The very first piece of clothing I ever owned that made me feel good in my post-puberty body was, weirdly enough, a pair of brown corduroy pants.
It was the mid-90s and I was in my mid-teens. I didn't feel good about corduroy on principle (it's what the frumpiest adults of my acquaintance wore, and in Grade 1 my elementary school classmates had laughed at the noise my knock-kneed legs made in my red corduroy pants), but these were different. They were what I now know to be called a finer wale, almost like velvet. They were on-trend for that time and place - either boot-cut or flared (my teenage self didn't know the different), low slung and a bit baggy.
This shape was both flattering to my curves and comfortable to sit in. (The first time I had experienced both since Mother Nature had seen fit to give me adult curves as a preteen!). With sandals and a tank top, it evoked a sort of hippy look (something I admired and aspired to, although I've never been cool enough). With boots and my new awesome peacoat, it evoked a sort of retro 70s look (which was what the kids who were cooler than I could have ever imagined were going for). Both these looks worked well with my long straight hair - the first time in my life my natural hair has actually helped an aesthetic, given that my life thus far had taken place in the era of big 80s hair!
In short, this was the first time either "flattering", "comfortable" and "fashionable" were ever within reach for me - and I got all three for one!
I wore them so much they eventually got holes in undignified places and I couldn't wear them any more. But those pants opened the door: I could feel good about myself in clothes! I could achieve looks that I aspired to! I learned more about what shapes and colours are flattering to the particularities of my body, I bought more clothes that make me feel good about myself, and I grew up to be a well-dressed grownup lady - something my preteen self never dared dream of!
The other day, I saw a poster outside a mall store where the model's outfit included brown corduroy pants that appeared to be boot cut. They didn't have them in store, but I hope they come in as part of the fall collection and they fit me. I still think brown and corduroy are both objectively frumpy, but I would love to have something in my closet that reminds me of feeling good about myself for the very first time.
3 comments:
Great memory, thanks for sharing.
#LeastImportantThing: it never occured to me that there was a time when long straight hair was not considered fashionable or desirable.
When I was a kid, it was acceptable for kids, but I never saw it on adults who were positioned as fashionable or aspirational. They either had perms or heavily hairsprayed styles or shorter spikier styles or some combination thereof.
I'd seen in photos and in older pop culture the hippy/70s long straight hair styles, but that was out of style (So out of style it was before my lifetime!).
Even though people started being less aggressively permed as 80s fashion turned into 90s fashion, it wasn't until the mid-2000s that I was exposed to the idea that straight hair could be aspirational. I felt like it was growing more socially acceptable, but I wasn't exposed to the idea that people with big awesome curly hair would actually deliberately put work into making their hair straight and that there were people who thought curls looked bad until the mid-2000s.
It does seem more recent that older and/or professional women can have long hair and not have to hide it in some way.
Maybe I was exposed to more fashion choices in NYC, but I even through short-spiky and big hair and whatever else, women who were able to grow their hair long and flowing often did, to the envy of others.
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