I rediscovered my love for knee socks this spring. I used to wear them quite often, but grew away from the look a couple of years ago and mostly worn them in the winter over tights when they weren't visible but just an added layer of warmth. It's nice to be wearing them again and they even feel rather practical on these spring afternoons when I go wading through knee-deep grass and can worry less about insects reaching my skin. And aside from the bugs and occasional snake, it's so refreshing to spend more time outdoors lately. My friends also have more free time for exploring so I'm not just going to my usual haunts and lingering but checking out new places as well. There's still so much in my area left to see.
After reblogging one of Kate Nashing's Foudre tee shirts on my blog she dropped me an e-mail offering one--as mildly obscure fashion statements on basic tees are a complete win I responded with a quick "please and thank you." This shirt is, of course, dedicated to the one and totally awful Terry Richardson. I dislike him for many reasons. My aesthetics are much more Tim Walker than over-edited Annie Leibotwitz or the over-exposed (in more ways than one) Terry Richardson. For me that's reason enough to dislike the man; seriously how did his plain and predictable photographs become so famous? Yet visuals are only the tip of the iceberg since his behavior on set is often very creepy if not downright inappropriate (a simple Google search of his name will unearth article after article and first-hand accounts from victims). It's frustrating to me that the fashion industry continues to support someone who blatantly misuses his power. It's not the fashion I'm a fan of. Anyway, the tee is a nice, simplistic way to make my opinions clear...
The other day I spent most of my time indoors in jean shorts and a tee shirt. I had chores to do and it was quite warm, so the wardrobe made sense. Later though I was making plans to go out with friends and requested they give me a five minutes notice so I had time to throw on a dress and proper pair of shoes. My friend replied "as long as you're wearing a bra you'll be fine" but I responded, "nope this isn't the me I like to present to the world." Which sounds rather snobbish or something, but it wasn't how I like to go out even just for errands. I don't mind wearing jean shorts and a tee shirt out in public, I don't solely own them for afternoons spent vacuuming or the like, but when I have time why not put my best self forward? "Best self" is a subjective term--it will mean different things to different people. For me it doesn't necessarily mean fixing my hair (especially when I don't know any styles for it at this length!) or putting on makeup, but it does mean wearing clothing I feel confident in. It isn't based on some outdated notion that "you never know who you will meet" because it turns the attention off of dressing for yourself and it becomes dressing to attract a fairly specific other. Not my goal. But there is this "best self" idea I have--it's as much as who you aspire to be, the sort of life you'd like to leave, as the person you are and the life you like. Like dressing for the job you want on a more personal level, dressing as the girl you'd like to be. So when there's enough time and the activity won't involve drudgery then it is nice to slip on a pretty dress and proper shoes and present a seemingly "together" person to the world...
Every time I shoot pictures for other people and get micro-managed to the point where I feel I have no control--I greatly appreciate my friends and family who help me shoot on occasion. Most of the time it's just a girl and her tripod, you know? I have a vision and I figure things out; composition, adjusting for light, balancing my desire for epic pictures with the reality that I only have 10 seconds to get into position. When people help me take pictures I'd prefer to use them as human tripods...Stand here, get this shot, can I see what you just took? Part of it is practical--I need to see the pictures to fix minor issues with hair or dress or awkward expression that other people wouldn't notice and no one else is as comfortable with my camera as I am--I have to adjust the speed of pictures or brightness manually myself. Yet, it's good to let go of total control and allow the people helping me creative freedom. They're looking through the viewfinder and are going to see things I can't see (something I have to learn to communicate when shooting for other people). Most days I'll still end up being annoying by looking at the pictures and stating "ok, this shot again but I'm going to turn my head more to the side." But I'm working on accepting creative differences. The real magic happens when you work with someone often enough that they know what you're looking for and they can direct you into it. I've got a couple of fun shoots in mind this summer that might be more effort than my usual "this is what I wore in a pretty field" sort of business. This was a spectacularly beautiful field though...
