I learned early on about the power of clothes. As a child, my family moved 4 times in 3 years. Which meant that I was the new kid on the block. A lot. And each move required a costume change — a new style of wardrobe that allowed me to seamlessly slip into belonging. I switched from Danskin separates to red bell bottoms to a Holly Hobby purse to Izod preppy.
Finally, my sophomore year in high school, I went away to boarding school and for the first time in a decade, the ground stopped moving. Yes, I was the new kid again, but so was everybody else. There were students from Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. From Kentucky, Georgia, and Texas. From Saudi Arabia, Africa and England. It was a hodge podge. But, for the most part, we all looked the same — Levi’s cords, Brooks Brother button downs and Dean wool sweaters were the uniform de jour.
But suddenly, now that I felt safe, I was no longer ok with just flying under the radar. I wanted to spread my wings. Be cool. And really, no group of girls more epitomized cool for me than those from “the city”. New York city girls had an air of sophistication and insouciance that I envied. They took the subway. Navigated the streets of downtown. And shopped at Fiorucci.
It was 1982 and the Fiorucci store in New York was THE place to hang out and shop. For a naive girl such as myself longing to be brave, it was an eye opener – gay/straight, young/old, rich/poor, black/white, Fiorucci catered to them all. And the store itself was a smorgasbord of lycra, glitter, Keith Haring art, Betsy Johnson’ babydoll dresses and neon sandals. Which were all way out of my budget. But then, I saw them — a pair of blue and green feather earrings. They hung to my collar bone, and when I wore them, I felt cool. And not totally myself.
Those Fiorucci feather earrings gave me the power to try out a different persona. To walk on the wild side and see, if only for a night, what it felt like. They were the first item of clothing that I bought not to disappear, but to stand out. Those feather earrings helped me understand that clothes have the power to help us fake it when we need it most. Because, you see, those earrings didn’t make me brave. They just made feel brave. And that’s always the first step.
Photo Credit: SWANclothing via Compfight cc
Photo Credit: wwarby via Compfight cc