Critical Methods
You've heard of dozens of these methods for examining literature: feminist, deconstruction, African American, etc. What these are are ways to examine literature and the world through the lens of any one of millions of lifestyles or abstractions. You simply notice and comment on the values or details that your choice of methods dictates.
For example: feminist criticism may focus on women's roles and gender or power interaction. Adventure criticism (yes, I just made that up, but it's valid) might focus on attitudes toward risk and related choices and perhaps various factors that steer individuals in one direction or the other. Some of these critical methods have been established by consensus of various scholars while others may have more flexible definitions.
So if you want to write a paper using Fashion Criticism or Gang Criticism or Housewife Criticism, more power to you. If you need to sell this to your professor, have your own list of important factors to examine and evaluate according to your choice. And if you do this, please send it our way and let us share your ideas (and make you famous)!