Really thought provoking night. The session we led was planned to be about how girls dress in terms of sexy/slutty and how they dress to attract male attention. Though I'm sure that is a real issue to lots of girls tonights discussion went off at a different angle. Style, identity and expression are all huge things and particularly with young people style is a way of really understanding the world they are part of. Today it was the chav/emo/normal debate. In the area we live in you are either emo or normal. Chav's are a minority and no one wants to be seen as one. When I was at school in was the gypos and the townies. I fell under the 'gypo' category. We were the minority and were either labelled gypos, indie kids or goths - all very different but any of those labels would do. The 'normal' would lean towards the townie style - the modern day chav and they would bully us - the oposite seems to have happened now. As much as I hate all the nastiness which goes with the whole style issue I do love the way people can get so passionate about taking abuse for their style. I would gladly put up with choruses of 'where's your caravan' every lunch and break and be satisfied that I wasn't mindless enough to spend my time following someone around singing it even If I had to listen. I was proud of my style and that I was confident enough to go to school wearing strange and bizarre things with eyeliner drawn in patterns all over my face and hair a different colour every week. This year I suddenly realised that compared to how I used to be I am now totally boring - and that made me quite sad.
Since being a Christian I have been made more aware of the 'appropriacy of dress' and what effect certain types of clothing have on guys sexually. It is a really interesting topic and certainly one I think every girl should consider but I do think that some guys feel that girls are out to provoke them when genuinely this may never feature on a girls agenda.
I don't agree with materialism but though that is a principle I try to live by to be competely honest I love fashion and style and buying, finding, making clothes. I love colour and texture, cut, shape, unique and bizarre and completely off the wall fashion. I am a visual and artistically inspired person and if I had my way I would never consider anyone when it came to the way I dressed. I rarely even consider what my husband thinks of what I wear and I don't think I am alone in that. Though it may be totally sexist I would generalise that many men do not know what is in fashion and actually do not like a lot of the styles that are arond at the. moment They are not impressed by something which is uber-cool but by something that 'looks nice' even if that is the most boring thing in the world. If I wore the same outfit for 2 months on end I do not know that the guys in my life would notice I'd done so...but I guarentee my girl friends would notice the second day. Girls dress for girls...I know I do. A girl giving me a compliment on what I wear means far more than a guys and I think that is because loads of girls have an exciting sense of style.
One of my most favorite times in my life ever was when me and my old and so good friend Amy caught up one weekend whilst away at different universities. She came back to Sheffield for the weekend and we some time together. We got hold of some blue fur, silver PVC, zips and a sewing machine we set to work and created asymetrical crop tops, blue hot pants and knee high leg warmers. We wore blue makeup, tied our hair up in the old skool bjork style and tried to sneak out my student house without any of the very conservative boys seeing. We got caught but it was so much fun as we headed out for a dance at the leadmill, the most under-dressed nights we could have possibly chosen. We looked ridiculous but it was so cool and for 2 arty types I guess we felt expressive. I don't know what it is but there is something so satisfying and liberating about wearing things that everyone else sees as gross, ridiculous and stupid. Why does that make me feel good?
Spiritually speaking I do believe we have to be responsible. Our clothes communicate a lot about us and whilst it is one thing to be dressed communicating 'i am a bit wired actually' it is another to be out in the streets with the whole of your body squadging out between a few bits of string and some teenie bits of tacky fabric - I really think this communicates something a bit different. But I love the part of 'the vision' which is a passage written on a prayer wall once...somewhere? which says 'they wear clothes to celebrate and commiunicate but never to hide'. I am challenged to celebrate and communicate that bit more. I know that at school and uni would I wear something and different everyday and even though I went to a non uniform school I never wore jeans - now my favourite pair of jeans have worn through so much that they are literally glued together and I even trauled through ebay to get an exact same pair to replace them - so I know I must have had a few boring days in jeans and jumper - especially since having children. Now, I know there are things not practical about dressing up in high heels and dresses to take 2 toddlers to a muddy park, but even in 'practical wear I think i can afford to be more creative in colour and style. I feel inspired and as today is saturday it seems the perfect opportunity for shopping.
Key note:the most important thing I own - a sewing machine and the desire to use it brilliantly.
Since being a Christian I have been made more aware of the 'appropriacy of dress' and what effect certain types of clothing have on guys sexually. It is a really interesting topic and certainly one I think every girl should consider but I do think that some guys feel that girls are out to provoke them when genuinely this may never feature on a girls agenda.
I don't agree with materialism but though that is a principle I try to live by to be competely honest I love fashion and style and buying, finding, making clothes. I love colour and texture, cut, shape, unique and bizarre and completely off the wall fashion. I am a visual and artistically inspired person and if I had my way I would never consider anyone when it came to the way I dressed. I rarely even consider what my husband thinks of what I wear and I don't think I am alone in that. Though it may be totally sexist I would generalise that many men do not know what is in fashion and actually do not like a lot of the styles that are arond at the. moment They are not impressed by something which is uber-cool but by something that 'looks nice' even if that is the most boring thing in the world. If I wore the same outfit for 2 months on end I do not know that the guys in my life would notice I'd done so...but I guarentee my girl friends would notice the second day. Girls dress for girls...I know I do. A girl giving me a compliment on what I wear means far more than a guys and I think that is because loads of girls have an exciting sense of style.
One of my most favorite times in my life ever was when me and my old and so good friend Amy caught up one weekend whilst away at different universities. She came back to Sheffield for the weekend and we some time together. We got hold of some blue fur, silver PVC, zips and a sewing machine we set to work and created asymetrical crop tops, blue hot pants and knee high leg warmers. We wore blue makeup, tied our hair up in the old skool bjork style and tried to sneak out my student house without any of the very conservative boys seeing. We got caught but it was so much fun as we headed out for a dance at the leadmill, the most under-dressed nights we could have possibly chosen. We looked ridiculous but it was so cool and for 2 arty types I guess we felt expressive. I don't know what it is but there is something so satisfying and liberating about wearing things that everyone else sees as gross, ridiculous and stupid. Why does that make me feel good?
Spiritually speaking I do believe we have to be responsible. Our clothes communicate a lot about us and whilst it is one thing to be dressed communicating 'i am a bit wired actually' it is another to be out in the streets with the whole of your body squadging out between a few bits of string and some teenie bits of tacky fabric - I really think this communicates something a bit different. But I love the part of 'the vision' which is a passage written on a prayer wall once...somewhere? which says 'they wear clothes to celebrate and commiunicate but never to hide'. I am challenged to celebrate and communicate that bit more. I know that at school and uni would I wear something and different everyday and even though I went to a non uniform school I never wore jeans - now my favourite pair of jeans have worn through so much that they are literally glued together and I even trauled through ebay to get an exact same pair to replace them - so I know I must have had a few boring days in jeans and jumper - especially since having children. Now, I know there are things not practical about dressing up in high heels and dresses to take 2 toddlers to a muddy park, but even in 'practical wear I think i can afford to be more creative in colour and style. I feel inspired and as today is saturday it seems the perfect opportunity for shopping.
Key note:the most important thing I own - a sewing machine and the desire to use it brilliantly.
1 comment:
Mand you are so great! And always look great too! x
Post a Comment