This dress was made for bare feet and beaches--from the lightweight cotton to the palm print it was made for sunshine and summer. I might not have the bare feet and beaches, but it's feeling very close to summer lately so the dress has a suitable environment at least.
On a different note, I've been thinking about clothes and how they make people
feel lately. I like using analogies to explain my relationship to fashion--quick and easy stories or comparisons that illustrate a point without having to spend an hour discussing how developing my personal style changed the way I felt about myself. My favorite analogy (which I've used here before) is comparing fashion as a hobby to sports as a hobby--women who shop designer shoes are seen as frivolous while either gender who don team affiliated clothing are seen as fans. Spend loads of money on game tickets, or adjust your social schedule to not miss a game on your big screen television and again, you're just a true fan. Prioritize your expendable income to expand your wardrobe and you're probably vain. I see fashion as a hobby and some hobbies happen to be more socially acceptable than others.
But all of that is an analogy I've beaten to death before, the latest comparison on my mind is attention seeking versus attention receiving. I've written a long post on this before as well; i.e. the idea that I know a more outlandish outfit will turn heads but I'm not wearing it for the purpose of turning heads--I focus on clothes that make me feel good and usually deal with the fact that it makes me more noticeable. As a shy person the fact that my style can make me the overdressed person at a party isn't a benefit, but something I'm willing to accept for the sake of feeling good in my skin. The analogy I've thought of recently is this: dietary choices. If you're at a cookout and everyone else gets a burger and you get a hotdog will people assume you're being different for the sake of attention or rather think you just prefer to eat hotdogs? At a restaurant with friends when everyone else gets sodas and you get a milkshake will your friends think your milkshake is particularly obtrusive at the table? To my mind, choosing to wear a flower crown or vintage dress should be seen as a similar matter of preference--you might already know everyone else will order/show up in jeans and a tee shirt or some other more conventional outfit, but if you prefer something else why eat the burger?
All analogies aside I suppose I'm still trying to figure out why we're so quick to judge people for not blending in and to make assumptions on their appearance...
Outfit details:
*pictures by Kate
Labels: family affairs, outfits, teen vogue
