Colorful Closet

  While I was in the shower tonight, I had an interesting thought I just couldn’t shake. You see, I’ve been feeling lately like people don’t see me. They look at me, kind of, but then it’s as though they look right through me, and miss everything that’s in between. My personality is all over the place: a little but of this, a little bit of that, there’s no pinning it down! How can they ever really see me? So then I was thinking, what if my personality were like a wardrobe? What would it look like? I came to the conclusion that I’d be all shoes and little else. Because shoes are so important… You need a different pair for every situation, and they’ll determine where you can and cannot tread. You need a classic black heel, for business and such, you need a strappy sandal for summer nights, boots in brown and black, a classic flat, a comfy loafer, tennis shoes, flip flops, shoes of so many shapes and colors and styles for every occasion! That’s why I think my personality is mostly shoes. I’m always so concerned about doing the right thing in every situation, and picking a pair of shoes to wear amounts to the same thing as choosing the right words and making a good impression. There is also, definitely, a pair of red shoes in my closet, although I don’t think they get out enough.

  When it comes to tights, I don’t like them. And no nylons either. Those things aren’t in my personality closet, although a couple of pairs of fun socks are (especially the ones with the toe slots).

  I’m also full of hats and scarves. Hats for every occasion: to frame my face when I’m feeling confident, or hide my face when I’m shy, and certainly to cover up bad hair days. I don’t mean baseball caps either, (I know you Sisters know). I mean fancy hats, dress hats, with feathers and bows and wide brims and ribbons. And scarves, of course, pinned with lovely brooches: conversation pieces. These little touches are what complete a personality, just like they complete an outfit. Scarves are soft, and romantic –there’s some of that in me, sometimes. And hats are full of history and memories, hazy like dreams that we hang on to for old time’s sake. Lord knows I have plenty of those hats. When it comes to jewelry, well that’s like imagination. Jewelry can make an outfit anything you want it to be, but for me…well, I always like to anchor mine with a pair of simple pearl earrings. They’re my imagination’s safety net, I suppose.

  As for the clothes, well…I have a feeling that my hangers and drawers are more empty than most. I’m not into the flash of designer labels and prefer a more comfortable and approachable feel. I mean, if I want to be defensive, I can just cross my arms or turn my back, I don’t need a black turtleneck for that. I think that’s why I’m into sweaters and skirts –not often a good combination. But the skirts aren’t too short, I don’t like to be vulnerable (that is, expose my legs), and the sweaters aren’t too thick. Sometimes they are, sure (winter's cold, after all), but what’s most important is that they’re huggable. As for the rest, well…maybe I’ll fill those hangers someday, and find things for those drawers, but right now they’ll just have to stay a little empty.

  Which might make it surprising that I think it must be rather disorderly in there. I bet that I have things stacked erratically on shelves, and there’s no way my sweaters are lined up in color order (uh-uh, no way). My shoes accumulate in piles, and sometimes one goes missing from its pair. It’s not entire chaos, to be sure, but it’s no Martha Stewart dream closet, either.

  And on top of it all? I don’t think I have a single matching outfit in my personality. If I were to summarize my personality in an ensemble, I think it would look horrid. I’d wear red shoes with a turquoise scarf, and a dark green brooch with a beaded cardigan, –a suede skirt with an elaborate grey hat, and of course an enormous tote bag. (All the handbags in my closet are certainly large, so I can take with me all the things I love to everywhere I go). Wouldn’t I look ridiculous walking down the street? So HOW is it, I wonder, that no one seems to see me?

  Tell me, Sisters, what do you think YOUR personality wardrobe looks like?