Makena Duffy is truly an enigma; after for knowing her for 12 years I still cannot figure out how she thinks. Wherever we are she will always know what song is playing, always know the newest coffee shop and know what’s the best on their menu, and has been my style icon since I was 8. Makena’s persona exudes curiosity and coolness. She is collected and calm, but also outspoken and is able to challenge anyone who crosses her. When interviewing her I didn’t know what to expect I knew that she loved vintage, and that she creates her clothes meticulously, but i never realised how she is unaware of her aesthetic of clothing. In woodwards reading she states, that “sensuality, tactile and aesthetic of clothing are crucial to understanding why women choose what to wear. This sensual relationship to items of clothing means that often women are unable to verbalize why it is that they love an item of clothing means that often women are unable to verbalize why it is that they love an item of clothing so much. Because taste preferences are cultivated over a long period of time, women’s attachment to particular items is an embodied material relationship of wearing. Women may no longer know the underlying reasons for their particular emotional relationship items of clothing or can no longer, verbalize them as preferences are history turned into nature.”1 This idea of unspeakable love of clothes was so prevalent in Makena’s philosophy it is was preventing her from moving forward in her style. “I don’t think it has, and I think that is the issue I very much wear the same things I wore in High School. . . .I don’t feel that there is anything I can’t wear. I definitely feel that I can’t really wear the things I necessarily want to wear because I have grown as a person since high school, but my fashion and style have not evolved since then. I find myself wearing the same things. “ I remember when I first got to college I was afraid of this idea that my style would never change, but instead of embracing it and waiting for it to evolve naturally I forced myself to wear things I normally would never by. I myself thought my identity was in the realms of extreme vintage fashion, but it is actually a curation of things I enjoy similar to my childhood. My closet is filled with crinolines, knit pants, and long Victorian inspired dresses. For both Makena and I both find comfort in the routine of getting dress because it feels like a ritual of intimacy or seeing an old friend. Although Makena’s routine starts at 6:00 am and mine at 9:00 am I find that the way we see clothes brought us together in the first place. Interviewing Makena has increased my understanding of clothing and its relationship to the body because clothes are not simply a utilitarian garment, but hold meaning we can’t comprehend it becomes an extension of ourselves and allows others to understand us.
1“Chapter 2 .” Why Women Wear What They Wear, by Sophie WOODWARD, Berg, 2007, pp. 32–33.
