.
The first artefact created is based on Emily Post’ original 1922 Etiquette guide, chapter XXXIV ‘The Clothes of a Gentleman’ (Appendix 1.1). The original piece of text is written in a conversational but very serious tone, it is a lengthy piece of writing and is easy to get lost in. Because the text is written in block chunks, rather than in short concise easy to understand dot points or small pars, I personally found the chapter rather difficult to stay focused on. According to Walsh (2006) ‘Print based texts have different levels of decoding, responding and comprehending’, meaning that it cannot be assumed that the text itself will be interpreted the same by everybody. Similarly Schriver (1997) explains that ‘Every reader interprets what they read differently as they base it on personal experience and have different individual meanings based on knowledge, attitudes and values’. Ideally, reading a piece of text should be an enjoyable interaction between the reader and the text itself. This is why when creating this print artefact I chose to re-write and simplify ‘The Clothes of a Gentleman’ for a modern audience. For this print artefact I have written the guidelines on a men’s T-shirt. The T-shirt is a modern fashionable slim fit style and it reflects the evolution and changes in men’s fashion today. This also agrees with and takes Walsh’s (2006) theory into consideration, that the style of writing and the story needs to be reflected in the presentation. In this case, the text is relevant to men’s clothing, so it makes sense to print it on a quirky fashionable men’s printed T. Although the original guide utilises sub-headings such as Formal Evening Clothes, The House Suit, Formal Afternoon Dress and In The Country, which work to break the page up, call attention to specific topics, show where topic changes occur and help readers find specific information (Reep, 2006), the newer version of the guide does not use these. Instead, ‘The modern man’s guide to looking suave’ uses shorter sentences and a less conversational tone. It is written in more of a bullet format, with shorter sharper rules, rather than long descriptive sentences and uses different colours to break it up. ‘Colour in a document is eye–catching and appealing to readers… it also helps the reader move through the document.’ (Reep, 2006) This also makes the actual T-shirt more attractive and fashionable, from a distance it simply looks like an interesting bright printed T rather than a T-shirt with a slab of information printed on it.
The second artefact is based on a piece of work which is indirectly linked to Emily Posts book of Etiquette, it is a piece adapted by an anonymous author about greetings. (Appendix 2.1) It looks at the similarities and differences between Emily Post’ formal greetings and greetings in Japan with included translations. I have chosen to intervene on this work and extend it into an electronic children’s book with both visuals and sound. I chose to expand on this to make it more interesting and entertaining. By creating a document with more than just words, it immediately becomes more intriguing and especially for children, more fascinating. As Schriver (1997) points out, ‘as technology improves and means of communication change, presentation of information needs to adapt’ and similarly, Walsh (2006) states that ‘written text is only one part of the message, and no longer the dominant part.’ So in this modern day and age, books and information need to adapt to these changes. This is why I created the book which can be viewed via a Microsoft power point slide show. Unlike a regular kids book which simply shows pictures and text, this book also includes voice overs of the text. Not only does this give the story an extra multimodal element, but it also helps the child learn to read and to understand the pronunciation of difficult words, particularly because the book focuses on greetings in different languages from different countries around the world.
Schriver’s study is based on the interplay of text and graphics and explores how the relationship between words and pictures create meanings together, not separately. The study looks at the ways in which words and pictures interact and work together to evoke feelings in the reader. The construction of this children’s e-book was predominantly based around Schriver’s theories and suggestions. When creating this artefact I also felt that it was important to follow Parker’s direction and to first look at and understand who my target audience is and what similar messages they may already have encountered (Parker 1990). In this case, the intended audience is children aged 3-8, and assumedly, they would have been exposed to many different children’s books with different visuals and graphics. So taking this into consideration I wanted to make my artefact stand out. I wanted to make it fun and exciting for children to read. Ideally, I wanted to make this artefact something they would not grow bored with, I wanted to create something they would enjoy reading. Which is why I chose to introduce the element of sound to it. Each time the child clicks to turn the virtual page of the book, the next page appears with the image and text and then the sentence written on that particular page is read aloud to them as a voice over.
Each page of the book is quite simplistic. I did not want to overload the readers with too much information, I wanted to stimulate curiosity and interest, but not bombard them with too many words and too much information. ‘For language to be used successfully when writing the main message, the text needs to be presented clearly, not allowing several other messages to compete for the audience’s attention’ (Global Alliance, 2003). This is why on each page I have included only one short simple greeting. At the bottom of the page is the name of the language in bold easy to read typeface, and in the middle of the page is the greeting written in that language. The background picture on each page is a simple, generally recognisable stereotypical picture of a place in which this language would be spoken, for example the ‘French’ page has a picture of the Eiffel Tower as the background and the ‘Arabic’ page has a picture of the Pyramids in Egypt. This simplistic approach makes the book easy to follow. It is not too busy with too much text for young children to read, they should find it simple, easy and fun. I chose to use a simple bold consistent font for the book and avoided thin ornate typefaces because as Parker (2003) states, ‘thin serifs and strokes tend to get lost when projected on screen.’
The third and final artefact I have created is a drawing. It is based indirectly on Emily Post’ guide to public transport, and relates to ‘Bus Etiquette’, a guide, written by an unknown author. The humorous guide to catching the public bus explains how to overcome and avoid uncomfortable moments and awkward silences by covering different subjects such as The Bus Driver, Social Interaction, Avoiding Eye Contact, Creating Distractions, Seating, Signals and Location. I have chosen to expand on and intervene on this piece of text by creating an image of the inside of a bus. This image could be used with the text to expand on it and illustrate to readers what happens on the public bus in the 21st century. For those who have never caught a bus it would work as a teaching tool to help them further understand the written guide. The drawing I have created looks down the aisle of the bus from the entrance near the driver to the back of the vehicle. It is drawn from a commuters point of view, with their hand and their bus ticket in the foreground and the seating arrangement of he other commuters in the background. The drawing follows the rules of the ‘Bus Etiquette’ guide and shows elderly people sitting at the front of the bus, younger adolescent school students sitting at the back of the bus with their school bags on the surrounding seats, people sitting alone and people purposely distracting themselves with books and ipod’s so that they have reason not to talk to other bus passengers.
This picture is drawn in lead pencil and is mostly black and white, it incorporates sections of white space and uses only small amounts of colour to highlight different elements. I chose not to do the entire picture in colour because ‘colour should be used with restraint. It’s easier to make a strong impression with black plus one or two colours than it is to make an impression by using every colour of the rainbow.’ (Parker 2003)
Whether it be through text, a combination of text and sound or graphics and images, messages must be presented clearly to readers and viewers without confusing them with other distracting elements. This element of design and the idea of simplicity and cleanliness was the main focus for me when designing my Emily Post intervening artifacts. Each of the three artifacts were created to connect with their different audiences and to gain and hold their attention through colour, semiotics, language, genre, context and medium.
REFERENCES
Reep, DC 2006, ‘Document Design’, technical writing; principles, strategies and readings, 6th edn, Pearson/Longman, New York, Chapter 6, pp. 133-172.
Parker, RC 1990, ‘beginning Observations’, Looking Good In Print; a guide ti basic dsign for desktop publishing, 2nd edn, Ventara Press, Chapel Hill NC, Chapter 1, pp1-22.
Parker, RC 2003, ‘Designing documents for web distribution’, Looking Good in Print, 5th edn, Paraglyph Press, Scottsdale AZ, Chapter 14 pp. 269-293.
Post, E 1922, ‘The Clothes of a gentleman’, Emily Post’s guide to Ettiquette, New York.
< http://www.bartleby.com/95/34.html>
Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers. The interplay of words and pictures Ch.6, pp. 261-441, Wiley Computer Pub, New York. [electronic version]
The Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis, 2003, 10 Tips for Producing Effective
Publications, <http://www.taskforce.org/LFSC/toolkit/advocacy/LFPublicationTips.pdf>
Walsh, M 2006, ‘The “textual shift”: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian journal of language and literacy, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 24-37.
APPENDIX
Appendix 1.1- Emily Post’s “The Clothes of a Gentleman”
| IT would seem that some of our great clothing establishments, with an eye to our polyglot ancestry, have attempted to incorporate some feature of every European national costume into a “harmonious” whole, and have thus given us that abiding horror, the freak American suit, You will see it everywhere, on Broadway of every city and Main Street of every town, on the boardwalks and beaches of coast resorts, and even in remote farming villages. It comes up to hit you in the face year after year in all its amazing variations: waist-line under the arm pits, “trick” little belts, what-nots in the cuffs; trousers so narrow you fear they will burst before your eyes, pockets placed in every position, buttons clustered together in a tight little row or reduced to one. And the worst of it is, few of our younger men know any better until they go abroad and find their wardrobe a subject for jest and derision. |
| If you would dress like a gentleman, you must do one of two things; either study the subject of a gentleman’s wardrobe until you are competent to pick out good suits from freaks and direct your misguided tailor, or, at least until your perceptions are trained, go to an English one. This latter method is the easiest, and, by all odds, the safest. It is not Anglomania but plain common sense to admit that, just as the Rue de la Paix in Paris is the fountainhead of fashions for women, Bond Street in London is the home of irreproachable clothes for men. |
| And yet, curiously enough, just as a woman shopping in Paris can buy frightful clothes—or the most beautiful; a man can in America buy the worst clothes in the world—and the best. |
| The ordinary run of English clothes may not be especially good, but they are, on the other hand, never bad; whereas American freak clothes are distortions like the reflections seen in the convex and concave mirrors of the amusement parks. But not even the leading tailors of Bond Street can excel the supremely good American tailor—whose clothes however are identical in every particular with those of London, and their right to be called “best” is for greater perfection of workmanship and fit. This last is a dangerous phrase; “fit” means perfect set and line, not plaster tightness. |
| However, let us suppose that you are either young, or at least fairly young; that you have unquestioned social position, and that you are going to get yourself an entire wardrobe. Let us also suppose your money is not unlimited, so that it may also be seen where you may not, or may if necessary, economize. |
| |
| FORMAL EVENING CLOTHES Your full dress is the last thing to economize on. It must be perfect in fit, cut and material, and this means a first-rate tailor. It must be made of a dull-faced worsted, either black or night blue, on no account of broadcloth. Aside from satin facing and collar, which can have lapels or be cut shawl-shaped, and wide braid on the trousers, it must have no trimming whatever. Avoid satin or velvet cuffs, moiré neck ribbons and fancy coat buttons as you would the plague. |
| Wear a plain white linen waistcoat, not one of cream colored silk, or figured or even black brocade. Have all your linen faultlessly clean—always—and your tie of plain white lawn, tied so it will not only stay in place but look as though nothing short of a backward somersault could disarrange it. |
| Your handkerchief must be white; gloves (at opera or ball) white; flower in buttonhole (if any) white. If you are a normal size, you can in America buy inexpensive shirts, and white waistcoats that are above reproach, but if you are abnormally tall or otherwise an “out size” so that everything has to be “made to order,” you will have to pay anywhere from double to four times as much for each article you put on. |
| When you go out on the street, wear an English silk hat, not one of the taper crowned variety popular in the “movies.” And wear it on your head, not on the back of your neck. Have your overcoat of plain black or dark blue material, for you must wear an overcoat with full dress even in summer. Use a plain white or black and white muffler. Colored ones are impossible. Wear white buckskin gloves if you can afford them; otherwise gray or khaki doeskin, and leave them in your overcoat pocket. Your stick should be of plain Malacca or other wood, with either a crooked or straight handle. The only ornamentation allowable is a plain silver or gold band, or top; but perfectly plain is best form. |
| And lastly, wear patent leather pumps, shoes or ties, and plain black silk socks, and leave your rubbers—if you must wear them, in the coat room. |
| |
| THE TUXEDO The Tuxedo, which is the essential evening dress of a gentleman, is simply the English dinner coat. It was first introduced in this country at the Tuxedo Club to provide something less formal than the swallow-tail, and the name has clung ever since. To a man who can not afford to get two suits of evening clothes, the Tuxedo is of greater importance. It is worn every evening and nearly everywhere, whereas the tail coat is necessary only at balls, formal dinners, and in a box at the opera. Tuxedo clothes are made of the same materials and differ from full dress ones in only three particulars: the cut of the coat, the braid on the trousers, and the use of a black tie instead of a white one. The dinner coat has no tails and is cut like a sack suit except that it is held closed in front by one button at the waist line. (A full dress coat, naturally, hangs open.) The lapels are satin faced, and the collar left in cloth, or if it is shawl-shaped the whole collar is of satin. |
| The trousers are identical with full dress ones except that braid, if used at all, should be narrow. “Cuffed” trousers are not good form, nor should a dinner coat be double-breasted. |
| Fancy ties are bad form. Choose a plain black silk or satin one. Wear a white waistcoat if you can afford the strain on your laundry bill, otherwise a plain black one. By no means wear a gray one nor a gray tie. |
| The smartest hat for town wear is an opera, but a straw or felt which is proper in the country, is not out of place in town. Otherwise, in the street the accessories are the same as those already given under the previous heading. |
| |
| THE HOUSE SUIT The house suit is an extravagance that may be avoided, and an “old” Tuxedo suit worn instead. |
| A gentleman is always supposed to change his clothes for dinner, whether he is going out or dining at home alone or with his family, and for this latter occasion some inspired person evolved the house, or lounge, suit, which is simply a dinner coat and trousers cut somewhat looser than ordinary evening ones, made of an all-silk or silk and wool fabric in some dark color, and lined with either satin or silk. Nothing more comfortable—or luxurious—could be devised for sitting in a deep easy-chair after dinner, in a reclining position that is ruinous to best evening clothes. |
| Its purpose is really to save wear on evening clothes, and to avoid some of their discomfort also, because they can not be given hard or careless usage and long survive. A house suit is distinctly what the name implies, and is not an appropriate garment to wear out for dinner or to receive any but intimate guests in at home. The accessories are a pleated shirt, with turndown stiff collar, and black bow tie, or even an unstarched shirt with collar attached (white of course). The coat is made with two buttons instead of one, because no waistcoat is worn with it. |
| |
| FORMAL AFTERNOON DRESS Formal afternoon dress consists of a black cutaway coat with white piqué or black cloth waistcoat, and gray-and-black striped trousers. The coat may be bound with braid, or, even in better taste, plain. A satin-faced lapel is not conservative on a cutaway, but it is the correct facing for the more formal (and elderly) frock coat. Either a cutaway or a frock coat is always accompanied by a silk hat, and best worn with plain black waistcoat and a black bow tie or a black and white four-in-hand tie. A gray silk ascot worn with the frock coat is supposed to be the correct wedding garment of the bride’s father. (For details of clothes worn by groom and ushers at a wedding, see chapter on weddings.) |
| Shoes may be patent leather, although black calf-skin are at present the fashion, either with or without spats. If with spats, be sure that they fit close; nothing is worse than a wrinkled spat or one that sticks out over the instep like the opened bill of a duck! |
| Though gray cutaway suits and gray top hats have always been worn to the races in England, they do not seem suitable here, as races in America are not such full-dress occasions as in France and England. But at a spring wedding or other formal occasions a sand-colored double-breasted linen waistcoat with spats and bow tie to match looks very well with a black cutaway and almost black trousers, on a man who is young. |
| |
| THE BUSINESS SUIT The business suit or three-piece sack is made or marred by its cut alone. It is supposed to be an every-day inconspicuous garment and should be. A few rules to follow are: |
| Don’t choose striking patterns of materials; suitable woolen stuffs come in endless variety, and any which look plain at a short distance are “safe,” though they may show a mixture of colors or pattern when viewed closely. |
| Don’t get too light a blue, too bright a green, or anything suggesting a horse blanket. At the present moment trousers are made with a cuff; sleeves are not. Lapels are moderately small. Padded shoulders are an abomination. Peg-topped trousers equally bad. If you must be eccentric, save your efforts for the next fancy dress ball, where you may wear what you please, but in your business clothing be reasonable. |
| Above everything, don’t wear white socks, and don’t cover yourself with chains, fobs, scarf pins, lodge emblems, etc., and don’t wear “horsey” shirts and neckties. You will only make a bad impression on every one you meet. The clothes of a gentleman are always conservative; and it is safe to avoid everything that can possibly come under the heading of “novelty.” |
| |
| JEWELRY In your jewelry let diamonds be conspicuous by their absence. Nothing is more vulgar than a display of “ice” on a man’s shirt front, or on his fingers. |
| There is a good deal of jewelry that a gentleman may be allowed to wear, but it must be chosen with discrimination. Pearl shirt-studs (real ones) are correct for full dress only, and not to be worn with a dinner coat unless they are so small as to be entirely inconspicuous. Otherwise you may wear enamel studs (that look like white linen) or black onyx with a rim of platinum, or with a very inconspicuous pattern in diamond chips, but so tiny that they can not be told from a threadlike design in platinum—or others equally moderate. |
| Waistcoat buttons, studs and cuff links, worn in sets, is an American custom that is permissible. Both waistcoat buttons and cuff links may be jewelled and valuable, but they must not have big precious stones or be conspicuous. |
| A watch chain should be very thin and a man’s ring is usually a seal ring of plain gold or a dark stone. If a man wears a jewel at all it should be sunk into a plain “gypsy hoop” setting that has no ornamentation, and worn on his “little,” not his third, finger. |
| |
| IN THE COUNTRY Gay-colored socks and ties are quite appropriate with flannels or golf tweeds. Only in your riding clothes you must again be conservative. If you can get boots built on English lines, wear them; otherwise wear leggings. And remember that all leather must be real leather in the first place and polished until its surface is like glass. |
| Have your breeches fit you. The coat is less important, in fact, any odd coat will do. Your legs are the cynosure of attention in riding. |
| Most men in the country wear knickerbockers with golf stockings, with a sack or a belted or a semi-belted coat, and in any variety of homespuns or tweeds or rough worsted materials. Or they wear long trousered flannels. Coats are of the polo or ulster variety. For golf or tennis many men wear sweater coats. Shirts are of cheviot or silk or flannel, all with soft collars attached and to match. |
| The main thing is to dress appropriately. If you are going to play golf, wear golf clothes; if tennis, wear flannels. Do not wear a yachting cap ashore unless you are living on board a yacht. |
| White woolen socks are correct with white buckskin shoes in the country, but not in town. |
| If some semi-formal occasion comes up, such as a country tea, the time-worn conservative blue coat with white flannel trousers is perennially good. |
Appendix 2.1- Japanese Comparisons artefact. Author unknown.
Unable to download file into this document due to formatting problems, however it can be viewed at:
Apendix 3.1- Bus etiquette, Author unknown.
Bus Etiquette
Public Transport:
Life is full of uncomfortable moments and awkward silences and never is it so prevalent than when one takes public transport. In no other situation are people thrown together in such close proximity, offering minimal comfort and little convenience. The public bus system is the epitome of such travel and as such has its own set of rules and etiquette which should be followed to ensure minimal discomfort.
The Bus Driver- Due to the ambiguous nature of the bus driver it is often hard to prepared for what may confront you when those double doors open. You could be met by a jolly ‘hello’ or ‘good morning’ or you could simply receive a grunt as you hand over your change .As the driver is in charge of transportation he wields the most authority and as such dictates the mood of the vehicle. It is vital to remember that though we live in a democratic society, the public transport system has rules of its own; a bus is a dictatorship, and what the driver says goes. So if your driver is in a good mood by all means take advantage of the situation and exchange pleasantries as you pay for your ticket, but if not, stay OUT of his way.
Social Interaction- It is advisable to keep the level of social interaction on public transport to a minimum. There are three crucial rules when considering this issue. These include:
Speak only when spoken to; Silence is golden and often the best times spent on public transport are the quiet ones. As most people present are simply trying to get from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ as quickly and pain free as possible. They will not appreciate being forced to engage in polite and shallow conversation with strangers.
Avoid eye contact; You do not know how long you will have to commute with the people on your bus and you want to avoid any awkward or uncomfortable situations. If you have the ill luck of being landed with the ‘booth’ seats (a set of two seats which directly face one another) then your only option is to find your ‘fixed point’. This is a place you can freely stare; where you will not meet the eyes of the stranger across from you. Typically this may be anything from the window you are located near to the suspicious stain on the floor by your feet.
Distractions- It is advisable when planning to commute on public transport, one take with them some form of distraction such as a book, phone or portable electronic device. Such objects act as forms of engagement, even if the device in question does not work. For it is always helpful to create the illusion of being distracted (this will help avoid both ‘eye contact’ and ‘social interaction’).
Seating- It is always advisable that one should try, when possible, to sit by oneself. If all seats are occupied then you will be forced to take a seat next to another person. Consider:
Personal Judgment; The best approach when presented with the daunting task of sharing a seat with a fellow commuter is to use your personal judgment to assess the people around you. Key points include the person’s level of sanity, intoxication and body odour as these factors will all significantly impact upon the pleasantness of your journey.
Signals; Subtle signals are used by many commuters to discourage fellow travellers from sitting beside them. One common ploy is to create the illusion the seat is full i.e. a bag being placed on a vacant seat, a single person situating themselves in the middle of two seats, an individual placing their feet across the seat in front of them (frequently use to prevent the awkward ‘booth’ scenario) and sitting in the seat closest to the isle to prevent others from entering.
Location, location, location; Anyone who travelled on a ‘school bus’ as a child will recall the system of hierarchy in concern to seating, with the order directly correlating to ones level of popularity. Public transport, however, is quite different. The most undesirable seat on a school bus, often referred to as the ‘dickie’ seat by students, is one of high demand on public transport as it allows an individual to sit by themselves. Other popular seats include those at the back of the bus as the likelihood of having to move for the elderly people is significantly decreased.
By avoiding the common civilities and moral standards engrained in polite societies, preached down to us by parents and teachers alike, one may very well be able to enhance their experience of the public transport system.
