At least I'm not mixing them to make The Other Kind of Goth Suffragist.

[mrissa]

Apparently last weekend a small person of my acquaintance announced that he wanted to look like a college professor. I only heard this after the fact, but he succeeded admirably. And I sometimes think that the combination of him being in the single digits of age and autistic means that he will admit to stuff like that when other people mostly don't, and I think that's awesome of him. I remember when I was his age, I tried to compose Bohemian Artist outfits and Very Serious Scientist outfits, but I did not disclose this intention to my parents or godparents. (My godfathers, God love them, would have been no help whatsoever with this endeavor, as they were rather committed to the Person With A Modicum Of Fashion Sense oeuvre of small child outfits. But explaining my thinking at least might have explained some of the attempted combinations to my baffled and long-suffering mother.) And I did wind up with a Budding Suffragist On A Bicycle outfit that my grandmother and I both adored, but again, I did not tell her why I liked it. It was a very 1905 sort of bow on the thing.

So in the spirit of full disclosure, I will report that I am wearing my Sensible Grown-Up From An E. Nesbit Novel Visits The Mod Sixties outfit. I have had this reaction to this outfit (particularly the skirt) since I bought it. Every single time. I also have Wednesday Addams Appears on Laugh In and Piano Teacher Uninterested In Your Bullshit and Why Yes I Do Own A Krumkake Iron Why Do You Ask, among other fashion choices. A lot of the time, of course, I am dressed as Person Who Hates Complicated Laundry or Person Whose Feet Are Toasty Warm Despite The Weather Thanks. But sometimes we change things up.

The closest I ever came to buying non-hiking boots in the three digits of price was when I looked at a pair of boots and thought, "Every time I wore those, I would think, 'No, The Other Kind Of Goth.'" And that seemed like a very appealing thing to me. I still didn't buy them, but I was tempted.

Do you do this?

Comments

[zalena.livejournal.com]

Oh yes. This year I finally made the distinction between one's image and oneself. Better late than never.

That being said, I've been rocking the "Sexy Beatnik Prepared to Do Business" look, lately. And there are also lots of variations on Puritans, specifically what I wear to early music concerts, which vaguely suggest: "Hester Prynne Drops the Scarlet Letter, but Still Gets Frowned at by Margaret Thatcher in Church." I think I'm trying to look respectable without looking particularly pious. Projecting respect for the traditions of the communities I'm visiting, while still making it clear I do not appear of Popes or Royalty as the heads of churches or states. Funny, I didn't realize I was doing that until you wrote this post.

I know other people do this, too, how else would we be able to spot Bloomsbury people from miles away?

(I would very much like to see Sensible Grown-Up From An E. Nesbit Novel Visits The Mod Sixties.)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Respectful Non-Authoritarian is a great dress code.