| Jul. 21st, 2009 @ 09:02 am How We Dress |
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If nothing else (besides a ton of debt), my graduate degree has turned me into even more of a people watcher than I was before. I've always been interested in what people have to say, which of course, is way different than the words that they speak. In community mental health especially, how people dress can be an imporant indicator of a serious mental decline. You learn to pay attention. Although this list doesn't apply to them so much, they were the starting point to me thinking about this issue precisely because they are so far removed from it. Keep in mind that when I say dress I mean all of our bodily adornments. How we keep and wear our hair (or lack thereof), our makeup, jewelry, tatoos and piercings. Not just our clothing.
Also, this is just the stuff I think about when I'm up with a puking 9 year old.
Number 1s
Number 1s dress exactly like themselves. What they wear reflects exactly who they are. This isn't to say that they don't take the situation they are dressing for into account or ignore social norms, cues, or behaviors. But they are themselves first. And their self is who you see, not their clothing. When reflecting on which public figures are #1's I first thought of Gandhi and Mother Teresa. But this would lead people to think I connect 1-ness with holiness or goodness and of course, that is not the case. 1-ness is just about being exactly who you are in your skin and how you adorn it. Gandhi may be a 1, but so is Gary Busey.
Other 1s: Rachel Maddow, Martha Stewart
Number 2s
While most grown people strive to be 1s and think that we probably are, most of us are 2s. Number 2s are a little more complicated. We have a better idea of who we are and what we are and dress for the idea of that person. We use clothes to help define ourselves, rather than be ourselves. We arn't trying to be someone else, per se, we just seem to need the clothes to push us along. This isn't a bad thing, in fact this is something that society encourages us to do, so it makes sense that we are mostly 2s. Oprah Winfery is a great example of a 2. As her role in society grew and changed, so did her wardrobe, reflecting her changing role more than it did her internal growth.
Other 2s: Tom Colicchio, let's face it, you and me, most likely
Number 3s
The great majority of teengars (and probably just people under the age of 25) are 3s. 3s dress for what they want to be, for how others see them, for how they want others to see them. How they dress has nothing at all to do with their own sense of self. This isn't the domain of the very young however. While probably most adults are 2, there are plenty of grown people who are also 3s. 3s can be about the extremes, but maybe not in a way you may think. They can be about extremely standing out, or extremely blending in. It isn't about sluttiness or conservativeness of dress. Tila Tequila is a 3, but so is Sarah Palin.
Other 3s: Lil Kim, Nadya Suleman (you know, Octomom)
Thoughts? Additions? |
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