Clothes and More By Linda Stowe
Every now and then I find myself thinking about clothes I once owned, as if they were old friends I used to meet for lunch. These days I have seven dresses, all navy blue. My cardigans supply the only variation of color to my daily outfit. Comfort and convenience now guide my choices. But when I was a working girl, my closet was as colorful as a field of flowers.
My favorite garment was a vivid pink linen jacket. I hesitated before buying it. It was expensive, I wasn’t sure how to care for linen, and I questioned how many outfits it would complement. As it turned out, fuchsia is remarkably versatile and pairs well with black, white, brown, navy, even purple. It could liven up the plainest skirt and turn an ordinary dress into something special. I wore that jacket so often that it became a signature. It was a sad day when the elbows finally gave out and I had to retire the jacket.
Now I move through my days in dependable navy. For medical appointments, I pull on a zip-up hoodie—even in the coldest weather—because I am outside only briefly, traveling to and from the transit van. The hoodie is a faded red, softened by time, and I always choose it because the pockets hold everything I need.
About a year ago, I noticed that staff members at the eye center greeted me by name. They didn’t seem to do that with everyone. Curious, I finally asked how they remembered me so easily. It turns out I am known for my signature hoodie.
It seems we are always identified by something—once a splash of linen across a crowded room, now a practical sweatshirt in a waiting area. The colors may change, but the human desire to be seen remains much the same.
Wordle guess words: about, field, liven, linen
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That last line. The human desire to be seen. That statement is extremely profound.
Truthfully, I hadn’t given much thought to this notion before now.
Yet, when I think about it, I find this to be true in most everyone I’ve ever known.
We all want to be seen. Not just noticed, but truly understood.
It starts when we’re very young. Someone may have smiled back at us. Or answered our questions. We start to feel like we are recognized because of others’ interactions with us. And that need never goes away, I don’t think.
Perhaps it is that we want people to see more than what we do. We want them to see who we are. To a certain extent.
But being seen isn’t the same as being looked at. We can get attention all day long and not really be seen for our inner selves.
Maybe being seen is also a little bit about belonging. It might let us know that we matter. That we are a part of the bigger whole.
Yes, as Linda said, we all want to be seen in our own ways, no matter what we are wearing.
Well, except maybe for those pajama people in Walmart. LOL.
