The class I am taking on Italian Fashion is absolutely incredible! My professor is bringing up topics in discussion and also through our assigned readings that exactly align with what I am planning to pursue for my capstone project. On Friday during our quiz section there was great discussion about the idea of "beauty" and the human connection to the act of shopping.
Inspired by the different perspectives within our class, I wrote, "...We are so much deeper than that of our physical appearance or by what we clothe ourselves in. This is just stuff, and the depth of the human soul is deeper than that, it does not define us–but yet, it does. We are not defined by our things, but we find personal definition in what we own or what we wear. We design ourselves and our homes, our very lives even, as a sort of self-expression. The things we own communicate something to the world about who we are, or who we want to be, telling a story, presenting an image, that we want society to recognize us by, but these things that create our visual identity do not make us WHO WE ARE."
As my classmate stated, the danger is in becoming encumbered by these things. We need to personally identify who we are and present our authentic selves to society–how do we know once we have done that? Is the me that I present to the world through my visual representation, the me that I actually am, or is it the me that I think the world will accept?
TUTU THEORY.
I feel so free in that crazy pink skirt. I am aware that I look unusual, a little indie if you will, but I feel like a blank canvas that has just been intentionally painted. I have to own that skirt when I wear it, accept that people will judge me as I would another wearing tulle on campus, but I cannot let my fears hinder me. The perceived judgement of others that I usually fear have to be overcome whenever I put it on. It is like Fear Factor Fashion Edition.
Through this though, I experience a reawakening and find myself enjoying life in a way that differs from when I wear my go-to pair of jeans. This is curious though. The only thing that actually changes is the bottom half of my outfit, yet what I experience is a change in so much more.
An idea I have to explore this further is to go to a thrift store and change up my wardrobe–not entirely, but significantly, and design a more "authentic" me–one that experiences the same spirit that I have with my tulle skirt. Will clothing of a different nature cause me to think differently, at least in the way of my perspectives of myself and of others? "All that's real is what you feel..." I do not know how I could prove my findings, except to record how I feel in specific outfits, then interview others to reveal what they think of my clothing, and then record how I feel about myself after true judgments are unearthed.
INQUIRY: How can I design a visual identity through clothes while establishing a deeper sense of self that transcends judgement of others? My goal will be to explore why this feeling is only experienced when I wear certain kinds of clothes.
[Secret. I want to be a chic-indie-bohemian.]
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