Your Earliest Recollection

1. What is your earliest recollection of your own clothing? Do you remember a specific item of clothing, or a general awareness of clothing? Was there a specific activity or event associated with your earliest clothing recollection?

My earliest recollection of my own clothing was wearing dresses all the time. A specific dress that I remember was the one I had when I was very young. My mother put me in a tap dancing class and I loved the little tutu dress they made us wear in one of the concerts. Therefore, tap dancing is definitely a specific activity that is associated with my earliest clothing recollection.
Please describe the item and what you remember about it, including activities and events. Include your age in the description.

We had this little white dress with a white tutu and red hearts all over it and I was OBSESSED with it. I wore it during the concert while tap dancing to the song, “How Much is That Doggie in the Window” by Patti Page. Even after the concert I wore the dress all around the house dancing in it. I loved that little dress so much and wore it until I grew so big I put a hole in the armpit of it. I just really liked the way it fit and the colors of it. It made me feel like a little fairy princess I guess which makes sense sine I was six years old. I even remember wearing it when my older

cousin was getting ready for prom because I wanted to feel like a princess like her.
2. What is your earliest recollection of someone else’s clothing? How old were you? Whose clothing was it? Describe the clothing, the circumstances and environment, and why the clothing was particularly memorable to you.

My earliest recollection of someone else’s clothing was when I was in kindergarten, I was about five years old and my best friend, who is now my roommate in college, was wearing an eye catching shirt. I spotted it while I was doing the monkey bars on the playground and she was coming the opposite direction at me. It was blue and green stripped shirt with a heart in the middle that had water and sparkles inside of it. This shirt was memorable to me because it blew my mind that the heart was full one sparkly water. It was not a normal thing to see and still isn’t very normal today, which I thought was very unique when I was little. I have to admit; I was quite jealous of the shirt too.
3. Describe a situation in which you have felt very confident and pleased about your dress/appearance. What was the situation? What were you wearing? How were you adorned? Why were the impression and memory positive?

One situation that I have felt very confident in my dress/appearance was my junior year of prom when we were getting pictures and doing the “prom parade.” My friends and family gave me compliments and I just felt good about myself. I was wearing a sheer nude dress with gold gemstones covering my top and bottom half which gold strappy heels and my hair done up like Marilyn Monroe. The memory was positive because the people around me acknowledged the time I spent getting ready and gave me the nicest compliments.
4. Describe a situation in which you felt “out of place” or uncomfortable because of your dress. How did others react? What did you think they thought? What did you think?

One instance where I felt “out of place” because of how I dressed was when I was going out to the movies and dinner with some friends and I dressed in leggings and one of my high school cheer t-shirts, topped with tennis shoes and a hoodie. When they came to pick me up, they all had jeans on with boots and a nice shirt, their hair was all done and topped with makeup. When they saw me, they just looked at me but didn’t say anything which made me think they thought I was lazy for not looking nice or something along those lines. I felt very uncomfortable because I seemed underdressed compared to everyone else, even though we were just going to the movies and Steak and Shake, I did not think that we had to look all done up but apparently I was wrong.
5. Is there anyone in public or private life that you admire and try to emulate, or someone who influences you in some way? If so, who and why? What is the role of dress in your perceptions and emulation goals?

Kylie Jenner is definitely a person in public life that influences my style a great deal.

The reason being that she has a very different and spunky style that always catches my eye. She is a trend setter and a successful business women and she’s my age! Although, she was born into fame and money so of course she’s successful. The role of dress in my perception and emulation goals is to feel comfortable in what I’m wearing, but also look different and spunky like Kylie is. She has a distinct look to her that anyone would notice which is another goal of mine to have. I strive to have a signature look but I still think that I am searching for

that.
6. Whose opinion(s) do you value most in the selection or evaluation of your dress? Why?

I value my opinion the most because as long as I feel comfortable, it does not matter to me what others think. I am not here on this Earth to impress others but it’s always a bonus if you do. I want to feel good in what I am wearing and I want to wear what I like. Even if my family does not like something, it only matters that I like it because in the end, it’s my body. One example is my nose piercing, even though it is not clothing, it is still something that adds to my style that my family does not like. They do not understand why I got it done and wished I would take it out, but I just explained to them that it is something that I like and have wanted for a long time so that is all that really matters to me. I am happy with it and I really like it so I do not care what others thinks about it.
7. What is your comfort level with cultural norms for dress and what aspects of your dress are limited (or not) to cultural norms? (In other words, are you offered security by conformity; do you tend to express individuality? Do you wish that you could break free of cultural expectations? How/Why? Describe…)

I feel very in the middle about cultural norms for dress. I usually tend to conform to some cultural norms that I believe fit my style. Although, I do like to express myself in other ways that are not a cultural norm. For example, I really enjoy leggings and converse, even though they are not very different. I wish I could break free sometimes of these expectations because I don’t like when I wear something different and people stare at me like I am doing something wrong. Cultural norms are also a large part of bullying whenever I kid does not meet the expectations of these norms. Therefore, I wish these did not exist because this issue would not go on as much. It’s especially difficult to get away from them with social media being a huge part of society anymore because these cultural norms are always shoved in our faces and if we do not conform to these norms, we are not considered “cool.”
8. Reflect upon the connection between fashion and culture and your own ‘self-presentation.’

There is a very strong connection between fashion and culture. Every culture and has their own unique way of expressing their fashion whether it is based on status, weather, or trend. For example, my own self presentation is very laid back, I like to wear flannels, leggings/ripped jeans, leather jacket and more. The reason for this is because I like the way it looks and feels. I would consider my style as more of a grunge look. In Athens, I have noticed that many students here take on the hipster style and the reason for this in my opinion is because it is more of a liberal arts school, which proves that your surroundings and beliefs play apart in the way we dress.