I am just getting round to posting about Guy Trebay’s interesting article in the NYT on January 8. You can access it here:
In it, in the service of “intensive” investigative reporting, he subjected himself to wearing 5 “outfits” (my term) by 5 very different designers over what appears to be a period of a few weeks. What results is, from what I gather, the psychological equivalent of whiplash, as he dons “notice me but not too much” Ralph Lauren togs that are intended to bespeak a quiet and very expensive elegance, and then goes to “11” by veering toward the pee-wee herman-esque ridiculousness of Duckie Brown and Thom Browne.
In his article, he talked about the phenomena that psychologists refer to as “enclothed cognition,” wherein, upon enveloping oneself in a certain bit of cloth, one can “become” a person who that person believes personifies a certain gestalt, or, to put it less pedantically, or more accessibly, ” Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak,” as Rachel Zoe says. Based on my own experience, I would paraphrase that to say, “style is a way to say who you want to be to others without having to speak.”
How many of us have purchased a perfect coat or shoes, expecting them to somehow transform our lives, get a better job, a raise, recognition. . .laid?
As I am building my brand and crafting pieces, this is something I am trying to bear in mind, and harness. When someone buys a piece of my art, what emotional triggers are driving the purchase? A memory of a particularly meaningful exhibition? A walk on the beach? A walk in the English Countryside with Isabella Blow on some bizarre “hunting” party?
Will he/she become bolder? More beautiful? More serene?
When they put my piece on, will they be transported? I certainly do hope so. . . .
more. . .
to come. . . .I hope
