You are what you wear

This weekend I went through the frustrating Friday night ritual of figuring out what to wear. I tried on about 80 different combinations of outfits, which were then thrown on the floor and described as too church-like, too Jennifer Lopez-ish or just plain ugly.\nI have found that figuring out what to wear when I\'m going out is like picking out a Halloween costume. Do I go as a Playboy bunny or a nun? A French maid or a nerd? Madonna or Dorothy? Like it or not, what you wear serves as a reflection of who you are. Or does it?\nI had finally selected what to wear when my friend decided to inform me that I looked slutty, for lack of a PC term. I told her she looked like Janet Reno meets Richard Simmons, and as she stomped off, I considered accidentally donating all of her clothes to the Salvation Army. I later decided against it, but couldn't help but wonder why she cared so much about my wardrobe. After all, clothes are just pieces of material sewn together that we wear so we don't go around scaring the hell out of each other. What\'s the big deal?\nAt the risk of sounding like a horrible cliché, clothes are all about expressing your individuality. But that's only the beginning. When I decide what I'm going to wear, of course I have my own ideas about fashion in mind. From color to style, I know what I like and I know what I don't like. But beyond that, isn\'t what you wear just a reflection of your personal perception? After all, isn\'t that why we have mirrors?\nUltimately, it is our clothes that help us define our look. And that\'s why some people, namely American Express, like to say that I have a small shopping addiction. Although I won't dispute that, I still find myself staring at a closet full of clothes and claiming that I have nothing to wear. \nRegardless of how many pairs of black shoes I have, I am never satisfied and therefore, getting dressed can become more of a hassle than a daily routine. Sometimes I wish I was still in elementary school so my mom could pick out what I was going to wear, although then I'd be wearing gingham dresses and pink ribbons.\nThere is something about being a woman that forces us to indulge in shopping extravaganzas, try on everything possible in the closet, and then throw temper tantrums like 5-year-olds when we hate everything we put on. This is a daily ritual in my life, and it never gets any easier. But at least on a Friday night, I look forward to the fact that within hours I will have had enough to drink so that I no longer care what I look like, or even worse, suddenly think I actually look good. \nWhen it comes down to it, our clothes, whether we like them or not, are just an extension of our personality. Anything from a new skirt to an old t-shirt helps us express a little about who we are without revealing too much. Whether you prefer a pair of pajamas to black pants, or stilettos to flip-flops, you will still take the time to wear what you like, not what others like.\nWhile some people prefer to contemplate life\'s greatest mysteries (what exactly is a Hoosier?), I'd rather consider a more immediate question: What am I going to wear?