in a heartbeat

For someone who is currently seriously single, romance has definitely been on my mind lately. As my moods tend to, it first popped-up in my wardrobe. As my closet has become decidedly mono-toned (I know grey is my favourite colour and it goes with everything, but it had started to become the only colour I looked at while shopping), I changed tact, and took cues from the fabulous floral trend happening at the moment and injected a shock of colour into my closet. At the moment, its all about prints, worn all and once, and the more flowy and feminine the better. I started off by ordering a pair of tiny floral shorts online that I had seen in Grazia...

It turns out that they are actually by lingere designer DimitySo. However, I managed to keep myself fairly modest by pairing them with a vintage mint green polka dot shirt, matt gold belt and sandals. Like Maria, I felt "oh so pretty" and I didn't even need a boy would would fight a gang for me. This turned into a bit of an obsessive hunt the next time I went shopping. I ended up with a mint green singlet top with lace detail (more of that lingere/romance look), a light pink and purple high wasted skirt, and a one shouldered brightly printed silk top. The wardrobe is not so mono-toned now!



None of this is to say that I am dressing head to toe in color and girly prettiness every day. Fashion is about options and about expression. As an emotional person who has a natural inclination to express these feelings, fashion is my therapy. No, not just retail therapy. For me, choosing what I wear every day means having to give actual consideration to how I am feeling. Being able to channel this into what I put on my body is somewhat cleansing, because it means that I am wearing it on the outside, instead of carrying it in my head all day.

Clothes can change the way you are feeling too. Again, something my Dad would consider totally unbelievable. However, I know that when he first put on his pilot's uniform, it gave him a sense of power. These days, I think he considers it more of a straight jacket. He wears a shirt and polished shoes when he wants to feel well presented and shorts/jeans and a t-shirt when he wants to feel relaxed and comfortable. And this is a man who is very reserved and has no interest in fashion, and yet his choice of clothing says so much about him.

We are given 5 senses with which to perceive the world. In the initial stages of meeting another person, it is considered socially inappropriate to taste or excessively touch them. It is considered socially appropriate to maintain a reasonable level of personal hygiene, therefore their smell may not tell you much. You cannot hear them until they speak to you. Therefore, the first way you will be sensed by another is by your visual presence. It doesn't have to be straight off the catwalk, your Dad doesn't have to like it, but make sure that what you wear when you step out into the world represents your true self.