Post #1: You Are What You Wear

Doctors, parents, and the general “they” have often said, “you are what you eat.” Similarly, to the perception of the outside world, you are what you wear. Or, if you’re Lady Gaga at this past Sunday’s MTV VMAs, you wear what you eat (see picture).

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/13/lady-gagas-meat-dress-photos_n_714117.html)

And while we all might like to pretend to be Lady Gaga sometimes and break all the fashion rules (including being dared to wear a Gaga-esque garbage bag out in public by other fashion interns in NYC this past summer, like I was), it simply can’t be the norm. In reality, no matter how much we try to deny it, we’ve all judged a book by its cover before; we’ve all judged someone we didn’t know based on what they were wearing.

            After finishing yoga class yesterday, I decided to skip the time-consuming trip back to my dorm and went straight to the library wearing a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants. Both were fairly unfitted and admittedly, I was looking kind of spent. That being said, I got more than one look that had a judgmental read. But hey, comfortable and uncaring was the message that my clothes were sending, and I was completely cognizant of that fact. People were much more apt to think of me as looking like a silly mess than the girl sitting a few seats away wearing a cute knit dress.

Now, c’mon, context should be able to justify wearing sweats to the library. Homework time should be allowed to be a comfortable time, especially if you’re stressed. Same goes for Frank on Sunday mornings…do you see anything other than sweatpants and pajamas? I sure don’t. No one should have to look good all the time and frankly I think that that’s almost impossible.

Now, I’m not telling you that it’s OK to judge people for what they wear all the time, or that it’s OK to be lazy and wear sweats all the time either, but I am reminding you to be wary of the message that you choose to send out to the general public. Especially if you care about how they perceive you.

            However, just like the mannequin in the cutest (or most authentic/original/funky/interesting) outfit in the store window, we tend to be drawn to people who captivate us and look nice. So before you just throw on the first two clean articles of clothing that are in your top drawer, think about the image that you want to project to the world. Sometimes how you dress makes all the difference.