Attire – decoded

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It's not as good now as it was when I was a teenager...the whole vintage scene is totally picked through and processed through e-bay and pricey vintage shops...A few things still make it through the cracks and into the regular cheap thrifty stores...I am a compulsive thrift shopper and I have a pretty good eye so I manage to pick up something good once in a while...but it is nothing like it was in the early 90's at the height of my vintage obsession....(when i had over a hundred old hats)

...anywhoo....

The stuff I alter tends to be pretty wonky too..but I wear it anyway ...there are plenty things that I have totally slaughtered...I am def. not a good seamstress by any stretch of the imagination even though I have been doing silly stuff to clothes since I was a kid...

Church sales are the best one can do.
That and estate sales, but they take
more work to track down.

Mang it's been ages since I viewed the forum...let alone this thread. (Damn work getting in the way, yay...)


Some interesting responses...oh and trust me folks, I by no means support an obsession with fashion. Hell, I don't own one single piece of designer clothing. Not ONE. Mainly because I'm the wrong shape, but hey. It's all ugly anyway.

It's just knowing how to NOT make yourself look unpleasant in the eyes of others. Not for the purpose of mindlessly impressing people (As most teenagers seem to do), but for GETTING WHAT YOU WANT. It's MUCH easier when you put across the right impression

And it all comes back to the 'what does that item mean' thing too.

Say you're a brilliant computer technician. Say a big company that's offering a couple hundred thousand a year in salary's hiring someone just like you. You want to say that you are good...really freakin' good...you have to get that down as fast as you can, because first impressions, I'd hate to say, last...unless you get to know someone REALLY well.

The first impression ain't your portfolio in the interview. Nor is it your tech skills. The first thing anyone receives as far as input is SEEING you. So if your first impression is 'I don't give a -bleep- about what you think of me', then their interpretation of that is 'That guy's probably not the greatest since he doesn't seem to give a damn what anyone thinks of him, why would I put any emotional effort into them?' and leave it at that.

'Emotional Banking' is what my Dad would call it.

So instead of rocking on up in your tatty old t-shirt, sweatpants and sandals with socks, you shave, brush your hair, put a shirt and tie on, put clean shoes with it all, and put on your best impression. YES I'm good, YES you should hire me, YES you'll never find better, YES I believe in myself. You can say all of this to someone by them just LOOKING at you.

And it goes beyond just job interviews and dating.

Let's put this into a real-life scenario.

Car club meet...expensive Subarus everywhere, and their proud owners. My man and I go along, each with our own Subaru. He's rocked on up in an old t-shirt and stained, faded shorts that...to be honest...well, he bought them when he was my height. He's now a foot taller. WTF.

The guys know him off the forums...he's one of the most popular guys there. But showing up covered in the day's dirt (works at a tyre shop) and in...well...shorts and t-shirt...no one's impressed. Automatic reaction...ignore him. Second reaction...be condescending and distant. Thing is, they know he's a bloody smart guy. Doesn't always come across...he's got a mind nearly ten years ahead of him (but that's a pretty typical AS trait, right? Very developed intelligence) but he looks like he's about 13.

But if he just put in a little effort...just a little...to spruce the image up...he wouldn't have a hard time at all. 30-something-year-old guys with their suped-up WRXs and STis don't want to talk to a 13-year-old. A tidy-looking 20-something-year-old...hell yeah. And he's very capable of looking that part too, just never bothers.

But the world cuts us some slack given time. All you need to do is get to know someone before you know that their clothing doesn't ACTUALLY mean anything.

It's all about that first impression...getting as much of a story in before you even make contact with someone.





But yes. I'm no fashion-obsessed NT biotch like half the population out there. I go to work in jeans and a...I dunno what my shirt-things classify as. V-neck skivvy? Something. I don't even bother wearing shoes to the office, though I really should since my clutch pedal's lost the rubber footing and wet feet + metal clutch pedal = bad. Lol. I'll dress up for the part if I have to, but make no mistake...I'd never be caught dead in a skirt or dress. YUCK. Totally not my style, and I wouldn't wish a skirt or dress on anyone else like me either.






A final note for this novelesque post... uh, if you REALLY REALLY don't care what other people think of you, be prepared to actually TAKE OWNERSHIP of that. REALLY take responsibility for that decision. Don't use it as a crutch.

Example - this relationship of mine again. It's awesome when we're alone...but when we're in public, suddenly he goes into 'best friends' mode. Seems like he doesn't want to be seen holding hands. Or kissing, for that matter. Groping, hell no. Even walking closely. Basically...doesn't want to be seen being part of a COUPLE. After all, what would othe people think?

Yet he claims he doesn't ACTUALLY care what people think of him. Uh, then what's stopping him from fricken' jumping me in the middle of the street?

If you want to truly, truly not care what other people think, you have to embrace it fully, or it's just a weak excuse. He doesn't care what people think, so he wears whatever. He cares what people think, so he keeps his hands to himself in public. It really boils down to two things...

a) Laziness...just plain laziness...
b) fear of the unknown...doing something different...breaking the mold, the routine...being experimental...

But you know. It doesn't actually get to me like you may think it would. Because at the end of the day, this is a prime example of the aforementioned novel; it's the first impression that counts. After that, if you love someone, you love them quirks and shortcomings included. He can wear his shorts and t-shirt with me, all good.

But it's not gonna stop me commenting every now and again that he looks fricken' YUMMY in his work clothes... Hurrhurr.

Hm...yeah true...clientelle is probably the more important one to look at there Trust me on my end of the scale a badly-dressed technician is VERY badly received. The ones that come in to fix the computers that shouldn't have had the issues they have in the first place because the boss is too cheap to upgrade them when they need to be upgraded, then complains about the server needing to be rebuilt...

The guys that come in are always in jeans and short-sleeved shirts, nothing more. No daggy clothes, always well but casually presented.

Hidden away in a computer lab you can wear what you wish...but eh. Rock on up to an office building on a job dressed like you've been playing WoW in your basement for the last five days straight isn't a good idea.




As for walking into places in a power suit and getting scorned, that's why our sales team rarely wear ties. The boys will go to smaller clients in more casual shirts with their slacks, but will put the ties on for big fish (eg: Westfield shopping centre management, the Sheraton, Skycity). For the big market players, you have to look successful and like you know what you're doing. For the little guys, you CAN'T look like a salesman.

that reminds me. when i went to the interview for my current job i was somewhat taken aback but fully appreciative of the fact that one of the people interviewing me was wearing birkenstocks. i tried not to, but i am sure that i looked at her feet more than once because i was thinking 'look at her little toesies - they are free and they can breath' and it made me think: yes i think i can enjoy working here.

you see, all the office cultures i have experienced gave been quite different. if you over do the dress up thing to fit in then you might just find that you are busting a gut just to keep up the pretence. i have worked in some very trendy offices and the clothing is just another area where i could never fit in there. i also look like s**t in a suit.

i can usually just about manage clean, tidy and fairly plain. usually.

I love vintage swimsuits too! i have a really awesome green 60's floral 2-piece...the top is like a shirt and the bottoms are like shorts...better yet, i think it is homemade.

My favorite vintage dress is this homemade white dress with little turtles all over it...unfortunately it doens't fit me anymore...here is a pic of it...I also have a vintage Indonesian Micky and Minnie mouse knock-off dress that I like alot...come to think of it..i like clothes with animals and people printed on them....




You can't really see the turtles...
(I was 4 years thinner in this pic)

Very nice.

And you look oddly familiar, for some reason...

hmm..i don't know where anyone might have seen me unless maybe they were in a band that played at my place...or something like that....unless maybe I look like somebody.

Took me a while, but I finally figured out who you reminded me of.

Hope. (Only you're cuter.)

I dunnow who Hope is.

She is emo.