Dressing For You

I was on Threads—which I’ve since deleted—the other day, browsing my “For You” tab like I do entirely too much when I’m feeling both under- and over-stimulated, and I stumbled upon this post (OP’s identity is redacted for a reason, there’s no need to go searching for them):

Now, I don’t technically disagree with this post: fashion is, first and foremost, a form of communication, and none of our choices exist in a vacuum. But, I disagree that someone saying “I dress for myself” means “I’m not dressing to signal to others.” I believe this, like many things, is a misunderstanding of what exactly the idea of “dressing for myself/yourself” is a response to, that being an assumption of one’s audience and a rejection of said assumption. What does that mean? Let’s talk about it.

“I Just Don’t Care”

If I had a dollar for every time someone tried to “knock me down a peg” about fashion, calling it vapid or frivolous, and saying 'I just wear whatever,' I could afford all the Schiaparelli by Daniel Roseberry jewelry and vintage Mugler I ever wanted…and then some. It’s a valiant, if unoriginal, attempt that collapses with even the tiniest bit of questioning and honest reflection. Namely: why is that your version of “whatever?”

Miranda Priestly said it best:

“You… go to your closet, and you select… I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back...it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry…”

But where that quote (rightfully) focuses on how Andy—and none of us—can never truly opt out of the fashion industry, it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface on how none of us could ever hope to exist outside of fashion as expression.

The question isn’t why did you choose a plain t-shirt (or a lumpy blue sweater) to show you 'don’t care' about fashion; it’s why are you using fashion to show that you don’t care about fashion? Seems a bit counterintuitive, doesn’t it?

But, communicating is exactly what fashion is for, and anything you wear will signal something to someone, with or without intention on your part. It’s true no matter your emotional investment, your income bracket, your background, or even your personal style: you chose what you wore specifically to tell the world something. And that “something” is entirely up to you.

Or, is it?