So here we are, September, a fresh season, I am excited to get dressed once more. I love September, as we enter a season of renewed style and focus. Summer is wonderful, but it can feel languid, lackadaisical, and lethargic when it comes to dressing. The second the temperature is low enough to throw more on, hide polished toes in boots, and grab a coat, my soul sings.
Yet it goes deeper than this, for those of us whose identity exists on the front line of identity politics and outrage - what and how we choose to dress can act in bold gallant ways. I exist in the space of public appearances, and stages, addressing 1000s of people at a time, but I am also terrified to leave the house some days - how I dress has never held more importance to me.
In past Septembers I have reminisced on Candy Pratts Price’s legendary statement that “September is the January of fashion”, and whilst it does feel like a brilliant fresh start, I think a renewed focus and ease of dressing is what I am focusing on this year.
Those who underestimate the power of clothes, and the importance of fashion as a tool of expression, a creative art form, clearly either operate from a privilege one cannot fathom, or they are the most fragile of bores. In a society that cares more and more about transgressors of the norm, clothing has become modern-day armour.
Have you ever thought about dressing in a way that can protect you, shape your personality, and allow yourself to be introduced to others without speaking? So ask yourself; What can clothes do for you? A question that opens up the possibilities of dressing in ways that create a stronger sense of self, an amour that deflects some of the harshness this world creates. Or perhaps you don’t wish to be so deep, maybe dressing in a way that allows you a sense of ease that many would call confidence, clothing can make you feel comfortable in your own skin when you let it.
I am aware that to some this may seem very superficial, and perhaps it is, or perhaps you have misunderstood me. Clothing and dressing is my silent partner in all that I do, and I am reminded as we go into a fresh season, that I can shape my experience of the world around me by authentically leaning into my superpower - being myself.
So perhaps it is time to ask the question. What can clothes do for you?
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