Torn

She arrived wearing distressed jeans. She topped it with black silky material exposing her shoulders. To make a poignant statement, she wore high-heeled shoes. Of course, people ogled her clothing but deep in her, she was confident enough to wear something “in”; something en vogue.

This is a free country, that’s a given. But we are also free to reflect on the things we communicate directly and indirectly to others. Clothes masquerade as our identity. It is how we signal who we are. There is nothing wrong to dress up or don something which we fancy. But we must remember that decency is taught to us.  We are being told to let others respect us through a dignified presentation of ourselves.

We are not saying that those who wear something fancy lack the dignity or respect but there is always a time to wear clothes in the right place and proper time. Could one imagine wearing pajamas inside a church during service? There was even a debate over wearing slippers as a part of a fashion ensemble yet a pair of Havaianas is still for the beach and tropical streets. It could never exchange the function of closed shoes…

Torn, distressed or tattered jeans could raise eyebrows inside educational institutions, offices, banks and of course, churches. We understand that the pair might be designed by Georges Marciano of GUESS and it is worth three grand yet the function of the clothing is not suited for the place. Going to an office is different from attending an all-the-way party and similar events.

Let us go back to indirectly communicating our personalities through our clothing. There are those who would be slighted and insulted when some people judge them through their clothes. But, we need to adhere to the reality that the first sense to be used by people is the sense of sight. Marketing personalities often spend a lot on packaging their products and mounting window displays in shops to lure the eyes which will lead to judgment on what to like and purchase. Similar to our choices of clothing…that is how we signal what is our brand.

But then life is short and we might try some of the things we fancy, right? It’s OK to do such things during thematic events and quirky times. But to “die for it” is another story.

Same thing happened with the onslaught of the short shorts being “accepted” as staples for street wear. And it should remain as that. We then wonder why girls are donning such skimpy clothing inside schools and offices. Is it because they want to highlight good skin and complexion? Then why is it that others who do not have them still do the same? Why are they showing their liabilities, not their assets?

We overhear sisters complaining how their brothers make their basketball jersey as a fashion statement, pairing them with jeans and basketball shoes… Such complaints have a common denominator: unsuitable.

But then, with this uncertain times, we expect the unexpected. We might not consider clothing as a means of communicating our personalities but a simple need of covering our mortal beings. We might as well transcend to become persons of substance not minding what is naked in the eye but what is beyond the packaging.