On the Effort of Getting Dressed

“Wear a tired, frumpy face and chances are pretty high that the world will give you its tired, frumpy goods, its gray silt and stones.  On the other hand, dress up for the day, insisting on optimism, and you’ll find that you have more love in you than you knew.”

The quote above comes from a story by Lauren Slater called “Getting Lighter.”  It was published in the April 2013 issue of O.  It’s the story of how Slater, who has suffered from severe, lifelong depression, decides to use grooming and dressing up each day as a way of beating back the darkness that threatens to swallow her.  Restricted by her depression to just a few precious hours of mental clarity each day, she muddles through primping and fussing with clothes each day and finds that indeed, her efforts are not in vain.  Her spirits are lifted by the love and attention she gives to her exterior, proving that beauty is anything but skindeep.

Mostly the essay made me feel grateful that for me, each day is a delightful chance to wear a dress, put my hair up, and pick out a pair of earrings.  And when I don’t get dressed on the weekends, it’s an indulgence, a choice.  I am lazing about, taking a break from my normal beauty labor.  Most weekends I do get dressed—three out of the four photos above are weekend shots—but there is a world of difference between choosing not to get dressed and lacking the time, the energy, the will to take a shower and put on real clothes.

Try to catch “Getting Lighter” if you can.  I haven’t found a copy of it on-line, but it should be on newsstands now.  And with that, I thank you for indulging me in a narcissistic post featuring pictures of ME, just like Oprah always puts herself on the cover of O.

(For the record, I do prefer to be behind the lens rather than in front!)