What is it about what we wear? I think for some people it’s a big deal and for others it’s “just clothes.”
In fact, some items of apparel are labeled “statement pieces.” That means, they say something about the wearer; maybe even shout who we are, or who we want to be known as.
Nobody forgets what they wore for their wedding. I’m guessing most of us remember what we wore at other significant moments in our lives.
What does this say about clothing? Perhaps clothing is a symbol of our identity, at least to a certain extent.
Surely costumers for film and television, study the characters, setting and tone of the project when they propose wardrobe. “What do I want to convey through the clothing choices of this character?”
A buttoned-up collar suggests cultural or social frigidity. A mini skirt on a middle-aged woman might be saying that she’s trying too hard to stay young. The dark, plain pant suit and plain neutral shirt worn by a female detective says she’s one of the guys.
The frilly, girly chiffon dress screams Stepford Wife, a woman accustomed to “pleasing her man.” The business suit hollers, “establishment.” A polo shirt or skort, say “I’m casual and relaxed.”
“Artsy-fartsy” folks wear unusual patterns, styles, and often, colorful clothing which speaks to their creativity. Uniforms give away “what I do for a living,” …. I’m a postal carrier, a medical professional, a technician for “so and so….”
My husband and I, who work from home, have a bit of a “uniform,” that we wear around the house. In the summer for my husband, it’s a colorful t-shirt and shorts and in the winter, a long-sleeved colorful t-shirt and jeans. He’s “plain, Book,” – did you ever watch the movie, Witness? My uniform in the summer is often a t-shirt as well, with shorts or carpi-pants, and in the winter, sweatshirt and sweatpants – old-fashioned workout clothes, because I work out and I’m old-fashioned.
Through some clothing choices, people, specifically women and girls are deemed, “asking for it,” or blamed for assaults on their person. I think the best rebuttal of such ridiculous thinking is a current exhibit in Leola, Pennsylvania (Amish country), titled “What they wore.”
As it turns out, the modest clothing traditions of Anabaptist cultures which include Amish, Mennonite, Brethren, Charity, and other “Plain” churches such as in Holiness, an offshoot of Methodism, do not make little children or women immune to sexual assault. Organizers of the exhibit of clothing worn by sexual assault victims in these “Plain churches,” are trying to make everyone aware that “you can be harmed no matter what you’re wearing.”
The assailant, not the victim, is the twisted human being in these scenarios. No one asks to be assaulted. If a child is wearing a long cotton dress and bonnet or a woman is wearing a tight animal print mini dress and high-as-the-sky heels, and these females are accosted, it’s not the clothing that “made him do it.”
Also, what is it with the new concept of “cultural appropriation,” as a bad thing when we wear clothing associated with other cultures? If a white woman wears an Asian-inspired garment, or a Hispanic woman wears an African-print or head piece, or we wear jewelry reminiscent of a different culture than our own, it used to be considered done so in honor of that culture. Today, however, we might be verbally attacked for appropriating a minority culture. I really don’t get it.
Are you comfortable in your skin? Is your “I’m okay, you’re okay” attitude reflected in the clothing you wear atop that skin?
Do you iron your clothes, making them “just right,” or do a few wrinkles or creases exemplify a “live a little” position toward life? Can you live with a stain or small tear in something you wear? Or is that garment instantly a throw-away?
“Will you be seen” in certain styles and never in others? Most of us have seen visuals of “what people will wear to Walmart.” Oh my! From pajamas to derriere-exposing short-shorts, to what one would consider costumes or t-shirts with messages better kept private, people will wear just about anything, most anywhere – but Walmart is often the destination of those wearing crazy stuff.
There’s also the daring possibility of wearing nothing at all. A naturist of that sort, I am not, but hey if that works for you…. Nudists are another personality type entirely. What do you wear, and why?