Week 6 Post: Minimalism/Purest

Today in class we talked about the concept of minimalism that seems to be very popular recently. In class today we specifically focused on the "finger" shoes, or bow hunting which seems to be much more difficult, and pure. 

I feel like we are resorting to these types of products to be more connected to ones self, and to be more aware of our bodies, health, and surroundings. One example includes segmented sleep where someone will sleep for four hours and then wake for one hour and then sleep again for four more hours. Before modern electricity this sleep cycle was very popular. It seems as if consumers are engaging in non-consumption by going back to more pure or primitive ways. Another example of a minimalist type of product is any Apple products. Steve Jobs designed his products to be simple. This could be one of reasons his designs are so popular.

Life is usually pretty complex, so I think anytime consumers have the ability to be more pure in their purchases, they take that opportunity. As a consumer, I have noticed that health has becoming a very popular lifestyle. Lifestyle is a, "pattern of consumption that reflects a person's choices of how to spend her time or money" (Solomon p. 469). The minimalist shoe represents a certain lifestyle. When I see someone wearing the particular shoe pictured above, I assume they are healthy, an avid/experienced runner, conscious about their body, and maybe earthy.

The products we buy really contribute to the lifestyle we lead and the beliefs/values we relate too. As we stated in class, the minimalist shoe probably isn't just a fad like any trends from the 80's, which makes it become apart of a lifestyle. This lifestyle may even create over consumption as well. Because these types of shoes require you to own more than one pair of running shoes, at least for a while anyways. My point is, is that something that is considered minimalist is actually causing over consumption. I find that kind of interesting.