Topic: Dolled up.
I don’t think I ever received the memo about “effortless perfection.” At least not about clothing. I’ve heard it mentioned maybe once or twice, but I never gave it serious thought until now. I have, however, noticed that unlike other campuses that I’ve visited, Williams surprisingly dresses very casually.
It’s incredibly peculiar for me - as someone who hails from the West Coast, I grew up thinking that the East Coast fostered a culture of sophistication and classic elegance. And it’s true that the East Coast does give this certain aura - but at Williams it is more understated than anywhere else I’ve seen. I suppose it could just be that the community here is more humble - we don’t openly brag about our individual achievements, we don’t show off if we don’t have to. These qualities, undoubtedly, are highly commendable and which I take great pride in Williams for.
But I’m disturbed by how this credo translates into the way people feel about their personal appearance. While talking with a friend during dinner yesterday, I learned that some people don’t dare dress up because they don’t want to look like they’re trying too hard.
I was stunned. Really stunned. Like beyond stunned.
Was that how some people really felt about dressing up here? When did dressing well ever mean that you are an artificial person? Why don’t some people feel confident enough to dress up here? WHAT HAPPENED?!
I suppose it came as a real shock to me because I love dressing up. When I wear a put together outfit, I feel more confident and sexy. My posture naturally straightens and I smile a lot more. I don’t need someone to tell me that I’m gorgeous or beautiful or amazing because I can feel it to my bones that I am all these things. And that’s incredibly important to me because I feel that as a girl, sometimes you don’t believe in yourself enough. You question yourself - am I good enough? Can I be loved? Am I anything? And it’s so sad - you let yourself be swept off your feet by any sleazeball who tells you that you are the most wonderful person in the world because you won’t believe that about yourself.
I think dressing up can be empowering. It’s telling the world that you feel beautiful and that you care enough about your body to take care of it. Of course, this philosophy can always be taken too far. But I’m talking about moderation - you don’t need to look like you just escaped from the runway. Anyways, the point is that I think it’s sad the Williams culture discourages people who want to dress up. It’d be nice if people would finally realize that you can be smart, profound, thoughtful, and human even if you dress up. Besides, as far as I’m concerned, you might as well flaunt it while you’ve got it (to paraphrase Ulla from The Producers).
I don’t think many people realize what a gift it is to have the opportunity to doll yourself up. It sounds silly, but truly it was one of the things I missed most during my cancer treatment. Everyone told me I was beautiful, and I knew I was beautiful inside, but I really missed looking beautiful outside. I just didn’t feel like me anymore - another stranger was living in a shell of what I was. It seems so shallow now but at the time I’d really wanted to look normal because everyone else around me still had their lives.
So I don’t really mind not conforming to the Williams standard because I know whose opinion matters most in the end.
