Day #619 - Dressed to Impress

And being judged...

I’m heading to London for a conference this week, so was busy getting dressed up for the event when River walked into the room. He took one look at me in my trousers, shirt and waistcoat and declared, “Papa, you look really silly in your work clothes”, then went back to his jigsaw.

I can see where he is coming from: the usual context in which he sees me is at home, where I tend to wear T shirts, or out adventuring, where I am in shorts. The outfit I wore was out of context from his experience.

It reminded me that we curate our ‘self’ for each context. Not simply what we wear, of course, but also our vocabulary, demeanour, and even the sense of power or agency that we hold.

Usually this is subconsciously done as we enter a space, but at times it is more deliberate. Sometimes we actively seek to ‘play a part’.

Use your sixty seconds today to consider all of the outfits you will wear today: not the clothes, but your identities and ‘selves’.

Today I will be travelling, I will meet old friends, and be in public spaces on ‘show’. I will make new connections and doubtless seek to show my ‘best self’. Not my silly one that my outfit apparently shows…