case clothed
Posted on December 13, 2007 by Tito
I’m 9/10 sure that I am the polar opposite of fashionista1, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying Lauren’s take on getting dressed:
“I am just a visual person… About six months ago, I was wearing some weird get-up, and I suddenly thought to myself, ‘There’s a world of difference between dressing for men and dressing for women. I’ll do it commes des garcons for a while.’ It made me even more fashion-y, but also more subtle… an infamous story about the secret to my appeal: I purposely dress like I could get undressed in five seconds… No buttons, no zippers, no pants, etc.”
I’ve relaxed the rules since then but it’s still amusing to recall because the other day I came across some “Action Not Glamour” shoelaces that I adored but, with the exception of a pair of boots I seldom wear because the heels are agony, don’t own any shoes with laces.
The semantics of clothing as a visual language have long fascinated me, as no reference goes uncoded, from uniforms to couture. I am especially reminded of attending the PEN/Faulkner Gala a few years ago and chatting over dinner with famed linguist Deborah Tannen, who pointed out that men and women’s choices for formal wear are jarring in terms of what is permissible and what is scrutinized. We’re always saying something. What’s your take on what you wear?
I suppose I say: “I get dressed in 5 seconds”.
1 fashionista not recognized by Firefox’s handy-dandy spell checker.
» Filed Under Perception
