C.S. Lewis on Fashion?
Jennifer sent me a link to this Femina post, in which Nancy Ann is responding to C.S. Lewis’s comments on the Middle English word “solempne” found in A Preface to Paradise Lost.
We moderns have trouble with solempne because we live in an egalitarian, slovenly culture where no one likes to “look up” to someone else. To really understand solempne, we need hierarchy. So the Christian has a better chance at understanding this because the most high God is our ultimate reference point.
“This means something different, but not quite different, from modern English solemn. Like solemn it implies the opposite of what is familiar, free and easy, or ordinary. But unlike solemn it does not suggest gloom, oppression, or austerity…The Solempne is the festal which is also the stately and the ceremonial, the proper occasion for pomp — and the very fact that pompous is now used only in a bad sense measures the degree to which we have lost the old idea of ‘solemnity’. To recover it you must think of a court ball, or a coronation, or a victory march, as these things appear to people who enjoy them; in an age when every one puts on his oldest clothes to be happy in, you must re-awake the simpler state of mind in which people put on gold and scarlet to be happy in. Above all, you must be rid of the hideous idea, fruit of a wide-spread inferiority complex, that pomp, on the proper occasions, has any connexion with vanity or self-conceit.”
I do think we are making strides toward recovering the idea that it is decent to wear decent clothes, although we who enjoy dressing still get a fair amount of heat for it.
Who knew that C.S. Lewis had anything to say about what we wear?
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How to Look Older
No, seriously. Occasionally, I have had friends who have wanted to look older. Of course, they were under the age of 25 at the time. So, tips on looking older, for those under the age of 25:
- lose the “high school hair”. High school hair is that beautiful, but unstyled, long, straight-ish hair.
- add blonde highlights to your dark brown hair. This is especially effective in mimicking the affect of graying.
- wear a full face of foundation AND powder.
- trade in the elements of leisure in your outfits (runners, hoodies) for a carefully crafted contemporary classic look.
And it couldn’t hurt to shop Old Navy - Women’s Wear to Work.
Have you ever wanted to look older?
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What To Do With Too-long Jeans
Don’t hate me because I’m average.
Three thoughts for when the inseam on your beloved jeans seems super-sized:
- Tuck ‘em into boots.
- From The Pocket Stylist, by Kendall Farr, cut them off and let them fray.
- If you really want to hem them, Dacia Ray has this fabulous old post showing how.
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Remedy for a Bad Hair Day
SMILE!
Also works for puffy eyes, spots and wrinkles, and various sorts of wardrobe trauma. Not recommended for use with bad breath or bad teeth; definitely effective against bad attitudes.
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Following My Own Rules
The main reason I write about all this stuff is to help myself. While sometimes I wish I was one of those people who could just buy and wear what they like, I never have been. So I invent rules for myself. And share them.
One of the”rules”, or perhaps I should say “guidelines” or “proverbs”, I have adopted is this:
If a coordinating piece is available, buy it.
Yesterday I had an opportunity to employ it. With my mind sorta set on bts and another sweatshirt, I stopped at Target and scanned the clearance. I by-passed a pair of workout/weekend shorts at $7, until I found the coordinating jacket at $9. Even if I never wear the set together, I have that option and the same other pieces will coordinate with both. Coincidentally, the one tee-shirt I chose from the rack of $2 tees and tanks turned out to be the exact same color: a tint of tomato red that is almost coral.
The moment I got home, the hoodie pictured back here went in the biffer bag. I just really dislike hoods. For me.
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Holey Jeans
Picture this: at youth group, all the students are directed to turn around, face their chairs, and kneel on the floor to pray. Student has worn out his jeans at the pocket corners; young ladies’ eyes are now directed down, in that general vicinity. He’s commando!
Conclusion: this is not a turn-on, but a gross-out.
If you must wear jeans with holes in delicate places, for style, here’s a sensible suggestion: Wear something really obvious underneath. Black leggings, magenta shorts, or even bright red boxers will do.
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Back to School as Student
Along with what seems like record numbers of my peers (and children!), I am formally a college student. Classes begin next week.
This past spring, in my single quarter as student at a local community college, I studiously dressed as myself-as-student. My goal was social. For the first three to four weeks of classes, I carefully put together outfits from the leisure lifestyle segment which reflected my personality. After that, I eased up only a little, occasionally throwing in a blazer or a heel with trouser jeans. Ultimately, I found this strategy to be very effective: I was received as well as I have ever been. Somehow the other students picked up quickly and accurately what kind of a person I was and interacted with me accordingly.
My uniform template for Fall 2010, at least in theory:
dark skinny jeans + cotton tee + structured sweatshirt or leather jacket + 3 mile shoes
A word about book bags: most people my age use a rolling backpack; my daughter has forbidden me from doing so. No worries. I picked up a decent-looking, light gray backpack (for $19.99 at the Eddie Outlet). I will not be hauling a computer in it.
Happy Back to School!
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Back to School as Teacher
Consider the wisdom expressed by my friend Kyle, a substitute teacher studying for her Masters:
Much as I would like to dress as a hippie, I dress respectable when I am teaching. I am amazed at how many teachers sport jeans and sweatshirts(sometimes principals). It is too hard to get respect as it is and I feel it is my duty to provide as much of a positive role model as possible. On the brighter side, in one of my classes someone brought up that she always wears colorful clothing to interest students. I thought that was interesting. It explains why sometimes I see teacher dressing like they live in Hawaii.
from facebook comments on my post about Chase Bank’s dress code. Clearly, it makes a different with what age group you are working, but she makes a good point about establishing respect.
The Cliff-notes on achieving an authoritative ensemble:
- avoid leisure elements
- adopt an upper layer: blazer, cardigan, tailored vest
- choose high authority color combos: high contrast (such as navy/white), neutrals (gray, taupe, ivory, and so on), or monochromatic (but probably not a playful color, like orange)
- use serious, coordinated accessories. Save the fun stuff for after your authority is well-established
Establishing yourself in a new setting offers a great opportunity to match your visual impression to your unique personality. My rule of thumb has been to dress scrupulously in my own unique idiom for the first three weeks of any new commitment. After that I loosen up. 
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Wearing Head to Toe Black
It’s the week before Labor Day. Twice in the previous two days I have taken note of a woman, blithely going about her business, dressed completely in black from the neck down including black backpack purse and flowy, ankle-length skirt. In both cases, after wondering all kinds of things - is she a nun? test-driving her halloween costume? - I determined that this was just a woman dressed in her regular clothes, that just happened to be all black.
Allow me to just say clearly: being completely covered in black in late August/early September, at least in The Great Northwest, is an eye-catching look. Not in a good way.
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