Thoughtful (warning, goes on for ages!)

bitsandbobbins has posted a thought-provoking post about why we wear what we wear. It's an interesting topic because people's reasons are really variable and wide-ranging. I think my main motivating factor is that I would like my sense of style to be admired by people whose sense of style I admire. The type of style I admire is creative, quirky, a little arty, a little trendy (but not sheep-like adherence to fashion), and most importantly, not boring. Sadly, I feel I usually fall short of these ideals myself (note tendency to repeat shortish skirt & tights combo). However, I also don't want to get stared at by the rest of the populace. It would also be nice if my other half liked what I looked like, but he's really not into clothes and sometimes refers to my ensembles as bizarre, so I really don't focus on his ideas (ultimately I think he would prefer I looked 'normal', which seems to mean bootcut jeans and a fleece top *yawn*).

Oddly, I seem to be mostly dressing for imaginary people because where I live is so not fashion central! Typical day wear consists of sportswear or light hipster jeans and a hooded top (with obligatory 3 inches of stomach in between) and nighttime wear of the smallest, tightest, sparkliest thing you can find. The nearest city does have students though, and emo kids, and many of them are cool-looking (but so young *sigh*). When I pick my outfits, I am thinking of all the stylish people in blogland, but then I go out in the real world and spend the day feeling self conscious. The day I wore mustard yellow tights is a good example, would have blended right in in blogworld, in real life I apparently looked like "a f***ing chicken"!

One constant in the responses to bitsandbobbins' post was that people dressed to disguise bits of their bodies that they dislike. I am always trying to minimize my wide-shoulders and not reveal my knobbly knees (ok with tights, baaaaad without). I have also banned myself from most jeans without a long top because my upper thighs have totally gone to pot recently. I like to accentuate my waist but get very annoyed with people who tell me I shouldn't wear loose-fitting things because I have to "show my teeny tiny waist". Well yes, sometimes, but a side-effect of showing my "teeny tiny waist" is often highlighting my NOT teeny tiny bottom and thighs!

Generally I am grateful that in western society we have such freedom of dress and that almost anything is accepted to some degree. Even chicken costumes :-)