Day 12 - Serious Face

Ok, so now that my intervention is finally complete and I have journalised my thoughts and feelings throughout the process, it's time to get serious for a bit. Having done some personal research on body image, if I critically analyze my thought progression from before to after the intervention, a few interesting points become apparent.

Initially, my instinctive analysis on this was that I am simply a product of my own vanity and narcissism. However, on the topic of psychology and objectified body consciousness, Cash & Pruzinsky (2004, p.57) state:

       "Watching one's appearance is presumably associated with self-love and individual achievement for women. However, research shows that when people pay attention to how others perceive them, they try to meet relevant standards, feel bad if standards are not met, and are susceptible to influence by others. Thus body surveillance is about control, not self-love."


Even though the passage was based around feminist theory, I found a certain level of truth to their argument. Introspection has enlightened me to my own desire for control. Meticulous attention to my dress i.e. adherence to social standards of aesthetic beauty (fashion) serves as a direct means to controlling how I am perceived within that same society. Food for thought, at the very least.

Bibliography

Cash, T. F., Pruzinsky, T. 2004. Body Image: A Handbook of Theory, Research, and Clinical Practice. New York: Guilford Press.

Tom Ford, Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson Vanity Fair Cover. 2009. [online image] Available from: http://www.beyondhollywood.com/gallery/stills2/scarlett-johansson-keira-knightley-nude-vanity-fair-cover-big.htm [Accessed March 25 2011].

Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Paul Rudd Vanity Fair Cover Spoof. 2009. [online image] Available from: http://justjared.buzznet.com/photo-gallery/1769211/seth-rogen-paul-rudd-vanity-fair-02/ [Accessed March 25 2011].

The Aftermath

Aaaaand we're back to the drawing board! Or. In this case.... back to the dressing table. 

The Hair

The Earbling

The Dress

Aaaaaaand The Watch... haha

Day 10 - "Why Are You Dressed Like That?"

Last day today. I feel weird. Similar to the feeling I get the last day of fasting before Eid every year. Kinda like... even though you're happy that things are finally going back to normal, you're overwhelmed by an unexpected wave of melancholy at the prospect of losing the little bit of solace and humility that has surprisingly inhabited you over the duration of your "intervention." 


Even though I feel most like myself when I express who I am through the intricate art form of dress, I look at the process with a wider gaze now. This fucking qurta is comfortable, man. And when I wear it, I feel less vain. With no vanity, with no pressure to impress or get double takes as I walk through the corridors of my daily routine... I feel at ease. Calm. Almost... more like myself. Isn't that weird? I guess if physical expressions of self through dress are my yin, then this valuable lesson is most definitely my yang:


"We can dress the body for a lifetime, but our souls are naked for eternity."


I just made that up. Plans to copyright are pending. 
Anyway, two interesting developments today. 


INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT 1


I walk upstairs for breakfast this morning in full autopilot mode. Halfway through breakfast my dad says in a groggy voice, "Why are you dressed like that?"
I hadn't even realised that I got dressed already. I explained the assignment to him and that was that. To think just just a few days ago I was smuggling myself out of my house as if it was Alcatraz. 


INTERESTING DEVELOPMENT 2


Remember when I said nobody would ever see my embarrassing, curly hair?


.......

Shut up.

Day 9 - Clever Vega Bastards

So it’s the second last day today… and you know what? I think I’m starting to get used to this old qurta. There’s no morning stress deciding which combination of garments would get me more attention. No trifling with which pair of shoes to wear based on expected time out v.s. fashion/comfortability. No pressure to impress when I weigh my appearance against others. No grueling accessory removal procedure at the end of the day. No shiny watch today. And you know what? Under this this thick, black beany lays a bedhead of curly hair that no one will ever see lol. I did, however, GHD the 3cm tail that peeps out the back… ~cough~ Shut up.

I gotta admit… never in a million years did I imagine I’d be this comfortable at this stage of this assignment. It’s pleasantly surprising, and at the same time I feel a little bit silly about myself for all my unnecessary insecurities over the years. I still love dressing up. I love the thrill of being extravagant to express yourself in an era when finding an original, unique identity seems nothing more than a generic attempt to fit in. I think maybe now I just understand why I am the way I am a bit better. Clever Vega bastards.

Day 8 - BuRrRp

As much as I’d like to write something truly spectacular today, I’ve been home alone all day cleaning and eating. In my underwear. 

Day 7 - I Dress Therefore I Am?

Whoops! I was so rushed yesterday that I forgot to tell you how my plan went! Ahem…

So I rock up at Ali G’s looking like a rockstar and the aunty behind the counter immediately glances at my earrings, then doesn’t make any eye contact with me for the remaining duration of our transaction. Weird. So I go home, change and go back. Her confused expression when she saw me looked like a cross between “WTF” and “I think your twin brother was just here.” This time, however… she was looking at me. Smiling, even. I found this really interesting. Our appearances seem to be a very direct expression of our beliefs, our personalities and what we stand for. I dress, therefore I am? She immediately identified my attire as congruent to her own and accepted me the second time around. Does this then mean that our choice in dress is a statement of the kind of people we invite into our space on a more personal level, as well as a request to be invited in by people of the same creed?

The Waterfront, I found, was a lot less enlightening. The cultural demographic made either of my two appearances equally acceptable. To think, that embarrassing slip in the men’s room was all for nothing. Bleh…

Day 6 - Oh, the Irony!

Day off due to not wanting to embarrass my little brother in front of his peers at their pre-matric ball party. It’s funny… here I am, slap bang in the middle of an anti-vanity intervention, dressing my brother in the most elaborate embellishments so that he looks like the epitome of contemporary aesthetic perfection for one of his most memorable rights of passage in his 17 years of existence. The irony is amusing, to say the least. Gotta go. The limos are here. Hummers! Immmmpresssiiiiiive….