You Are What You Wear (But That Doesn't Mean You Should Wear Whatever You Want)

I don't watch Project Runway, or Pimp My Pride, or Cribs, but I'm still pretty superficial, and I'm okay with that, since everyone is. It starts at birth with your parents dangling shiny objects in front of you and continues on for the rest of your life. Perhaps you're not stereotypically superficial (fancy clothes, fancy car) but your superficiality manifests itself in many other ways. There will always be things that are pleasing to your eye, it's just human nature, and it doesn't make you any better or any worse than anyone else, even though you probably would like to think otherwise. My friend Mary claims that she doesn't see ugly but we can't all be like her.

I don't necessarily try to stand out too much with the clothes I wear, but I like to think that I dress nicely. I used to be a little more lazy about things in college because 1) I didn't have a lot of money to burn. 2) I felt like people should like me for me, and that me dressing up should make them feel special. It sounds silly and probably prevented me from being a hot item with the ladies but it saved me from a lot of the issues I have now.

Since I don't have deep pockets, decking myself in designer clothes is difficult. I don't have enough clothes to last me for months and I don't want people to always thing I'm wearing the same thing (like that Simpsons episode with Marge and the Chanel dress). It's like an epidemic, you get one piece of fancy clothing, and all of a sudden you need to revamp your entire wardrobe. Once you get a nice pair of jeans, you need to get shoes to match and you might as well get some shirts while you're at it. It's maddening.

I like to think I dress within my limits, not just financially. I think I wear clothes that fit me, suit me, and make me look fashionable, which I believe is the point. I WILL NOT just buy something because of it's brand name or because it's "in", and I think that is the problem with a lot of the "superficial" people today. They spend money on things that don't even make them look good, which defeats the purpose. Fashion is supposed to enhance your appearance. This is why you don't wear just white t-shirts and khakis everyday.

Unfortunately this is where some people go wrong, and I mean ridiculously wrong. I was in Hollywood over the weekend and while at a stop light, my friend had a terrified look on his face. Curious, I wanted to see what triggered the reaction and soon enough, I saw a large lady walking away from our view, wearing a shirt that kind of rode up on her, revealing a pale section of back flab. It was disgusting, and I feel terrible that my reaction to seeing this back flab was repeating "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God" for about a minute, until we made our turn and went home. Honestly, if this lady was wearing clothes that didn't reveal this flab, there wouldn't have been any reaction. She would've been just another pedestrian. It wasn't her weight or appearance that was garnering our ridicule, it was the lack of foresight on her part. This happens all the time, like at clubs or bars, as explained in the following lyrics:

"And you, the big girl with the low-rise jeans on,
Got the fat hangin over the sides
Girl, you got your gut bustin over the side of your jeans
It look like a muffin" - Little Brother "Good Clothes"

Now I don't want this to be an anti-big people rant. People of all sizes and body types look ridiculous in certain clothing. Super short shorts, showing a lot of skin when you're pasty white, wearing a fedora when you're kind of white trash, pig tails while wearing a trucker hat; these are all fashion faux pas that people should realize they should avoid but they don't. And it really goes beyond clothes, it's knowing your strengths, weaknesses, and gifts. If you want to be a writer and you think a good beginning for a story is "There was an Aunt Tiny, who was quite large." and you're not writing a children's book, you should probably look into another profession.

I believe that knowing what looks good on you is more attractive than wearing clothes that just "look good". It shows that you know what you're all about. You seem comfortable and you aren't trying to be something that you're not. You might not be gracing any fashion magazines or wearing designer clothes, but you're definitely not playing to your weaknesses. You know how to make yourself look good rather than making other people look good. I can understand the logic behind wanting to wear clothes that make you look more attractive but attractiveness is not based on what clothes you're wearing, but how you wear the clothes. The cliche is correct. It's what's beneath the clothes that count. And that's even true for the muffin tops.