The Alchemist Diaries

“I’m not pretty, and I’ll never be pretty, but it doesn’t matter. I have something much better. I have style.” ― Iris Apfel

Let’s ramble a bit about judgement…

Have you ever wondered about whether or not you are a good judge of character? I like to think that I am decent at it, however, it took quite a bit of soul searching to see people as individuals with complicated origins, patterns, aspirations, and motives. In the United States, I feel that we are generally awful at perceiving character, often categorizing and compartmentalizing every little person and thing into a box so small that we miss the overarching picture of someone. In an interesting twist of fate, learning about fashion truly helped me to uncover not only people, but myself as well, and not jump to judging them based on stereotypes, preconceptions, and misconceptions, but instead based purely on actions and personal stories. Fashion, especially slow fashion, has helped me to do this.

What is Slow Fashion?

Slow fashion is a philosophy that challenges the throwaway culture of developed nations, and seeks to create a more ethical and environmentally friendly way of dressing. It takes the following into consideration:

• Quality over Quantity
• Mindful Production
• Local and Artisanal Practices
• Minimalism and timeless Design
• Environmental Impacts

Fast-paced trends dominate the fashion industry, resulting in a vicious cycle of human rights abuses from forced overtime and labor to low wages to environmental degradation. Slow fashion is not the sole answer to these problems, but rather another method dedicated to ethical practices.

Slow fashion encourages a more deliberate and thoughtful production process. This means paying fair wages to workers, establishing safer working conditions, and minimizing the environmental impact of manufacturing. Brands committed to slow fashion often prioritize transparency, ensuring customers are aware of the journey their clothes take from production to the rack. This goes far beyond just the garment workers; we also have to take into consideration the farming labor for growing cotton, the animal cost of producing wool, and the human cost of chemically produced synthetic fibers.

From Judging Fashion to Judging Situations

What does slow fashion have to do with judging people? I like to see others’ fashion choices as a “synopsis” in determining what people are like. It is my form of people watching. The purpose of fashion is not to keep up with surface level trends or to create a perception of wealth―both of which are the typical reasons for purchasing clothing today. Fashion is so much more complex than this. Fashion is a tool for communicating identity. Fashion tells personal stories: what our values are, the moods we are in, the functionality we require for the moment, and the potential catalysts for social change.

Of course judgements can be completely wrong. However, we can probably agree that there is a correlation between how we dress and how we function throughout the day. I apply the same ideas of slow fashion to people:

• Quality over Quantity: Personable connections with a few over surface level interactions with many.
• Mindful Production: Intentional connections with acquaintances, friends, and family over faceless followers.
• Local and Artisanal Practices: Building communities in person.
• Minimalism and timeless Design: Finding the individuals in front of us interesting rather than constantly seeking thrills.
• Environmental Impacts: Understanding that people are products of their environment, yet also learning to empathize with them and walk in their shoes.

Earlier this year, I recognized that I had a complicated view of fashion and style. I reassessed my relationship with clothing and learned how to tell the difference between societal fashion norms and purposeful rebellion in the context of what we wear. I also learned how to make my own clothes over the years and found a wild world of creativity, human and environmental exploitation, and how to be comfortable in my own skin.

Not that I myself am particularly fashionable in the “Project Runway” sense, but I adore fashion and observing how people dress.

When I look at how someone dresses, it is not to spitefully seek errors in the wearer’s choice; it is to seek information about that individual. Their clothing communicates something about them. An individual wearing a suit with heels may communicate their drive and ambition and the strong need or even requirement to be taken seriously in a brutal professional world. At the same time, it could also communicate that the wearer prefers an elevated appearance to exude confidence and strength, despite their actual work requiring a uniform or casual attire.

Or, we can look at two different mothers shopping at a grocery store. One mother has opted for sweatpants, crocks, and a ponytail, while another has opted for a pressed skirt with wedges and victory rolls. The first mother could easily be caricatured as the woman “letting herself go” and being overwhelmed by her three children, while the second mother could be caricatured as a “trad wife” upholding fantastical ideals of 1950s motherhood.

The reality, however, is that both are perfectly adequate mothers, equally exhausted, and cannot wait for a day off. One mother does not want to be bothered with dressing up for grocery shopping in exchange for ease, comfort, and practicality, while the second mother wants to feel well put together and beautiful because that is easy, comfortable, and practical for her (as an added bonus, she loves history bounding).

It is fascinating to see both personalities at work, successfully parenting while their fashion choices reflect who they want to be in the moment. The casual mother perhaps loves getting dressed up on occasion, while the chronically dressed up mother also loves getting dressed up, but will have a day when she eventually won’t feel like it. The possibilities are endless. Most importantly, are their personable actions. In both cases, their children are clean, well fed, and their needs catered to. Both mothers are kind to the grocery workers, and firm yet fair when their children misbehave.

Could we be wrong in our judgements? Absolutely. However, the idea of slow fashion has helped me to evaluate people slowly, by not jumping to stereotypes or the first negative idea that comes to play.

What do you think? Does my ramble make sense?