It’s an interesting question and one that usually leaves gals of all ages racking their brains for an answer until their heads explode and they die. Okay it’s a little less dramatic than that but do you see my point that this question is impossible to answer?
The inspiration for this post came this note that my friend Na wrote on Facebook.
The Clothes we Wear
…or rather, the clothes I wear. Sometimes I wonder if I, as Mystic Medusa has said of all Pisceans, just “pour myself into whatever cliche does the trick”. Yesterday I was wearing cowboys boots. I put them on cos I was wearing a denim vest, and what better to wear with such an avatar of Americana than cowboy boots?
But then I was walking around and suddenly got worried: what if the cowboy boots, rather than an ironic nod to the Wild West, are merely lame? I mean, whilst they are *real* cowboy boots from *real* Texas rather than hokey Sportsgirl knockoffs, in the scheme of things, who can tell the difference except me, and even if one could, does it change the fact that I look like a berk?
The day before that I put on some red lipstick which always gets a reaction, but usually the reaction is, “wow. your lips are red.” How come I can’t wear red lipstick anymore? Is it too cliched (especially with tousled hair, a bonds singlet and vintage vest, a glass of wine and a fag permanently stuck in the corner of my gob)? Is it too intimidating?
This is what plagues me at night and the real reason why I find it so hard to get dressed in the morning. The way I approach clothing is often as if it were a costume: one day I’m Art Gallery Na, another I’m Calamity Na, another I’m Sixties Love Child Na, another I’m Courtney Love’s Love Child Na. If I’m late for anything it’s usually because I can’t decide who I am today and none of the cliches work.
anyway, my real question is, are cowboy boots acceptable?
I replied saying that of course cowboy boots are acceptable, that she was wearing them before the major infestation of said boots in 2006/2007 and that she was only suffering because they are quite recently ‘out of fashion’. And even if you don’t give a toss about fashion no one wants to be seen as looking dated. But what really intrigued me was her list of different Nas. I know this lady quite intimately (and by intimately I mean that we drink a lot of gin and talk shit on a regular basis) and she is entirely correct. She IS all of those Na’s and they all very different. Which got me thinking… what are the different Lady Smaggle’s? And are there any repetitions in my attire that might represent one particular style?
Let’s see there’s Gypsy-boho-jangly-beads-and-sandals Smaggle…
There’s I-wish-I-was-Isabella-Blow-or-Diana-Vreeland Smaggle…
There’s 1950’s-your-dinner-is-on-the-table-let-me-fetch-your-pipe-and-slippers Smaggle
And I-am-so-alternative-that-Facehunter-is-totally-going-to-snap-me-today-Smaggle
I was flicking through my Daily Outfit posts and I am all over the shop with how I dress. But I have decided that I am okay with that. It simply means that I am a free-spirited, eccentric, dignified and artistic dresser. It just depends which of the Smaggles is screaming the loudest on any given morning. I have noticed the following few things though that will make shopping a little easier…
* I don’t wear pants. I don’t even think that I own any except for a pair of jeans that I rarely wear.
* I like block colours and black and white. I rarely do colour or patterns although I will embrace them occasionally.
* Accessories are my livelihood.
* I love to layer clothing.
So maybe it’s not the style of clothes we need label but the aesthetic?
It’s your turn! How many clothing personalities do you have? Are you sporty and then glam? Or skater then goth? And is there any common ground shared between your dressing monsters? I am very interested in what everyone has to say on this matter!
Love Lady Smaggle xxx (But which one am I today?)
8 Comments
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Ah why thank you for your ever so prompt comment! It’s really liberting isn’t it to figure out your different clothing personalities? I love the idea of the year of polished toenails. Even in winter when no one else can see it, it always makes you feel a little more special… sexy even!
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Like a Homer Simpson or Superman kind of thing? It could work if you updated it yearly and stopped the earth’s rotation so that we never had seasons. You wouldn’t do and you know it… you’d get so bored.
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I am a mood dresser. If I need to have an extra productive day at work I usually wear all black and make sure I have a killer pair of heels on. There is something about wearing heels that makes me work better… flats just don’t feel right.
I LOVE patterned frocks but usually stick to black, white, grey and pink.
I NEVER wear brown… ever
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Ah yes the killer heels. It always makes me feel so much more professional. Although I usually have to ditch them by the end of the day because my feet are killing me.
You never wear brown?! I would die with out brown! -
Ooh! Ooh! This was one of my vague resolutions for this year – ie I didn’t write it down, but I have been thinking about it – to define my personal style, or more accurately, to develop one. I like your description of your different personalities. I think I have Slobby Cee, who wears what’s comfortable with little consideration for style; Faux-Punk Cee, who wears Docs with everything, and lots of black; Hippy Cee, who wears long skirts and carries wildly patterned bags; Fifties Cee, who wears a-line skirts & dresses with wedges; and Not-Really-Corporate Cee, who wears knee socks with suits to work (and who just ordered a whole pile of new socks from sockdreams.com – can’t wait for them to arrive).
There’s very little similarity between any of those wardrobes that I can see, and I would really like to integrate them a bit, or perhaps discard some of them (ie Slobby Cee!). Skirts and dresses are kind of new for me, and I’m enjoying experimenting with them in outfits – in fact, I think this year is the year of the skirt for me. And the year of polished toenails. Now I just need more shoes that go well with skirts 😉
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Sometimes I dream of taking a leaf out of Einstein’s book and just buying 7 identical outfits that I would wear all the time. It would certainly make dressing easier. but then, Einstein was a genius and I am just Na so I don’t think I can get away entirely with that level of eccentricity.
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I’m exactly the same. I don’t profess to be super stylish or out there, but i definitely have many personalities in my wardrobe. in fact when i wrote my first clothes rant on my blog, a lot of it was about that. is it ok to have heaps of different looks.. because it’s always about ‘your style’. I can look completely punk, emo, hippy, mainstream and alternative all in one day!
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