Sheep tracks, originally uploaded by Hazelnutgirl.
Sorry for the lack of posts this week! Somehow the days have slipped by in a haze of lecture-writing (I've finally got my groove on with those) and at-home days with Hazel who is being very demanding of my time at the moment. Plus sewing and getting patterns ready and fabric chosen. Non-bloggy stuff :) I need to take some photos tomorrow!
Tonight I've got a very sore toe - a blister gone wrong I think. Teach me to wear heels, my feet are woefully unused to standing in them (no matter how comfy which these ones are) let alone for an hour straight without much moving while I lecture! I guess I looked good though. :-/
Oh I'm a martyr to fashion! I read somewhere that the higher your level of education the lower your heels and I must say that women tottering along in very high heels at University is something of an oddity so perhaps it's true. I know I mostly live in flats but sometimes I don't want to be sensible!
I had a very interesting conversation with another lecturer about wearing colour. We both had on very bright coats the other week, hers was leaf green and mine was a peachy-pink. She commented that we stood out on campus and we both agreed that in general most people were wearing shades of black and grey and white. I've been noticing this for awhile and know that visitors also comment on this predilection for dark colours in NZ. So then, being academics and all that, we had to try and figure out why! I proposed that it was a lack of confidence thing, particularly for women, as I've had numerous women tell me that I'm "so brave" for wearing red. The first time it happened I was floored because to me it's just my favourite colour. With subsequent comments I began to realise that many women see bright colour as too confronting, too "look at me" to wear. Which is such a shame because it's just colour! Talk about socialisation... So that was my theory. Hers was that coloured dye costs more so nice true clear colours in clothes makes them more expensive. Now that's really interesting because I have noticed in the past that when I see gorgeous colours or prints in clothes they're generally more expensive. Of course that also comes down to printing processes etc., but it's an interesting take on it. Would love to hear your opinions on wearing colour and why many people won't!
I'm with you, I think it's about not drawing attention to oneself. shame really.
ReplyDeleteI brought a gorgeous red cardigan a few weeks ago and when I showed my husband his comment was that "Wow, that's a 'look at me' colour". I was shocked! I have a worn it heaps and I always feel great in it. I do agree that maybe it's a confidence thing. I have recently lost weight and can see the colour starting to creep back into my wardrobe whereas the few years I've been overweight I just wanted to fade into the sea of black clothes and not be noticed.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the confidence level of a woman is in direct correlation to her wearing bright colors. I have a very bright wardrobe and am also pretty covered in tattoos and get the brave comment regularly. But I am a new mother and my clothing, while exceptionally fun and bright during pregnancy, took a more muted tone after my son's birth. I felt vivacious and beautiful during pregnancy and much more scattered and frumpy afterward. Now as I get into a routine and the weight is coming off I have been pulling out some old colorful favorites. I think an awful lot of it has to do with they type of person you are in social situations. Do you care what people think? If you put a lot of thought into what others are thinking you probably won't make the decisions close to your heart- like to wear your favorite color, no matter how bright! If you draw good feelings from others' opinions instead of from within I imagine it's hard to step out and be a bright spot in a dimmer world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post, it's refreshing to know that others notice this situation and I'm not crazy ;}
I agree wholeheartedly with your comment, though I do wonder how much of it
ReplyDeleteis actually dictated by what your parents teach you about colour. I wouldn't
particularly call myself self-confident, although I'm better than I used to
be - but I've always worn colour and so has my mum. So I never had the
suggestion put to me that colour was in any way a 'look at me' thing it was
just something you liked, looked good in, and enjoyed wearing, perhaps if I
knew other people would have been looking at me then I wouldn't have? I care
an awful lot about what people think and always have, but in general I think
most people are really happy to see colour and you get lots of compliments
on it. It's like people are telling themselves that it's an
attention-getting thing but in a negative way, when really I think that it's
the opposite and you'll get nothing but praise for it - as long as it's
tasteful of course! But even then, there are people who love much more
garish colours than I do so perhaps you can just do what you like and most
people will applaud it.