Gosh, what will I wear today? An age-old lament echoed by ladies across to globe. How we look is important, you know. And for a lot, whatever they have in their cupboards (a capsule wardrobe or a fashion paradise) is not enough. I don’t have that problem. I have tons of clothes. Less than some think though, and I love every piece. Most of my clothes tell a story, have travelled far with me, or have been handcrafted by a dear friend or other talented artists. Some of my clothes are designer, some were designed by me. I love my wardrobe almost more than my family (almost, family still wins). I always have something to wear. And I don’t feel guilty for having a massive wardrobe or wearing some items only once a year. Stop hating haters.
My motto in life is that when you buy a garment, it should give you an orgasm! The craftmanship should send shivers down your spine. The textile should tickle your senses, and the fit should flatter the fuck out of you. The cost is kind of irrelevant. If you hear the garment whisper your name, when it draws you towards the clothes rail like a magnet, you should buy it, and keep it for a very very long time. The fibres of the garment should intertwine with the fibres of your soul!
Despite my careful curation and obsessive shopping, I still feel crushed under my wardrobe. I was shocked at this revelation. I don’t support fast fashion and haven’t’ for at least a decade. I am not a seasonal fashion victim. I have crafted my own style. I also love shopping second hand. I love upcycled items (how creative!). Browsing the racks of unique items, trying to locate that one single piece that matches your style and fit. It’s like a treasure hunt!
What could it be about my wardrobe that still affected me negatively? Why was I still experiencing this angst and depression? My wardrobe is conscious right?
What am I missing?
I need to investigate, I need to get intimate with my clothes. But in order to get to the crux of this ill-feeling, I need to subvert my current understanding of fashion. I need to forego looking ‘fashionable’. I need forgo being stylish, sexy or cute. I need to forego comfort and warmth.
I need to wear skin-tight lycra.
Before I turned 30, I did a challenge “Do 30 Before 30”. I made 30 art projects before I turned 30. I was looking for something to do before my 40th birthday. Perhaps by wearing something form-fitting, with the clothes rubbing against my skin, with the textile not breathing, I can learn more about clothes’ invisible properties.
What follows is a non-linear, always real, convoluted and random account of me wearing lycra for 40 days leading up to my birthday. I wrote down thoughts, feelings, ideas, poems, rambles, laments, research I read, research I still want to read as well as collected all the responses and interactions I had on social media. O yea. I also like to make lists of random thoughts and ideas!
This project is an ongoing project and will become my first ‘pillow book’ that I publish towards my thesis.
Random thought
- Belief and representation book
- We are meme generators because we are used to spread memes
- Understand things by feeling
- Fashion semiotics