I play a little game in my head most days: I scan my body from head to toe and think about a story about an item of clothing I am wearing. It might be where I bought it, or who gave it to me, or something that it represents.
Today, I’m wearing a simple "‘Back to the Future’ movie t-shirt. I bought it in May this year in London. But it reminds me of being a 16 year old - when it was first released - and watching it in a drive-in movie in Toronto, Canada. And then again, years later, in Lower Hutt in New Zealand when my girlfriend (now wife) took me to see it again.
Some days, Benji (our dog) notices what I’m wearing. If he sees me coming out of the bedroom wearing a suit jacket, he doesn’t like it. He takes this as a signal that I’m going to be away for a few days. And when he learned this association, he was definitely right. But some days he’s wrong, and he’s very happy to see me when I come home.
What are you wearing today? And what’s the story behind it?
I am wearing boots that I bought in Croatia, the country where my mother came from. This connects me to a place I love and look forward to revisiting. They are also significant because boots from Croatia fit me really well, and this is something that doesn't happen in NZ as many boots here are not suitable for me.
That's really interesting - how boots made in your mother's country of origin fit you better than in the country you live in. I hope you get to re-visit soon (and stock up on boots).
I usually work in an office and am one of the few people in the office that still wears a tie. My view is that I'm paid to be a professional so I should look like one. I also think that business attire without a tie makes it look like the person needed to get up 30 seconds earlier so they could dress properly :) BUT, the key story in response to your question Sarb is the tie slide I'm wearing; I have two that I regularly wear. Today I'm wearing the one that my daughter brought back from the US for me when she was based there for a summer interning with a well known US government agency. So, while the slide is a very small detail of my clothing, it's a really important and personal one for me.
Ah ties. I'll wear them intentionally, depending on what I'm trying to achieve in my outward persona that day. I quite enjoy wearing them, but by the afternoon I feel quite restricted. I love your tie slide story. Such a small item, but with big meaning. Sometimes, I'll have something from one of my daughters in my pocket to keep me grounded in my life if I am in a roomful of strangers, or away from home for a bit.
When putting on my walking shoes I often get a flashback to my younger days when I would don very high heeled Italian shoes when I was attending a meeting in which I needed to have influence. Have always believed the research that tall people have a better life in some ways, especially earning higher incomes and being in positions of power. Interested in your dog’s behaviour! One of my large rescue dogs would really keep his distance when he observed my different attire! I used to think that height was also associated with intelligence but now I believe these taller folk often just have more opportunity to make their presence felt!
It's interesting isn't it. Even when we put on items of clothing, they can remind us indirectly of other times with different items of clothing. They are such a part of who we are, who we were, and how we put ourselves into the world. Yet, most of this can slip by us unless are intentional about it. We display so many stories about ourselves on our persons. It sounds like you were very deliberate in your strategy. I remember reading Michael Marmot's work on the Whitehall Studies as a student. You might be interested if you haven't come across them before: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitehall_Study
I am wearing boots that I bought in Croatia, the country where my mother came from. This connects me to a place I love and look forward to revisiting. They are also significant because boots from Croatia fit me really well, and this is something that doesn't happen in NZ as many boots here are not suitable for me.
That's really interesting - how boots made in your mother's country of origin fit you better than in the country you live in. I hope you get to re-visit soon (and stock up on boots).
I usually work in an office and am one of the few people in the office that still wears a tie. My view is that I'm paid to be a professional so I should look like one. I also think that business attire without a tie makes it look like the person needed to get up 30 seconds earlier so they could dress properly :) BUT, the key story in response to your question Sarb is the tie slide I'm wearing; I have two that I regularly wear. Today I'm wearing the one that my daughter brought back from the US for me when she was based there for a summer interning with a well known US government agency. So, while the slide is a very small detail of my clothing, it's a really important and personal one for me.
Ah ties. I'll wear them intentionally, depending on what I'm trying to achieve in my outward persona that day. I quite enjoy wearing them, but by the afternoon I feel quite restricted. I love your tie slide story. Such a small item, but with big meaning. Sometimes, I'll have something from one of my daughters in my pocket to keep me grounded in my life if I am in a roomful of strangers, or away from home for a bit.
When putting on my walking shoes I often get a flashback to my younger days when I would don very high heeled Italian shoes when I was attending a meeting in which I needed to have influence. Have always believed the research that tall people have a better life in some ways, especially earning higher incomes and being in positions of power. Interested in your dog’s behaviour! One of my large rescue dogs would really keep his distance when he observed my different attire! I used to think that height was also associated with intelligence but now I believe these taller folk often just have more opportunity to make their presence felt!
It's interesting isn't it. Even when we put on items of clothing, they can remind us indirectly of other times with different items of clothing. They are such a part of who we are, who we were, and how we put ourselves into the world. Yet, most of this can slip by us unless are intentional about it. We display so many stories about ourselves on our persons. It sounds like you were very deliberate in your strategy. I remember reading Michael Marmot's work on the Whitehall Studies as a student. You might be interested if you haven't come across them before: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitehall_Study