Clothing and life

[oDD_LotS]

I believe that the way I dress is a manifestation of my personality, or perhaps more accurately, the personality and lifestyle that I wish to portray. For example, I spent much of my life either dressed "gothic" (when I was younger, around 14), "sk8 punk" (from about 16-18), or rockabilly (18-19). Â These were outward showings of my tastes at those times: in music, art, and culture. Â They were also statements as to what social group I wished to belong. The current way I dress is a more homogonized style. Â It's far from mainstream, but it's a more a mix of the previous influeces mentioned, with a dose of class and gentlemanly style thrown in. Â I believe it reflects that I've finally found my own style, both with my clothing and appearance, and within. Â It's also a more unique style, that I use to reflect my interests: music, art, tattoos, etc. Â And, yes, it's still an attempt to state which social group I wish to make an alliance with. Â However, whereas before it was a more blatant proclamation, my current style is more of a general product of my inherent desire to express my art in all elements of my life and appearance. I think that my recent move towards a more tailored "put-together" look is in direct response to my rather dramatic self-transformation (I've lost 65 pounds since last summer or so). Â I express my newfound inner confidence through more flattering threads. Ohhh, and the biggest reason...the chicks dig it. Â

Sorry for the length, but this is a subject I've been thinking a lot about lately.

 

[dug]

Quote:

being well dressed is a way to look like more professional, more serious, more wealthy in order to obtain easily what you want from others
dug: Are there instances when you suspected that you were treated better or worse because of the way you dress?
Of course. What you dress is essential in how people are with you

 

[j]

Are there instances when you suspected that you were treated better or worse because of the way you dress?

Here's a little anecdote:

One day a long while back I had to appear in court and was well-turned out in a suit, and at the end of the day went to my friend's house and we were going to go out. We were I think 19 or 20 years old. We decided that he would go get a suit and tie on and we would go hit a bar with our real IDs. The reasoning being that we figured if we looked rich and well-behaved the bouncer might not even notice our IDs said we were underage.

So we drove out to a nice club a while away and walked in, strode right up to the bouncer and produced our real IDs. I looked him right in the eye and he looked back between me and my ID at least four times, during which time I'm sure he read my age. He kind of smirked, handed back my ID and let me in. He did the same for my friend.

And of course we were very well-behaved.

I can think of numerous times that wearing a suit and looking sharp has gotten the attention of waiters, bartenders, and just people in general.

 

[banksmiranda]

Impressive, J.

 

[j]

Yeah, we had fun.

 

[FCS]

You have to be 21 to hit a bar there?

 

[j]

Yep. Vancouver's not a very long drive, so we would go up there for a weekend now and then but it's 21 everywhere in the US.