I'm delighted to take a back seat this week and introduce this weeks 'guest' blog written by Sally Inkster from Diva Dressing.
Well wear (ha ha) to begin - probably with Adam and Eve in the biblical sense!
The earliest quote on clothing (that I can find) is from Epictetus (a philosopher) year 55;
“Know, first, who you are, then adorn yourself accordingly”
So discovering our body shape and then buying our clothes is and always has been how to do it.
Clothes are a major part of our life 7 days a week and for some of us 24 hours a day as well if you wear pyjamas/nightie so it’s no wonder we spend a lot of money and time trying (and I emphasis trying) to get it right.
We have so much to take into account – what’s available, the climate (in England that means 3 outfits in one day quite often) and the suitability of attire to allow us to do what we need whilst also allows ‘fitting in’ with what everyone else is wearing. On top of all that, we have a personality that we want to show through our clothes.
Due to the many dimensions of dress – we are inclined to go for a uniform to form our identity and to make us a part of a group. I know I’ve been there (having finally left the nursing profession behind in 2009!)
A lot of this anxiety about what we’re wearing comes from the subconscious knowledge that we are being judged like we judge others. Let me tell you a short story;
A few weeks ago I went to a networking meeting that had a speaker on 'creativity'. I had arrived late and so didn’t get to the introductions. When the gentleman stood up to do his talk, I switched off – he was dressed in a light grey pinstripe suit, with a pale multi pin striped shirt, no tie, and brown loafers. Added to this was his hair was in need of a trim, greying at the ends and slightly wavy and he was about 5’6” in height.
None of these things were bad on their own, but the overall look was insipid. He used to be business/corporate man and was now something else but hadn’t left the suit behind. As I said he failed to press the right buttons with me because his look didn’t match with his subject.
Now I like to believe that I’m a non-judgemental person, but he had to work harder because I didn’t believe in him from that first moment. I have to say after 5 – 10 mins of speaking he had me totally enthralled and I learnt loads, but...we all do it - even if you get over it slightly quicker than I did!
This happens in our day-to-day lives all the time. Some of you have got wearing a uniform down to a fine art. Some of you are good at dressing smartly in a suit for work - allowing you to hide behind that suit very well. The panic that can ensue from an invitation saying smart/casual can be significant, and I have to say for myself that is also the worst sort of invite to get as it’s so hard to define!! We’ve all gone to something feeling either over dressed or under-dressed.
I'm sure you'll agree that it’s not that easy or straight forward to always wear the right clothes for the right occasion. What if we turn it all on the head and say we can go out of the house always knowing that we look good. In truth everyone can, no matter what their body is like. We just need to dress for our body, and that means taking our body on as it is – warts and all!
Part of feeling good in your clothes is accepting your bodies, and dressing to make the most of all your good parts. This can send your self-confidence soaring and then when you go out; it’s not all about how do I look compared to others and what do they feel about it. It becomes all about you feeling confident in yourself and your choices.
If you would like to know more about how you can ‘Dress to Make Your Life Better’ then take a look on http://www.divadressing.co.uk or email Sally at - [email protected].
A big thank you to Sally for this weeks 'guest' blog. Have a great week deciding what to wear, and what not to wear...
Regards
Jeff
