During my lunch walk, I came to some conclusions about fashion. At least, my opinions about fashion.

To put it plainly, I don’t get it.

Take shoes. I admit that I buy expensive shoes, but that is because I want my shoes to be comfortable, and I’m willing to pay well to make sure my feet don’t hurt. But I see no reason to wear shoes that draw attention to themselves.

Why do I want someone staring at my feet?

Same goes for clothing. I try to dress at least someone professionally for work, because I feel that if I look professional people are more willing to accept me as an expert. No, it’s not fair the world works that way, but there it is. If I am teaching, I want people to look at me as the expert in the class, and so I dress accordingly. But I do not want clothing that will draw so much attention to itself that people are looking at my clothes and not me.

I want people to look at me and to listen to what I am saying. I don’t want them staring at my shoes or at my clothing. Those things are the background and should remain in the background.

And if I’m not teaching, I want clothing that will allow me to blend into the background and remain unremarkable. Why? Because that’s how I am.

I used to dress aggressively to give off the attitude, “don’t bother me,” and although I liked that and it was effective, it’s not very helpful for getting assistance if you need it. So instead I go for wallflower. And don’t understand people whose clothing wears them, instead of vice versa.

(What prompted this? A pair of boots that looked like a cross between a moccasin, a bedroom slipper, and a dead rabbit.)