Please Don't Tell Me What to Wear

Please don’t tell me what to wear. Please! I love getting dressed too much. In the mornings I enjoy preparing what I’ll wear for the day. From the outfits to the accessories, it’s all a joy for me. Sometimes my outfits work and are put together while other times they don’t, but I want to be the one to make those mistakes. If I’m uncomfortable because of what I’m wearing, I want it to be my fault.

When dress restrictions are placed upon me, it’s inevitable that I will try to rebel. The first time this happened, I was a senior in high school. It was 1989, and Benetton was all the rage. In fact I held down a job at Video Unlimited just so I could save up and afford their beautiful sweaters. Believe it or not, but I still have my very first Benetton sweater given to me for Christmas in 1986! It’s as beautiful to me today as it was then.

At the time back in the late 80s, we were all wearing our sweaters complimented by a wool pair of winter shorts. Yet, while the fellas were allowed to wear shorts to school, the girls were not. I made an appointment with the vice principal to discuss this discrepancy. He told me if I wrote a petition and received enough signatures, he might be able to do something about this issue. By golly, I think I had a list of 100 signatures by the end of the week. I made it possible for all of us girls to continue styling our Benetton sweaters with our tailored winter shorts!

Thirty years later, and I’m feeling myself compromised in a situation where I’m being told what to wear–and the difficult thing about it is it is for a greater purpose of building community. At work, we’ve all received a (polyester!) polo shirt in either navy or red with our school’s logo on the upper righthand side. This school promoting attire should be worn on Fridays. While I’m all for supporting school spirit, I cannot stand this polo shirt. I wore it once, and I felt extremely, I mean EXTREMELY uncomfortable all day long. (In fact, I tried to get rid of it the next day, but Kevin pulled it out of the giveaway pile saying I may need to wear it again. He’s right–like next Friday!)

Don’t get me wrong: I am all for promoting school spirit, and I am proud to endorse my employer. Yet, I want control of it! For example I’ll wear my son’s baseball team’s t-shirt or a fun navy blue, red, and white sweatshirt. I can dress in school colors and celebrate the Dragons, but it needs to be in my clothes that I choose–not some polyester polo that I would never wear in a million years. When placing my order for the offensive polo, I even tried going with a mens XXXL in hopes that it might fit like a dress, but unfortunately, no luck. If I do have to wear it again–since Kevin saved it from being given away–it’s going to receive some special DIY treatments like maybe some bleach splatters or styling attempts like wearing the shirt as a skirt.

What this all boils down to is having my own sartorial say. I love ALL my clothes, and I really enjoy styling my own clothing. What I wear each day is a reflection of my unique individuality, and every day I get dressed with very specific intention. While it may be bonding to all wear the same shirt, for me it makes me feel trapped and terribly uncomfortable. I can dress according to a theme–such as showing school spirit–but it’s gotta be in my clothing terms. That’s all there is to it. So please, don’t tell me what to wear.

How do you handle being told what to wear?

This post discussing restrictions on clothing has made me think of one of the most unique bloggers I know of who definitely follows her own way and would never ever be told what to wear. (Except for maybe during her Nordstrom ad campaign–but how cool!! Who wouldn’t?) Do you know Mel from Bag and a Beret? Mel has the most unique style, and she really just embraces, no expresses herself through her sartorial decisions. I can’t imagine anyone telling her what she could or and could not wear. Take a look at a few of the pics I found of Mel from her blog, Bag and a Beret and then go take a visit (her accompanied stories are always fun to read!):