FashBlog.com

It occurred to me the other day that a good deal of our personal fashion and beauty sense runs on autopilot, where we simply go through the motions without having to consider them.

What got me thinking along these lines was that it struck me as somewhat humorous that I have a set pattern when I log onto my computer at 7 AM each day. First, I check my email (including the bulk stuff, since my computer never knows where to send what), then general news, celebrity news, statistics on my article views, job ads, then finally the site where I claim jobs. (I do my actual writing later in the morning, when I’m fully awake.) Anyway, I made a conscious effort to track my procedures along the line of daily preparation as well, and found that I have a set pattern there, too. (I guess all those years of trying to hone the most efficient method of getting a lot done in a little amount of time has finally paid off; I’m now robotic.)

From the hands that I use to wash, grab, and apply those numerous man-made chemicals, to the actual step by step process of “getting ready”, it’s fairly routine on a daily basis. That’s good, because I can notice my stress level rise when I’m getting ready for fancy occasions or even casual social events with those I don’t often see. The extra steps I take for those events tend to throw me off schedule. Do you have the same problem?

Now, for women, there are usually some limitations as to how and when they do things. For example, some clothes can’t be pulled over certain hairstyles, so they must get dressed first, which can change the order in which they may usually do makeup. If any product is used that’s supposed to dry before applying another, then they need to allow time, which means jumping from one aspect of preparation to another. If teeth whitener, nail polish, eye drops or a multitude of other toiletries are also desired, they need to be fit into a schedule at just the right time so the gal can work around them. That’s not even including the fact that some makeup can’t go on before other makeup, or that jewelry and shoes need to go on last because those items almost always need changed. On top of all of this, if there’s a man nearby, he usually voices something along the line of, “What takes you so long? I took a shower, threw my clothes on, and I’m ready to go.” (Have you noticed that hostility makes everything worse?)

It’s not just regular preparation that operates on automatic; it’s also our fashion decisions. You know-the ones that have been engrained in us from the age of about 16 that are so difficult to change. When I try to help my teenage daughter with an outfit, and make the great mistake of suggesting items that seem to go together (in my eyes, anyway) she’ll huff that “things aren’t supposed to match.” So I stare at the purple bracelet she wears with the camouflage skirt and red and black top and tell myself it doesn’t really matter in the big picture of life anyway. Without a moment’s hesitation, I’ll remove socks before donning flats, choose solid tops for patterned bottoms (and vice versa) and make sure that I’m not wearing colored underwear under white clothes, because those are my thought patterns after so many years. It’s been only recently that I haven’t been as bothered by combinations I’ve always found jarring, and I think that shows some broadening of views, or at least a reluctant acceptance of today’s definition of coordination. It’s kind of nice that we’re not too bound by a lot of fashion rules anymore.

Are there certain standards to which you find yourself adhering, even if there’s no real reason? In my mother’s generation, women never wore white shoes before Memorial Day or after Labor Day and usually matched their shoes to their purses. In my grandmother’s time, ladies rarely left home without gloves and hats. They probably never thought twice about any of that, either. I wonder what will become habitual thinking when it comes to fashion for the teenagers of today…

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