Are you defined by the way you dress?
By Sawsen
@Sawsen (793)
United States
February 10, 2007 11:33pm CST
Do you ever feel that people define you by the way you dress. As in stereotype you based on what you're wearing. I dress conservatively and people feel like I'm dull and boring, but I'm really an outgoing person who likes to take risks. On the other hand, I have a friend who dresses extremely fashionably, with creative outfits and people tend to feel like she is "high-class" and conceited while she's actually extremely shy and really down to earth. Sometimes I see people wearing gothic clothes, and I will see people stare at them in a disapproving manner. I remember I had one guy in my theatre class who used to wear all gothic clothing, and he was such a talented writer, who wrore a lot of humorous plays that no one would know it by the way he dressed. So do you ever feel defined by the way you dress? Does it do you justice or injustice? Or neither?
10 people like this
64 responses
@meljessxena (2315)
• Australia
11 Feb 07
i dont judge people by the way they dress or the way they look, but i know many times i am judge, but i am now use to it. as its who i want to be and it doesnt offend me now what they say.
1 person likes this
@practical4wheels (50)
• United States
11 Feb 07
I think its stupid to pre-judge someone by what they wear or how they look. I know people who wear dark clothes, the black eyeliner and all.... and they are the most generous caring people I know.
I prefer t-shirts and jeans, conservative, no loud colors or styles. People that know me know I am anything but shy, creative and outgoing, nothing like the clothes I wear.
I know people who are heavy, and others who refuse to associate with them because of it. Its just a sign of immaturity. There are way to many people who just need to grow up.
1 person likes this
@Bee1955 (3882)
• United States
11 Feb 07
They have to know what I am, I wear the traditional head scarf and long clothes of a conservative Muslim woman. I get the looks and smart remarks like "why dont they go back where they come from"? I usually look at them and in my best southern accent say: "Why dont ya'll asssk me ya'llself?"
Or I get the curious: "What country do you come from?". My sarcastic answer: "Philadelphia", really blows some minds! LOL! My body is covered in well-kept, freshly laundered and attractive clothing. I dont bother anyone in what they wear - so leave me alone.
My husband, who is a gifted graphic artist and was in gifted classes from elementary thru junior high school, told me in his first year of high school he began wearing all black clothing and his red-necked school sent him to a reform school in another state because they thought he was "possessed". This was in the late 1980s!
"People - leave those kids alone!" (Pink Floyd)
@sahara_alia (12)
• Philippines
11 Feb 07
i'm a muslim student from mindanao, philippines.
i only started wearing my veil three years ago. prior to that, people would just pass me by whenever i went to public places. but ever since i wore my veil, i started to receive some weird stares from people. it made me feel uncomfortable when they tend to stare at me from head to feet. some eyes would even follow my direction. it felt so weird. i sometimes wondered if i was the only muslim woman who ever walked on this city. i never understood why people would stare at me like that. but then, i got used to the idea.
the worst thing that happened to me, though was when a driver asked me if i had a bomb inside my bag. i was then on my way to the school dormitory. my bag was too heavy (it contained my laundry for the week)that i asked the driver if he could load them into his vehicle. that was when he asked me his stupid question.
i just hate it when people would associate me (or any of my fellow muslims) with the people whom they call "terrorists." a lot of people pre-judge me just because they see me wearing my veil and that they discover i'm a muslim.
@joby_09 (498)
• Philippines
12 Mar 07
Most of the time, first impressions are based on a person's look. Like in your example, you have a friend who is fashionable outside but is actually shy and down to earth. But for people who doesn't know her, they will really think that she's from a "high-class" level because she can afford to be fashionable. And with this perception, they would think that she also have this "high-class" attitude. Ethically speaking, we shouldn't judge a person by his looks. But reality says otherwise...For me, injustice only happens when other people take their impressions against you. =)
@haedescanes (592)
• Philippines
9 Apr 07
I have my own style. Freestyle maybe. I am not dictated by new fashion trends. I can wear shorts and a shirt with comfort. Wearing pants and a polo shirt is not a problem at all. Well, I do dress up appropriately like wearing suit if the need arises to. What i wear does't give any identity to. What matters is I am comfortable with what I wear and I don't worry about what other will say about what i wear. Peace!
@bowtieguy (5915)
• United States
8 Jul 07
Yes alot of people expect me to be nredy and akward in a way because of my choice of neckwear, but that is not the case at all, I am actually quite witty and knowledgable on many subjects other than that of a nerd.
@pebbles_cubbie (3789)
• United States
12 Feb 07
yes i think people classify others by the way they dress. i get looked at all the time. i like to wear big hoodies and people think i'm ghetto. i hate that because i'm a nice person and i don't think i'm ghetto or gangsta. i don't take any crap from anyone and that is another thing they classify me by. i like the goth look too. i don't dress goth because i don't think i'm goth at all. i love the clothes they wear though. just go to hot topic. the clothes there are hot. as the name says. i like piercings and i have 3 if i got a few more people would say that i'm punk and i'm not. i hate stereotypes.
@poohandchocolate (348)
• United States
12 Mar 07
I like this discussion :) What you're saying is so true lol I think fashion is a way you present yourself to the world. And people do assume things about you by the way you dress. There's a girl in one of my classes who dresses gothic, and colors her hair in dark colors.. some people look at her like she's weird or scary, but she is one of the nicest people I know. I like wearing clothing that I think looks nice, I don't care if it's in style or not.. and I don't care what people think or say because I'm not dressing myself for anyone else but me. I never wear anything revealing either. I try to be fashionable while still looking modest.
@hottie0728 (1732)
• United States
12 Feb 07
The way a person dress doesn't really define what type of person he/she was. It's just that they're comfortable in wearing it or they are just into fashion.
@joodzki6 (596)
• Philippines
12 Feb 07
we can't please everybody...sometimes people really depend on the way we dress..but of course, we know much of ourselves. so, no matter how fashionable you are or conservative you are...it doesn't matter. you just have to be yourself and be comfortable. me, i dress up with the way i'm comfortable with...i don't go on what's in..i just wear something i feel...who cares??? ...just be yourself, folks!! forget about what other might thought about you.
@monkeywriter (2004)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I wear lots of cute cartoon clothes or pink is my favorite color. IF people were to define me it would be a 27 year old who likes kiddish things still! Do I mind? Nah! I totally still love them and collect them :))
I tried before in past to wear skirts and nice shirts and be girly. Its nice to try but its not me. I prefer cords to skirts, and cute shirts to girly ones.
I wouldnt want to change, been this way since I was 12 yrs old. Well before that, but its when I began to start to do stuff. :))
@openforme (30)
• China
12 Feb 07
yeah. i think most of the people define us by the way of our dressing. so, we have to dress well.
@coolhunkz (360)
• Philippines
12 Feb 07
there some censorious people do that.it might be because of the generation we have today.most of the people react when they have found something weird.
the way we dress reveal our personality.
@mastergkage (182)
• Philippines
12 Feb 07
you said most people think of me like that judging me by the way i dress though we cannot blame them, some people do really dress on the way they feel about themselves and their attitude something like that.
@cwgrlsarefun (1581)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I honestly feel that to many people do use the way we dress and look to tell what kind of person we are. I wear jeans and t-shirts all the time and people get the idea that I am lazy from that. It is not that I am lazy, I am just comfortable in these kinds of clothes. My son tends to dress like a skater and when he goes into a store or something I can see the people watching him like he is going to take something. My son is the sweatest young man in the world and would never take anything. He works very hard for what he has and is very responsible.
@fieryeyedwriter (614)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I think that this is absurdly true, and I hate that it happens. I change the way I dress from time to time. If I am not comfortable, then I won't wear it. If I don't like the way it looks, I won't wear it. I have learned to not care about what others think about how I dress, and try to remember that YOU CANT JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER.
@trinidadvelasco (11401)
• Philippines
12 Feb 07
It is a fact that people judge others by their physical appearance. I for one, have not much care about what I wear. What counts is that I do not smell bad and feel naked whenever I go out. So I dress conservatively, too. And another thing to bring my status down before people's eyes is, I don't wear any makeup at all. I hate the feel of lipstick, eye colors and all those other colors on my face. Yet, in my country's standards I can never be that dumb having earned a Liberal Arts major in English and being a licensed Civil Engineer at that. The people's degrading looks do not intimidate me because, for one, I know who I am.
@winseeker (24)
• India
12 Feb 07
genraly people judge other person by there dress. outfit is not a right way to esimate.
@maddysmommy (16230)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I don't really care about what people think in terms of the way I dress. I use to dress conservative when I was working and now that I'm a SAHM, I dress for comfort (jeans, top and sneakers or sketches! - its easier being dressed like this when chasing a 4 year old around the place!)
@AnnaB87 (761)
• United States
12 Feb 07
I think that people do judge others by outward appearances to a certian extent.
But a wise person will try to get to know someone before passing judgment.
But people are people and are attracted to what they see first. It would be nice if more people tried to get to know others before passing judgement, maybe one day more people will.
You should not judge anyone, but if you do you should only do so based on facts not just clothing. or personal appearances.
