In our previous post in this series related to Managing Peer Pressure in Clothing, we talked of the need to balance peer culture with your individuality. The balance comes with choosing when to follow your peers and when to follow your voice.
Aspects of Clothing
The balance comes with knowledge. It is necessary for you to understand the aspects of clothing, what is written in stone and what can be changed to fit yourself. There are two aspects to Clothing:
- Style
- Grooming
In any aspect of life, there are certain fundamentals. Tampering with them merely brings poor or negative results. You need to follow them diligently. Resting on these fundamentals are the advanced aspects where you can choose or create your niche. Grooming is the fundamental aspect of clothing. Style is the advanced and hence the creative side of Clothing. Take a building for example. There are no two ways about the foundation. It has to be of a certain strength, toughness and depth. But, when it comes to the building itself, you have a choice. You can make it fit in with the rest of the buildings down the street (blending with the crowd), you can make it stand out as a piece of monstrosity without thought to style or look (standing out for all the wrong reasons and making people hurry past you) or you could make it stand out for its creativity, usefulness and style (standing out for all the right things and being in demand). Your peers respect you for standing out for the right things, for being uniquely yourself with your style. Here, we talk about how you can achieve Style in Clothing which can minimize peer pressure.
Style in Clothing
Style isn’t a trend or a fad to be followed blindly. There are some Do’s and Don’ts to following style. What to Do – Style is first, about knowing yourself and then about what suits that self. Knowing yourself involves knowing the inner you, what you are comfortable or uncomfortable with, knowing you body shape, skin shade, how your skin reacts in summer or winter. Once you understand these aspects about you, then you pick and choose the elements of a trend to suit these aspects. When you do that, you can safely strike out on your own and be the trendy, stylish person around. Let’s say, the current trend is of mid-thigh tops coupled with tights. But suppose, you are heavy in the thigh, this fashion trend would not suit you. You could change some elements of this trend and pair the top with a pair of jeans or you could have a longer top with the tights. Never forget your body shape when trying out new stuff. If you have a heavy behind, rather than have the short, clingy top, you might choose a top that falls to your upper leg and jazz it with a wide, slightly loose belt. Know the colors, fit and fabric that suit you. It should look good on you, yet leave you comfortable. If you are out in the sun for the day, cotton is the ideal fabric. Carry a spare for long outdoor days. A change keeps you fresh at the end of a hot day. For winters, there is a range of outerwear, with thick and thin jackets that look smart and keep you warm. As with the building, so it is with your clothing. Acceptance and respect doesn’t come from outrageous or blind dressing. It comes of having your sense of self-worth and wearing that as your style. What Not to Do – How many ads have you seen with film stars or other actors looking sloppy in the way they look? Make the distinction between sloppy and style. You ought to choose style over sloppy any day. They may believe they are being casual , but sloppy ones are those who aren’t too sure about themselves, are hiding behind oversized stuff or trying too hard to be different. Avoid that road. Even as skimpy clothes and slipping waists might bring attention, they don’t get you the right attention. When you want acceptance with respect, dress with care, dress in clothes that accentuate your body shape, not display it, dress in clothes that fit you well, neither too tight, nor too baggy. Once you have that style right, you are ready to carry it off. Low slung jeans can’t be all that comfortable. And when you sit, well, it isn’t a pretty sight. Nor are undergarments peeking above the waistline. It might look cool on the film star, he may even has his button open, but when it comes to off-screen mortals, buttoning up is safer in getting accepted.