Recently a friend told me something about being at his family reunion. Everyone was wearing kicks, sandals or flip flops, except him. He had on black work boots. It made him think about how his comfort wasn't at all about physical ease. And so, this post is devoted to that thought.
For every one of us out there who chooses clothing with an eye to their comfort level, or rather how effortlessly they can be worn, there are others for whom considerations outside of that take precedence.
I know for myself that I prefer my trousers trim cut (when I wear them), and my shirts with as little bulk in the middle as may be. Sure, trimly cut pants can hamper range, or ease of motion, as well I know, but I'm willing to accept that minor inconvenience to gain the look I want; and so, I am more comfortable, probably because I feel more attractive in such pants. Being a short guy, short waisted, with a barrel chest, I can go sausage-like easily, so shirts that don't add to the middle of me are a good thing, even when I have to deal with a certain amount of confinement of my range of motion to get there. Not that I want things compressing me, or skin tight, but I am fully accepting of the limitations the look I'm going for requires of me.
And that's just me. But this concept is one most, if not all of us are quite familiar with. We all to one degree or another make sacrifices to our actual physical comfort, in order to get to where we want to in terms of appearance. And when we do that long enough, and regularly enough, it makes us feel comfortable to be so dressed. Some women can't abide not wearing heels, even when they are painful. Some men really must wear their jeans skin tight, or they don't feel right about themselves.
So, feelings of comfort can derive, not just from our physical sense of ease, but from how closely our clothing expresses what we wish to convey about ourselves. We have a thought, or set of them, we wish to put out to the world, and our internal easiness is predicated on the full relation of those thoughts. We are most comfortable, when we are in our image of ourselves totally.
That doesn't mean our image of ourselves and our reality cannot diverge from each other; they often do. And in the end it really isn't about the presentation of an image that is acceptable to others on some superficial, societally generated level; its about our telling our personal tale with honesty. If you believe you're a hottie and want to wear revealing clothes others might deem wrong for you, then by all means go for it. If you think honestly of yourself as an arty intellectual, then make sure your apparel tells people that, without regard to what they may think about your statements. Your comfort will drive a good deal of the success of your chosen attire.
So whatever our perceived body flaws, or imagined personality shortcomings, we share this one thing in common, we all want to be comfortable within ourselves, and comparisoning ourselves in ways that tell our story honestly, is a great way to get there.
Get Comfy!
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