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Have enjoyed reading all of the above. Wondering who your control group's gonna be to balance us Barbeperves though, janina?
Do you feel that your clothes represent your emotions, your personality or your sexuality? Whether they are day to day wear or garments you put on specifically to go out in the evening?
They must do, or at least the emotions I was experiencing when I chose to put them on. I suspect the mental associations are too personal for them to be proclaim my emotional state to the world. Psychology101's association of black with depression, for instance, facile as it is, would indicate that I, and a huge percentage of Barbelites and normal people these days, should be upping their dosage of psychotropic drugs. All things being equal, I see black as neutral and functional however. Choosing to wear a colour at any point is when I make a choice, and black's only the default.
At Ganesh' mother's last wedding everyone, bride and bridesmaid included, was in black. And, apart from the food poisoning, that was a very happy day all round.
I am conscious sometimes of wearing particular clothing in order to enhance or precipitate a certain mood. I put on my ridiculous, lurid Mambo "Dead Puppies" shirt when I hope to get into a party mood at some later point. If I look ridiculous, I'm more likely to unbend and be ridiculous, and I'm such a tight-ass I need some help there.
I certainly wear my "grown up" suit and tie uniform of in order to force my head into "hardworking responsible person" mode. If I feel a bit fragile or want a favour from the gods, I may wear my lucky underpants, my sparkly socks or a garment donated by someone dear to me. The provenance will usually be more important than the look or fit or colour of the thing. Two of my favourite, happiest t-shirts eventually ended up framed on the wall in Edinburgh because of their totemic properties.
Personality? I'm a dull (and middle aged) cove so that certainly shows in a lot of my choices.
Sexuality? Like sfd and Cholister, I like to look queer but unfortunately I tend to dress seventies queer when I try it. My approach to clothing is very rooted in my late teen and early adulthood experience of reconstructing my image. When I'm kitted out in rubber or leather, I'm definitely screaming "queer" (and seventies Village People clone) but sadly the "so shag this hunk of macho perve" message is heard only within my own cranium. And by my perverted partner.
Do you buy clothes to match your wardrobe or as individual items?
I don't buy clothes. I hate shopping. I only go to clothes shops where everything costs less than a fiver and the customers are spending their pensions. Fortunately Ganesh loves to shop and knows my measurements and preferences.
Are your clothes related to your gender, do you wear things specifically because they're masculine or feminine?
I think the perve gear is all stuff with exaggerated masculine associations. In everyday wear I don't think about it much. Perhaps unconsciously gender roles creep in but I've bought clothing from the women's rails, half the time because I'm so at sea in clothes shops and half the time because I knew but didn't care. I had a lovely Hawaiian silk blouse for a while with the buttons on the wrong side. The perceived femininity of the garment was always there, in my mind at least, whenever I wore it. Since watching Ainslie in Fame Academy modelling Sinead's knickers, I've thought I might try a bit of transgression in the underwear department. Might be fun.
Do you own clothes that you wear to be seen in?
All the kilty stuff. It's not particularly comfortable to wear either, since the kilt waist is far too small for me now, but there's a buzz to be had from "looking the part" at weddings and stuff, all gussied up to add to the sense of occasion.
I'm of the generation that wears unrelieved black to funerals. My cousin turned up to my grandad's funeral in a white leather jacket and I brindled. There are certainly clothes which I rule appropriate for specific occasions, when the signals they're sending are in semaphore.
I have always had some outfits that I knew would be remarked upon and that was a large part of why I wore them: the purple tuxedo in High School, the inexcusable excess of my New Romantic phase, the green Italian silk suit I wore to be my sister's bridesmaid, the hyperbolic Goth gear of my early thirties...
Yes is the answer to that one, in short. |
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