When clothes become character

Losing things in life is natural, and something to be expected. Yet, there are two things I’ve been taught, never to lose, shame and fear. Having shame and fear stops one from venturing into the dark side. It stops one from doing things considered immoral, or immodest. Having shame and fear will give others a reason to respect him or her. When you lose all shame and fear, it becomes easier for people to have no respect for you.

Two of my Facebook friends are models. One is a model, and the other is a ‘model’ in the sense that, she does scamper around runways and poses for photographs, but I doubt she can make a career out of it.

They both post photographs that show them in various poses and outfits. Yet, there is a distinct difference between the photographs that appear on my home page.

One would have a sense of unpolishedness, and is not pleasing to the eye. The photographer certainly isn’t doing his job right. What makes it even worse is that the photograph is stamped with a large and ghastly watermark. Her outfits threaten to not stay where they should stay and do not have that fine finish one would look for. They also tend to not cover what they should.

The other however, shows class, a level of professionalism. The watermark of the photographer does not crowd the photograph. The model looks confident and seems to know what she’s doing. Her outfits are impressive. You know it’s the real deal.

Yet, they both do not always dress in what would be called modest attire. They show a lot of skin, and wear figure hugging outfits. One, more than the other, wears outfits that I would never wear in public, or even at home.

Looking at all those photographs and having a general idea about what happens backstage at fashion shows, I have decided never to be a model. Not that my awkward gait, and belief that a flat tummy isn’t achievable ever make anyone even consider giving me the opportunity to pose for a camera! Yet, in the hypothetical situation where I am asked to take over the catwalk, I would decline the offer.

Simply put, modelling career makes one lose that shame and fear of exposing one’s body to others. In all fairness to the profession, it isn’t the only one that does so.

Clothes are no longer used only to keep the body warm. It is also used to judge another’s character. What one is willing to wear says a lot about their principles and beliefs. I would never want to be seen in public wearing shorts that give a new meaning to the word short. Clothes can be figure hugging without being indecent. They could show more skin than usual without making one seem immodest.

Women are no more forced to wear long frilly dresses that cover them from neck to ankle. Yet, just because you have a right to your own body, and you can and should, to a certain extent, decide how much skin to show, you need not abuse this freedom.

Female clothing is much talked about. Yet, men too dress indecently. I feel incredibly uncomfortable when in the close proximity of a man whose pants are just too tight. Besides suffocating their lower bodies, men reveal just too much when they wear skinny jeans. They shouldn’t even be called skinny jeans; they are more like anorexic jeans! T-shirts and shirts that are three sizes too small should also be done away with. This is especially if a man has a muscular or pudgy body. I know men spend hours and hours sweating in a gym just so that they can wear tight t-shirts. Yet, trust me; most women would rather see less of your bulging muscles.

I’m someone who believes that humans, especially females, are blessed with shapely bodies for a reason. One must dress to impress. Yet, make sure you do not dress in such a way that will make others lose respect for you.

The Nation