Now and then, I get insecure
We all know beauty is more than just skin deep, more than fashion images show us what beauty is, more than make up, clothes and special underwear; but if we are honest (and realistic!) not a single one of us actually feels beautiful in the morning, although most of us do last thing at night after a few beverages.
How we dress is intrinsically what makes us, us. It’s how we show the world who we are, what we stand for, who we associate with. But the world asks for different faces, different personas, different attitudes. In the day, whilst i am trying to be an adult, to be taken seriously, i’m boring, bland, black and blue. I know that i should dress to be noticed, that style in the workplace can often mean substance, but i feel focusing on fashion takes the focus away from what i do best – work.
Fashion is for the times when i am not being defined by my job. Fashion is for when i wish to define who i really am. But with revealing the real me comes a fear. I want my clothes to show confidence, but i am not confident, i want my clothes to show i am stylish, but i am not stylish. I want my clothes to show that i care about myself, but i am lazy – i am not even basic maintenance, let alone high maintenance.
I have a wardrobe of clothes that i feel could define me. Clothes that project a silhouette of a sexy, confident woman who knows herself. I have a wardrobe of high heals, skinny jeans, figure hugging tops, sexy shapes, body hugging, body fitting, stylish clothes.
Which i never wear.
Outside of the house anyway.
So, time to take a step forward. I have 2 major fashion events coming up and im going to give the real me a try. I might never live up to the fashion magazine idea of beauty, but i can be beautiful me.
Kx
P.s… How do you feel about fashion? Are you fashionable at work? Do you feel being fashionable is for work or for those times when you can really be yourself. Do you really dress for yourself? Do you even care about fashion or put as much emphasis on it as i do?
P.p.s this is just as relevant for guys too, style + fashion (not high heals and body hugging clothes…)
I vary at work. Some weeks I live in black trousers, a variety of plain tops, flat shoes and a cardigan. Other times I make an effort. Pencil skirts, nice ruffly tops, high heels. Sometimes I even straighten my hair. I feel so much better about myself when I do make the effort but, as I wrote on my blog yesterday, at the moment I just feel like a whale. So the flat shoes, hair scraped back and black trousers are here for a while longer yet.
If I’m not at work I dress ‘like a cartoon character’ apparently. Ha ha. I like bright colours and crazy prints. And lots of plastic jewellery.
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Ha! I generally dress like a boy!
I suppose that when your confidence is down you want to hide yourself away – which in turn makes you look worse and feel worse.
P.s, i do this too, despite the fact i know nobody looks good in flat shoes (however much we love them) (particularly those horrible brogue type things) and scraping my hair back reminds me of trying to give myself a facelift as a child!
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In work I dress in (baggy/boot cut) jeans, t-shirt (probably from threadless or with some sort of gaming/geek logo) and a pair of trainers. If I have a client meeting, I’ll pull on a short sleeve shirt instead. Hair gets towel dried, a little bit of wax and tousled.
Outside of work, exactly the same
I don’t really follow fashion at all. I own a grand total of about 3 pairs of shoes. 1 pair of day-to-day shoes, 1 pair of gym trainers and smart shoes for births/marriages/funerals. I buy new shoes when 1 of those 3 gets worn out.
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I find it REALLY hard being myself fashion wise….most of the things in fashion and things I would love to wear just wouldn’t suit my body type…sadly being short and curvy doesn’t give you all that much fashion choice.
I would love to be all skinny jeans, sparkly tops and a blazer…but I’d look like a sausage in a sack.. I mostly stick to dresses with a belted waist to try and make the most of what I have.
At work, I like to think I’d be all sexy, stylish pencil dresses and ever so wotsherface from Mad Men… but that doesn’t work for me in reality either.
I’m far too scared to be ‘me’ fashion wise because I know it won’t look good. However, everyone always says I always look lovely and put together…I just feel like a bit of a mess because I don’t look how I’d like to in the clothes.
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My friend who is a seamstress tells me a always dress well for my shape but that i am very ‘safe’ with my choices. She’s absolutely right. I wear trousers and a t-shirt or jumper to work (the heels come out in winter but with flip-flops in the summer). At home, because i live alone i spend most of my time in pyjama’s. going out casually i’ll wear jeans and trainers with a top of some kind and i don’t remember the last time i got dressed up and went out.
I have some sexy clothes in my wardrobe but i’m too scared to wear them!
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I don’t do fashion. I dislike clothes shopping with a passion and therefore I mostly only buy new stuff when I need to.
I’m limited to what I can wear in work: trousers, shirt and shoes. Nothing exciting going on there…you won’t see me in any wacky pink formal shirts!
Outside of work I generally just dress in jeans, t-shirt and trainers, again I mostly play it safe. I rarely wear smart stuff, even when I go out on a weekend I don’t ‘dress up’ (shirt/shoes etc) unless it’s a big night out or a party or something.
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Work: Polished black lace-up shoes, black pin-stripe trousers, white shirt (top button undone).
Not work:
a) beige jodhpurs, random polo shirt, black leather riding boots, or
b) beige suede Caterpillar boots, 501s, black t-shirt (and if out) black leather jacket.
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I’ve always been a fan of making an effort with what you wear. For me, I feel when I make an effort (even with just a pair of kitten heels instead flatties) I instantly feel better about myself. It’s nothing to do with how I’m potrayed to others because I’ve always tried to be individual with my look (even although 9 times out of 10 it’s a standard girly look haha!) but I like to make an effort with my clothes because it does good for my day and my way of thinking.
That sounds so superficial – it probably is, but it’s always seemed to have worked for me.
I’ve always been a sucker for expensive clothes because cheaper clothes just don’t cut it (ha!).
When I was with my demon ex, I only ever wore jeans, heels and a top when I went out because I wasn’t feeling good about my life at the time so wasn’t feeling very creative but now I’m happy in my life, I tend to be a bit more dressy and creative and feel good for it.
I’ve also noticed (again, superficial) that people treat you differently depending on how you look. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I suppose you can work it to your advantage but not very good if you’re having a bad wardrobe day.
I heart clothes and could speak about them all day long!
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I actually had more fun trying to work out which of you are guys and girls! I did get confused once!
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