My BlackBerry battery died last night, unbeknownst to me. Seriously, if it's such a smart phone- why couldn't it just plug itself in when the battery got low? No battery last night meant that my alarm didn't go off this morning at the anointed hour. Usually 7 on Friday mornings. I woke up rather bleary eyed and confused at 11, with my roommate's dog licking my face. Which also is unusual, and not terribly pleasant- he had a serious case of halitosis happening this morning.
So, I became reserved to the idea that I wouldn't be making my morning Introductory Accounting seminar (oh... damn. Fiddlesticks. Fubar. And any other not-at-all serious 'F' words you can think of- I'm not terribly partial to accounting, no offense to the CGAs and CMAs of the world who are reading this).
After the acceptance of this thought, I resigned myself to cleaning up the apartment a bit. And then settling into my normal morning routine. Food. 3S. Putting some music on super loud and pretending that I'm still 21. And then, getting dressed.
Getting dressed in the morning (or for an evening out) is a bit of quasi-spiritual, meditative, PAIN IN THE ASS experience for me most times. Well, not always a pain in the ass. But the process of getting dressed involves starting with two (not so) simple questions.
1. What am I feeling like today?
2. Do I really HAVE to wear shoes? (the answer to this skews one way or the other, depending on the season)
The big one is 'what am I feeling like today?'
Do I feel vibrant? Good to be alive? Am I feeling a little apathetic? Am I tired? Peppy? Do I feel tall today? Do I feel like a German rock star who can't find his leather pants? Am I feeling youthful? Or mature? Am I pissed off that I'm thinking this much about what I feel like today?
For me, fashion is an expression of what's on the inside of a person. What I wear often reflects
my mood, my attitude, and my outlook on life that particular day of the week. Today, I felt good- despite sleeping through my first class. Then again, maybe that's why I felt so damn good. Debit, Credit, Statement of Retained Earnings, schmernings.As I was pouring through my rather sizeable selection of shirts to choose something for today, I stumbled across a gem that I'd forgotten about. I haven't worn this shirt in months- it was just hiding between two others. It's a black shirt, contrasted by a vibrant purple striping pattern. Almost gradient-like if you will, dear reader. Bottom line: this shirt has 'pop'. The purple stripes stand out.
Which reminded me of something that I'd forgotten about in my quest to mature myself rapidly and become an adult after I graduated university. Statements make confidence, and vice-versa. One of the easiest ways for a guy to look great in his clothes is to wear something mostly normal and unassuming- and then add something (please, just one something) that catches the eye boldly.
I should stress again that the 'something' which stands out should typically be just ONE thing.
Picture this:
A guy walks towards you, wearing a brilliant turquoise shirt... and Hawaiian print pants, similarly loud.
He stands out- but a little on the ridiculous side of the spectrum.
Same guy walks towards you, but wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, dark coloured sport coat, coordinating dark coloured shirt, accessorized with a dazzling silver necktie. That stands out too, but isn't circus worthy.
I also discovered something else while getting dressed.
I need to go shopping. I realized that I don't have any suitably casual non-denim pants. And wearing dress pants to college is a bit overkill (damnit!).
