I have to ask, can we become our fashion sense?
Fashion is self expression. It speaks before you do. It lets people know what your beliefs are and what you like; what subculture you define with and what you are feeling that day.
My style changes constantly – it changes daily with my mood.
I’m generally inspired by vintage, but it can be anything. I use it as an exaggeration of my mood, of who I want to be or what I want to accomplish that day. I’ll change throughout the day.
And if I could change per activity, I would.
When I’m down I use fashion to lift me up.
It’s my morning affirmation that must be physically assembled. It always serves me.
I think: This is how I feel, this is who I am today, and a look is born.
Even when going to the grocery store or sick and going to the doctor, a look can serve you. It accentuates you. It’s happened that the lower I feel, the more wild and creative I’ll be with my style in order to lift myself out of melancholy suburban life.
Fashion is a mask. A shell.
A shell that protects vulnerability, sensitivity, and sometimes unhappiness .… but it can also express happiness, confidence, and pride.
“Clothing could be used as a means to mange mood, a way to feel better about themselves.”
—Dr. Carolyn Mair, The Psychology of Fashion
Styling up an outfit for the day can definitely boost down feelings, or even boredom.
Fashion can also be a positive source of connecting with others.
Women often use fashion to compliment each other or to break the ice, initiate a friendship, or just as a passing notice and acknowledgement between women. Mair says, fashion can enable women to make new friendships through uniting around clothing struggles and triumphs. Even though it could be seen as fake or superficial to some, I think compliments bring women closer together only advancing our bond of womanhood.
“Clothing is a medium through which the self is realized.”
—Ibid
Which is why fashion brings me and so many people joy. I believe you can get closer to yourself through your style. Fashion grounds me, reminding me of my own skin, my place, and my being in this world. It’s an outward expression of who you are.
Clothing will always be there because it’s a necessity, so why not use it as your closest physical expression of psychological needs. Use it to lift yourself up. Get into it.
“We cannot separate clothing from the self and identity because what we wear is an outward display of our self and our identity.”
—Ibid
Perhaps because I am a self-proclaimed introvert – but with a lot to say – fashion is a rewarding way for me to express myself.
It’s who I am or who I want to be that day. It can mark chapters or introduce a new feeling into your world. There’s so much freedom and possibility to your expression. So wear it, and serve it, and serve it over and over again, if you’d like.
part two: the flip side
One has to remember that women have not had this much freedom to dress as we please, likely, ever before now.
Our bodies and our garments have always been policed by society, I.E. men.
Women were arrested, beaten, discriminated, and shamed for what they wore, pretty much … always.
In the past women could be fired or not hired because of their hem line or even their looks.
Women have had a very slow crawl to this freedom we have today. Some places in the world still police women’s wear. Too much coverage. Not enough coverage … it doesn’t matter what the current rule is, they always want to be judging and controlling the items we choose to conceal ourselves in.
There’s still some difficulties in being able to truly express and wear what you desire if you’re a woman.
I still couldn’t walk down the street today in a tight mini skirt and feel comfortable about it. Our bodies are overtly, openly, and bluntly objectified and this has certainly had an impact on the evolution of my style.
There’s not a true freedom. I have to think about where I am going, what kind of people will be around, will I have to walk etc. before I dress.
Unfortunately, I have to think about others when I get dressed still or I maybe I will be subjected to unwelcome reactions regardless if I mind my own business or not.
I’m not talking overly sexualized looks either. Even something simply form fitting, I don’t feel comfortable wearing in most cases due to the openly toxic male harassment I’ve received just walking down the streets my whole life.
It took a long time for me to comfortably wear the funky, bold vintage pieces I want to wear. Growing up in a surfer beach town where people mostly just wore Vans and sweatpants, I would always get ugly stares by the locals when I would wear my flamboyant, mix-matched-whatever.
Fortunately, I left that place and traveled, which boosted my confidence and I came back each time not giving a lick what these people thought.
However, I still tense up and feel the looks, hear the lip smacking, see the stares from men and I hate it.
Balancing what you want to express with your safety.
This is a women’s experience when getting dressed, which I wish was not the case. I wish not to think about men when I am getting dressed. I wish it truly was for me, but not yet, it is not.
—fiona pitt
Flommist Fiona Pitt is a journalist and fashion model whose work has taken her to Asia and beyond. Today she is concerned with sustainability and the effects consumption has on our future. Copyright © 2020 Fiona Pitt.
PLEASE SUPPORT FLOMM
TIPS + DONATIONS DISCREETLY ACCEPTED