The dress practice log was an extremely interesting assignment. Being forced to be conscious about my daily dress practices and decisions is actually something that isn’t really that new to me. As I dress up every morning, I’m already always thinking… Always asking myself a number questions… How would I look in this, in the eyes of others? Do I look overweight? Do I feel overweight? Which items of clothing are going to help me in feeling more confident? Or Which items of clothing are going to make me feel less visible? Or (on good and contrasting days) Which colours reflect my mood today? I really feel like wearing loads of colour today…I’m sick of wearing black. These being just a few of the recurring questions and thoughts that occupy my mind.
I am and always have been very aware of my feelings and decisions around my daily dress practices. The only difference here, is that I had to record all these things to share. In all honesty, this deep-rooted awareness around my dress practices stems from having body-image issues and long standing insecurities around my weight… All of which started from a very young age for me. To be honest this dress log, and even this post, has forced me to be very vulnerable. It’s actually very hard for me to even imagine sharing these things out loud with the class or with an audience. In the back of my mind, I sort of wish I could pretend my insecurities don’t dictate most of my choices, and although I’m not sure how comfortable I am with it, it’s just the unfiltered and honest truth… And the only one I can offer at that. My body and the way I feel about it and see it dictates 85%-90% of my dress choices. As much as I hate to admit that. The other 10/15% is a mix of personal style, taste, mood, weather and practicality. I think these are things I had all previously noticed, and this assignment really just highlighted this further for me.
I’ve always been extremely fascinated with proportion, and to be honest although my insecurities may hinder me in some ways, they have also allowed me to deeply explore the relationship between body and clothes for a long time. I’ve always said that I’ve mastered proportions and dressing different body types and really believe that’s been a helpful tool for my artistic work and visions.
Looking and thinking back at my dress log, the week that I recorded my practices was actually quite a light (energetically/ in terms of feelings and mood) and positive week for me in which my mood dictated most of my choices. Regardless, it was an exceedingly fascinating study and experiment of myself and actually really aided in furthering my self-awareness around big topics and recurring themes that travel through my thoughts, feelings and mind…
