Dressing for Class

So I'm a college student. I have to go to class. It's boring, sitting in lecture for three hours straight every day. It's just awful. Worse than that, though, is sitting through three hours of lecture in too-tight pants and a shirt that's less than comfortable, worrying about whether or not my hair is okay or if my nose is shiny. Being in class could be compared to being on a stage, and though that's a rather tired metaphor (thanks, Shakespeare) it's a good one, for when I'm conscious of my appearance, my participation in said torturous classes (or at torturous work) is affected.

Let's start from the bottom up. Shoes. They are the base of the outfit, literally. They depend first on the weather, then on the mood, then on the color (if you even get that far.) Nice shoes go with nice things, less-nice with less-nice. Shoes can tell you, instantly, my attitude towards my day. Flats communicate a desire to be cute, casual, and approachable. High Heels mean there's some serious business at hand. Boots - well, it depends on the weather. Gym Shoes also fall into two categories - athletic and fashionable. Athletic could mean two things - one, that the wearer is athletic. Two, the wearer likes to be comfortable. Stylish gym shoes, those less functional than athletic shoes but more serious than flats, are our neutral, the control in this "experiment."

Pants are next, or, if you prefer, skirts (but seriously, we're not in finishing school here; skirts are such a rarity that they stand out when they bust their way out of girls' closets). There's a little less variety here: it's jeans (tight, loose, dark, or light), trousers, or a skirt. The aforementioned skirt, that rare species, implies (for most, at least) an acute attention to appearance when worn. A lady must take care to keep herself covered when it comes to a skirt, and therefore must be more conscious of her entire being.

The top is where you find the widest range of style. Of course, the basic college t-shirt makes its way to the classroom every day, but the sweater and hoodie are beasts often seen as well; their full coverage and ample warmth provide a more relaxed atmosphere, even if it's just in the personal bubble. With the trouser and the skirt often come more fancy tops, which reveal more skin or cost more money; in this sort of economy looking good is expensive, and each motion could potentially ruin a fancy top, making each motion a chance to throw away $40 (or so.) The subtraction of fabric from the tshirt also causes the lady to take care that she not reveal too much of herself.

These many layers to meaning in dress reflect the many different levels of sophistication in

conversation during class. Think about it - you're dressed more professionally, you feel better about yourself, whether it's because your outfit was expensive or you have pride in your ability to put yourself together. It's a matter of confidence; having confidence in just one part of yourself (even if it's just the ability to look good) boosts your overall confidence.

Yes, I am saying that we should all dress up for class. Private schools have got the right idea, requiring children to wear nice neat clothes. A dress code of any kind holds students to a certain standard, even if the family budget doesn't allow for the nicest clothing. Business clothing, though it can be uncomfortable and expensive, standardizes the playing field in the offices of the world, allowing the strengths of character to come forward and be respected rather than the strength of pocketbook. Of course, there are different grades of business clothing (we all know Gap makes nicer stuff than Forever 21), but developing the habit of preparing oneself for anything creates a habit of preparing oneself for any situation (class discussion included.)

It doesn't matter what you do as long as you look good doing it, because if you look good you're gonna do it better.

post script: I can't speak for the men, but surely some of the same principles would apply - the classier the clothes, the better you feel.

photo cred: august sander, that german genius.

an introduction

Hello to the 1,966,514,816 people who use the internet, and a special hello to those 266,224,500 who use teh internetz in North America - you're the ones most likely to be understanding this blog, speaking English and all.

The first thing you need to know is that I love the internet. I've even come to rely on it in my daily life - okay, let's be realistic - I have an iPhone, it's constant interaction with "the network" for me. However, at the same time, I absolutely hate what this constant screen-to-screen interaction has done to us. Having used the internet since 1997, learned HTML in 2001, and started using social networking site in 2003, I'd like to think I have quite enough experience under my belt to call myself a webhead. As such, I have crippling difficulty confronting anyone, and my introverted nature doesn't make things any better. Facebook is simply an enabling tool for non-confrontational behavior, but not just for me - friends and acquaintances have admitted to its detrimental effects on their interpersonal interaction.

Thus: this project.

It's not an exploration of breaking out of my shell and deleting my facebook account and going up to random strangers to talk about things that you might talk to a random stranger about. Nor is this going to be a confessional series of posts whining about how I wish I could talk to boy X or girl Y about my issues with professor Z... Okay, I didn't like my class with professor Z, but that's another story. I think Russian's just not my thing.

What this is is a commitment to developing the way I look at things and people in the public sphere. I know what you're thinking - I should read John Berger's Ways of Seeing. It's on my reading list, so expect a nice lengthy response to that sucker. In any case, personal presence and non-verbal communication have always fascinated me, especially in the light of the recent demise on almost all face-to-face interaction. I couldn't write anything about anything if I didn't talk about how it looked, and I expect a lot of awkward and a lot of short attention spans. This lovely little project offers me an outlet to tell about anonymous interactions I observe, and perhaps even a fashion disaster or two.

Speaking of fashion disasters, my roommate is wearing a snuggie. Time to fix this situation.

quick source citing 'cause I don't really like plagiarism:

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm for internet stats