My favorite among these must be Project Runway - a show, for those who don't know, where 15 designers compete in challenges each week until three of them are left to present a collection at Bryant Park in New York. The challenges range from the sublime to the ridiculous, including such things as designing outfits for a character in a TV show, designing for some drag queens, designing an outfit made from edibles or flowers etc.
One of the things, that, however is never taken into account during the judging of the outfits, is comfort. For me, always, dressing has been about comfort first and then how fashionable it is. And, as I'm now realising from watching these shows, fashion is about creating silhouettes and shapes, and that often these are created by tight garments or the kind of undergarment that used to be known as a foundation garment - squeezing you into shape, or at least the kind of shape people think you should have.
All of this got me thinking about our preconceptions as far as people are concerned. It's not enough that they are clean and fully dressed, they have to also be dressed according to what we think of as suitable to whatever it is they do as a job.
And as teachers we really have to consider the preconceptions when we dress - we cannot dress in our own individual style unless it matches what the concept is of professional - covered, rather dark than bright, and very groomed. Once we have settled into a relationship with the kids and our fellow teachers, we can often relax and be more individual, but we still cannot be fully ourselves.
How much of who you are do you give up to match preconceptions? And do you think it is important? Or is it small stuff?
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