From my daughter's bedside: dressed for comfort

Instead of staying in today, my daughter and I decided to go shopping together for some comfy warm clothes, the kind of stuff that cam be a bit bigger so she can grow into them. We don't buy a lot of things but she does like some more than others. Her favourite is a dinosaur jumper.

It reminded me of when I was a kid that nearly all of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my three older brothers and that when I started school in the mid-80s, I was dressed in clothes from the early 70s. In the early years, no one cared but that changed later as the culture of 'what you wear' became the norm.

Even though I care very little for brands now, in my early teens I fell quite heavily into thinking about these things and as I have worked since the age of 12 in some way, I shudder to think how much money went down the drain.

I remember feeling at the time out of place if I felt that what I was wearing was not what would have been considered a 'good brand' by my peers. Even though I didn't care for their opinions much, I felt that it was my decision to want these things and felt more confident wearing them. Ridiculous.

But, what we wear does have an effect on us and our behaviour. I have never met someone who doesn't change their posture and demeanour when they go from casual to suit. I have never known a woman to wear anything other than her better underwear to a wedding, even if no one will see the difference. Whether social conformity or not, our clothes do change our mood, at least for some period of time.

Although many make claims, I have never met someone who truly does not care about what they wear or what others think of them. Sure, they might not care what everyone thinks but they do care what some people think. When it comes to relationships, I feel this is a good thing.

I like when my wife dresses up for when we go out, I like that she takes the additional time to make an effort to look her best. I also like when we are at home and she is wearing well-worn, oversized comfy clothes and no makeup.

Although I definitely think consumerism has gone too far, I am also glad that not everything worn is for practicality and comfort either. I find it interesting when people judge others on their clothes and especially women who judge other women for wearing things like high heels. Wear what you are comfortable in doesn't just mean the physical aspects of the clothing and what fits one, doesn't necessarily work on another.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
_{(posted from phone)}