Thursday, May 10, 2012

Musings About the Reasons Behind Personal Style

I just read a post by Casey over at Casey's Elegant Musings, and when I started writing a comment, I realized that I had so much to say that my comment was going to end up being longer than her post. Casey, that is the sign of an excellent post; when what you write is so thought-provoking that some readers turn around and write their own posts about the topic.

Casey's question was "If you find yourself drawn to vintage style... why have you chosen (or not!) to dress this way?" This question can obviously be applied to why we choose to dress in any particular way, not just vintage.

I'm strongly drawn to vintage styles. I think they're lovely, flattering, and attractive, but I don't actually wear any vintage clothing. There's something about me (my personality? the way I carry myself? the shape of my face? the style of my hair? the fact that I look best in muted colors?) that seems to scream "I'm sweet and innocent and ripe to be preyed upon!" This attribute, whatever it is, is only exaggerated by vintage clothing, so while I like vintage, it makes me incredibly uncomfortable. I like my clothing to make me feel powerful, sexy, attractive, and comfortable, so the vulnerability that I feel when trying on a sweet floral 50s dress means that that dress is not something that comes home with me, no matter how beautiful it is or how perfectly it fits. I'm so envious of the women who can pull of the edgy vintage look. I'm definitely missing whatever it is that would enable me to do that without looking either childishly sweet or scandalously tarty. :)

I do own one vintage dress, which I love, but I have yet to wear it. It's a solid sea green tea-length sun dress with a triangle lace bib at the neckline and more lace at the pockets. It's been in my closet for over nine months while I've tried to figure out how to style it or alter it so that I can still feel like a powerful woman while wearing it. The solution I've come up with is to remove the lace, raise the hemline, and find a leather jacket that will cut the sweetness of the dress. Hopefully I'll have time to do all three of those things some time in the near future!

I need a leather jacket in my life. I also feel like I would be more comfortable in my clothing (and feel like it's more representative of who I am) if I could combine more articles that are hard or edgy with the sweet, feminine things I already own. My style is in a bit of a flux right now, and I'm currently looking for a way to do that combination of edgy and feminine without too much leather (leather is just too hot for me in the middle of summer, and I don't want to wear the same thing every day) and without much - if any - black (black just really isn't my color, and I'm trying to phase it out).

So what's your style right now? Why do you wear what you wear? Are there particular aesthetics that just aren't you, or that you would feel uncomfortable in, and what about them keeps them from your closet? Or are you - like me - still figuring out where you want your style to go? If you are, where do you think your style is headed, and what about that attracts you?

5 comments:

  1. Cute is a hard image to shake. Part of the reason I make my own vintage-style clothes is that, as it turns out, I don't want the same things out of vintage as many other women do: I have no use for New Look suits, or floral garden party dresses, or Edwardian lace, more's the pity. As my style evolves, I've discovered that I look best and feel most comfortable in casual, sporty, or relatively severe (think schoolmarm) vintage styles. These ladies are my style inspiration:

    http://pinterest.com/pin/214554369717477283/

    I don't know if it's a queer thing, or just personal choice, but I would run the other way from a sweet floral 50s dress!

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    1. I absolutely think that personal style is influenced by gender, sex, and sexuality! My partner found that she attracted the type of women she was interested in when she dressed a particular way. It also didn't hurt that her style of dress is also comfortable and feels like "her." Personally, I've always had trouble with my image in the gay community, because I'm not willing to give up my feminine skirts and silhouettes, so everyone I met outside of gay events (and sometimes even in gay events!) assumed I was straight. Clothing and style can tell people who you are and sometimes even what you're interested in.

      It sounds like you've figured out how to express yourself through style. I'm still working on that. :)

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  2. I actually wrote about this a few weeks ago. A few weeks ago, I decided to give up dressing (but not sewing) vintage in favor of a more modern, edgy, rock and roll style. The reasons are so long and varied that I'll direct you to my post: http://www.meladori.com/shesinfashion/?p=2678

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    1. I'm sorry I missed that post! I just read it, and it was excellent. Exactly what I was thinking. I especially loved your sixth point. "Sense of style is bred out of practicality, comfort, attitude, and wearing whatever makes you feel beautiful." I'm going to put that on my sewing inspiration board to remind myself not to choose things that are so cute that I'll be uncomfortable in them later. :) Thanks for your comment!

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  3. Abby, I feel as though you wrote this for me. I do love many styles of dress, but have my own sporty, casual style. I love vintage, and am nostalgic for some of the lifestyle but would not ever wear that style. Being almost 60, and living in a rural area...vintage would not "fly". I have some edge to my facial structure, and grey hair...I like a more artistic/urban look.

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