Style matters
Style, superficial? fickle? pointless?
I had lunch wednesday afternoon at a “Mercado de” something or other across the street from class. I walked in the door and immediately noticed one of the servers (perhaps the owner), who was busying herself clearing tables. Mid forties, short, dark hair, greying ever so slightly. Thick rimmed, dark red, rectangular glasses, denim jacket, a pair of jeans (the denim combo is often risky), and a pair of dark blue leather boots. She looked current, trendy, yet very at ease, and it was her ease that struck me.
This is what always strikes me about what I consider to be people who get style right. The clothes, the shoes, the accessories seem to be simply an extension of them. There is integrity about the whole look, the clothes no longer stand alone, they appear to have been absorbed into a whole.
As far as I can figure it, style is about conversations. Style is about communicating to other people who you are. Maybe you are a quirky mix of intellectual, and artistic, perhaps, you are in love with the physical, and want to express power, endless energy….
That’s the second conversation…The first conversation happens within. Fueled by this journey of self discovery that we are all on. But these sorts of journeys need articulation, expression, to move forward. This is why I started this blog for example. It is as much for me as for anyone reading it. Ideas and emotions need to be articulated to take shape and crystallize.
We are not composites of discrete body, mind and emotion,… our various “parts”, if indeed we can call them that, are deeply connected and each needs expression through the others. Our physical state affects our mental well being, our emotions come out in the physical, and so on. So we cry when we are sad, and laugh when happy.
As we explore and grow into ourselves, there is a loop that needs to be completed between the mental or emotional and the physical. The exploration process, can be aided powerfully by expressing it through physical elements, and because of its personal nature, style can act as a point of reflection and an avenue of experimentation and discovery. I am not suggesting that clothing is the only way to do this. I am suggesting that spending time thinking about, and developing your personal style, can be a potent, dynamic, yet often overlooked way to advance cycles of self learning and self discovery, and an uplifting way to share your journey and yourself with the rest of the world. Harness it!
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