May 29th, 2013: Power of Attraction

Power of Attraction

I know it's been awhile AGAIN, and I apologize for that!  I hope to be actually taking pictures again during this summer.  I'll be extremely busy with things, but I hope I'll be able to find time again to do the things I love most such as my fashion blog!  

This particular topic came to me a long time ago when I was in a class at the KCATF (Kennedy Center Association Theater Festival).  The class was called "The Power of Attraction," and I thought it was a class to help out actors overcome attractions with your opposites in plays, but it turned out to be something better than that.  It was a costume class that focused on the power of attraction based on clothes.  

This topic came back to mind to me while I was walking on the beach yesterday.  I was wearing a cute floral button up top with peach colored pants and a floppy straw hat, and I was walking with my dad collecting seashells.  I passed by some attractive men surfing and I looked immediately down at my outfit.  Why did I do this?  Why was it my automatic reaction to look down at my outfit?  I knew it looked fine, so why?  

The simple truth of it is that clothing has been built to be attractive.  I firmly preach that you should dress for yourself, but it's human nature to dress for others as well.  It has been an age-old habit for humans.  

In the class, the professor discussed how even back in the 1500's and before, women AND men were dressing to attract.  The professor went from toe to head for the lecture, focusing on the feet first.  She discussed platform shoes, lotus feet, and even high heels.  Then she moved on to legs (a more men focused area since women have been hiding their legs for most of the part of being on earth).  

The most fascinating thing I discovered in that class was the genius of Elizabeth I.  She knew clothing was a powerful tool, so she used it carefully in her court.  She always had outfits that accentuated her head so people knew she WAS the queen of England.  She also preferred black and white worn in her courts because she knew that black and white was more attractive on men.  Genius, no?  If you want to read more about it, here is an article discussing clothing as a political tool: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16349257

So power of attraction, yes, is true.  But remember, dress for oneself first, then others.