Wednesday, October 27, 2010

An Education

In responding to my outfits, you guys give me an education that is extremely valuable.  You candidly and compassionately point out my successes and failures, and often offer suggestions that hadn't occurred to me before.  My understanding of style is growing quickly under your tutelage.  Also, sometimes you explain things to me that I didn't consciously know but had hidden in the back of my mind. 

For example, have you ever liked something but not known why?

I put together an outfit recently and it appeals to me a lot.  (It's the one with the ruffled skirt.)  That outfit reaches deep inside me but, until one of you commented on it, I didn't know why.  Now I do.

The outfit, because of the short ruffled skirt, resembles a girl's dance-costume.  Way back in my childhood, I had an intense desire for colorful dance-costumes.  I wanted to be one of the girls who got to wear such pretty clothes.  Of course, I never could.

I didn't make any connection between that long-held desire and my outfit last week until Freeda pointed it out -- and she couldn't have been more right.  It is precisely because of the resemblance to a girl's dance-costume that the adult-outfit appeals to me so strongly.  And now that the resemblance is known, I can't believe how obvious it is and how strange that I didn't recognize it before.

Before making this connection, I took the pictures shown below.  This new outfit is even more obvious than the last one in tracing the source of its appeal.  It's funny how I didn't see that before.

Thank you for helping me sort through the many associations we have with clothing and the sometimes-hidden meaning clothes often have for us.




4 comments:

  1. Those are great pics.. and that outfit looks really great on you!! I have learned tons by blogging as well. First I sure notice that when I see myself in an outfit in a picture I am less emotionally attached and I see myself more objectively in terms of what suits me or looks good, or NOT. and then other thing is now that I am more confident being in pictures I dont mind when other people take pics of me. I used to hate it and avoid it at all costs. So now I have a whole new freedom to be myself and not feel so self conscious. This blogging thing has been really great!!!

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  2. These are Great pics ! This outfit would be Great for a party !

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  3. Thanks, guy. Good to hear, Jodi, about how blogging has helped you.

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  4. This top is really nice on you - the V neck balances out your shoulders perfectly!

    I have found similar things from blogging - seeing myself in pictures has really helped me to see my body objectively. I don't zero in on my perceived faults anymore, and I can look at an outfit and just say, "Eh, that top/skirt/dress doesn't suit me" without going into a big negative spiral.

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