Well-being Is Well-dressed

We all have a relationship with our clothing. Some of us have a sustained bond built over time; others – a carnal rip-em- off-in- the-changing- room style lust; then there are those who practice rigorous ascetic detachment – sartorial celibacy, if you will. Suffice to say, the degree to which we connect with what’s on the outside all boils down to what’s happening on the inside.

Like it or not, our clothing reflects more than our external appearance; it also conveys our thoughts, feelings and habits at a given moment in time. Slipping on a shirt and a skirt is more than just getting dressed; it’s an act of intimacy. How you relate to this (routine or ritual; chance or intention) is simply another measure of conscious awareness.

Trippy? Perhaps but let’s be honest. Having an emotional connection with what we wear is at once transformative and talismanic. Why else would Glenda the Good Witch have given Dorothy a pair of ruby slippers? Clicking those heels did more than get Miss Garland back to Kansas; they manifested magic – that sweet spot where memories are made.

Do you think having four back-up pairs on sale for €9.99 would have had the same effect on that yellow brick road to self-discovery? Not quite. It may have gotten her Mid-West caboose out of Oz but it’s hardly the stuff of storytelling; most certainly not the heart’s desire.

This section diarises my own closet love affair – the pieces that bring me equal parts pleasure and purpose. May it inspire you to wear what you love and love what you wear.

CREDITS
Jacket, Zara; Hair, Elaine Sullivan @ Aviary Lane; Makeup, Judy Wong; Photo,Hazel Coonagh