How I felt wearing the same clothes for a month?
I made an experiment. I had to wear the same black trousers and a black shirt for 30 days in a row. I wanted to see if a tendency of changing outfits every day is a force of habit or just a custom dictated by society. What will happen if my life turns into a fashion austerity? How quickly will people notice that I am wearing the same outfit every day? Would they start pointing fingers at me during parties or at work? And if not — so why should we suffer by dressing up every day?
I went to a strict disciplinarian school in Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the uniform played such an instrumental role in the education process that students had at least two sets of dress, including one for sports classes.
In primary school, we wore plaid mid-dresses with white shirts from Monday to Friday. In elementary and middle grades such a monotony of everyday routine dressing inspired kids, which made them feel like adults.
In high school, things changed. Students started to protest rules, including the uniform which had turned into classic black suits. The limits of dressing frustrated and confused us while we wanted to stick out. We definitely broke the rules. The senior grades students deliberately forgot appropriate shoes and wore sneakers instead of classic pair, they blushed guiltily. We secretly wore colorful shirts hiding them under enormous black jackets. Girls found their own ways to express themselves and wore a barely noticeable makeup. Our actions forced the school to punish students and send them home to change.
So ever since my childhood, I knew how it feels to wear the same outfit daily — it was annoying but practical: I saved a lot of time for studying not wasting it on outfit choices. Would it feel the same now as an adult?
Now if I wear the same outfit for some time, it means that I am probably having fun or it is a result of having a good time. I would wear the same clothes if I lost my baggage or had to stay to sleepover outside my home.
Everyday life turns the clothes changing process into some kind of a ceremony, rewarding you for how much you have accomplished. Didn’t oversleep and miss the gym? Well done, the best running shoes are here waiting for you. Are you heading to a meeting in the office? Thank God, you weren’t fired, it’s time to wear a perfect Uniqlo shirt. Do you still have some energy for dinner? Wear chic earrings! For every life occasion, we have a different piece of clothing at the ready.
Ok, but now I have four pairs of the same black trousers and shirts for the next 30 days of the experiment. The reason I have chosen the black outfit was that I felt most comfortable in it. It doesn’t manifest anything and promises you comfort.
So, why is staying in the same outfit for a few days in a row so uneasy and even embarrassing? And why should we spend hours getting dressed, trying on trunks and jeans rather than wear the same ones every day? Honestly, who knows! But on the second day of the experiment, I saw my black trousers and shirt as a uniform and not as just clothes. Frankly, it even frightened me how quickly my black outfit turned into a purely utilitarian need with only practical advantages. I didn’t enjoy it at all.
A need for change lives somewhere in the head. The world is different every day, and you also need to revision yourself. You can’t be the same. The state of me living in the same black clothes two days in a row subconsciously arose images of colorful outfits options in my head. But the real possibility I had for a change were socks. So I wore a new, unusual pair of socks every day — they were not included in the rules of the experiment. So I found a way to cheat immediately.
On the one hand, my life became more relaxed and comfortable. I saved a tremendous amount of time, having stopped thinking about what to wear. On the other hand, I started to waste time on little changes to the look.
Except for socks, other things helped me to add some changes to my life. I started to handle some simple styling tricks like a selection of shoes and accessories, rolled up sleeves. I also was attracted to new hairstyles and makeup. Through 30 days, I was experimenting with colors of lipsticks, and shades like never before in my life.
By the end of the first week, I felt so bad to wear the same outfit again. I felt like these clothes had grown on my skin like the Brain Slug from Futurama, deciding for me how I should live. I wanted to leave the house less and less. I missed the parties and different events. What a disappointment, that after a week of wearing this uniform, the co-workers in the office seemed not to notice anything. I dreamed of justice: make everyone wear the same thing.
During the second week, I noticed that people around me were also wearing the same outfits a few days in a row, but I never noticed it before. Meanwhile, I started to enjoy my fashion austerity and became indifferent to my look. I stopped being shy and attended a few huge parties in Moscow, and also went on a date and even to a museum. But then, in the middle of my monthly experiment, I ordered sixteen sets of beautiful underwear and finally relaxed: now I am mentally ready to wear a turtleneck and pants for the rest of my days.
New lipstick and shiny socks are the best friends for a newcomer to the clone-core. And even these details felt like an exaggeration and overstatement. Not to mention how I looked at people who dress up for different formal events. I found it to be a waste of time. Why these curls, makeup, monumental heels? Everyone wants to look gorgeous. “Less is more” is my new motto and way of living. I wanted to scream at everyone: “People, please, relax”.
Not only co-workers but also my friends did not suspect about my closet abstinence vow. But one my friend said that her boyfriend wears only clothes of blue, black and white colors for years and he is absolutely happy about it (I can already understand why), but her brother is the opposite. He can take hours choosing shirts and rings (and I am sympathetic to this choice too). Of course, the approach to style does not depend on gender and age. For some people, it is enough to make a quick and reliable decision, and for others, it is essential to take more time. In essence, our inner voice and vision may affect what we are wearing.
It turned out that the absence of the need to change clothes was beneficial and helped me to concentrate on work. A uniform for every day is a lifejacket for a workaholic like me. Having spent a whole month wearing my “uniform”, I finally was able to grasp the fact that others do not care what I wear. People are only concerned with their own appearance, not with how others dress. They only notice when something is either super beautiful or ultra-ugly. Nobody sees anything moderate and neutral at all since it is not annoying or doesn’t stand out. I was dressed in neutral colors — all black.
The trick is the color black in particular. I thought it would be comfortable to wear black clothes, but it made the experiment harder. On the one hand, it is not for nothing that it is associated with formal clothing and really helps to focus on things. But black could drive in some melancholy feelings. If you wear black all the time, it seems to erase some part of you, at least that’s how I felt.
At another party, the guests, without saying a word, were all dressed in black. We joked that it was affected by the economic crisis. When you are dressed in black, no one can tell whether you changed clothes today, yesterday or the day before. Or whether these clothes are new or old. It is very practical. You can wear the same outfit with a clear conscience. However, four days before the end of the experiment, I had enough and gave it up. That morning, I surprised myself by dressing up in the loudest colors: pink, blue, yellow. The gloom was immediately replaced by joy.
Wearing the same thing means losing the ability to change, and it was the hardest part. Examples from the history of countries with an authoritarian regime make it clear, that is impossible to live in a forced monotony.
Take the history of Soviet Russia, for example. Repressions, including those related to appearance, were a part of the suppression program. From school uniforms the same for every kid in the Soviet Union, to everyday adult clothes all were produced at the same factory with the same design and from the same fabric — people of all ages suffered from it. So, they would sew the clothes for themselves or bring clothes from Western countries — sailors helped with smuggling in the contraband. For example, jeans were very rare and expensive as well as adidas sneakers from Germany. If you were lucky enough to obtain them, everybody would envy you.
Clothes help us to express ourselves, to inform others about our emotions, to join a group or to distance ourselves from one another. Also, clothes help us not to get lost in the memory. We remember how people who are meaningful to us looked at certain moments. We are not talking about aesthetic perfection, but about details that become dear to the heart — grandma’s headscarf, huge father’s boots, mother’s cashmere dress in the fashion of the 80s, boyfriend’s motorcycle jacket. The main function of things we wear is to be a continuous means of communication. Wearing the same thing is the same as being silent or obsessed with one thought. This was the most challenging part for me. Another thing is people who chatter endlessly could be extremely annoying the same goes for people who overuse fashion.
We get used to the fact that fashion is a novelty, and updating one’s wardrobe is an obligatory part of the program. Is it possible to ignore it altogether? I am not sure. Although the decision-making process is exhausting, the lack of choice is no less tiring. The main thing to remember: simple and dull things like a black pair of jeans and a black t-shirt are conceived to make our lives easier. You can buy new things or not, no one will notice, so you can safely wear what you feel comfortable with, even the same outfit every day. Fur coats, wild dresses, or perfectly tuned complex ensembles which are great solutions for a New Year’s masquerades or even for yourself, but first you need to make friends with the basics.
Olesya Zaidman, 2019
