When I started documenting what I wore my original intention was to get a good look at my own style (if there was one) and inspire myself to give my whole wardrobe a chance. It's been a positive experience encouraging me to care about my appearance on even the worst of days and related communities have opened up a world to me that is much bigger than anything you could ever find in a magazine.
In certain aspects of my life I can be rather "quirky". I'm not necessarily a perfectionist, there is just a small wrinkle in my personality that when I claim to be something, I'd like no evidence that I am anything but excellent at what I do. Photography has been something very close to me ever since I can recall the first time I developed pictures with my dad in the bathroom at our house. It was the first subject I studied after high school and something I've put a lot of effort into learning. I make no claims to be the greatest or the best but I do take pride in what I do know.
The aforementioned wrinkle often manifested itself in how I viewed myself as a photographer. In the past if I could not get the shot there was something irritatingly unacceptable it. Teeth grindingly, hair pullingly, sleepless nightly, unacceptable.
Last Spring I started to document what I wore. I was busy with my studies and most of the shots were quickies in bad locations. The anal retentive photographer in me was rather huffy that the rushed pictures were often not meeting standards. I kept telling myself to relax it's not about the photo it's about the clothes. It took awhile but eventually I did start to let go.
So strangely enough, one of the biggest things I've learned over the past few months is that bad photos are not going to destroy me. There is no secret photographic society that will see a crapy photo with my name attached to it, hunt me down, kick down my door, and burn my negatives as punishment. (That might be a bit exaggerated but you get the idea...)
The photographer (me) might just be tired that day, the model (also me) might be in a bad mood, the lighting gods could be on vacation (which happens often without controlled conditions), the location may just suck (and many do) or whatever the case may be. Sometimes even when you know how to do something well the situation can still be out of your control.
My outfit photos may not be about the photography but it does thrill me when I can get a decent shot. So like the dork that I am, in between loads of laundry you can find me standing in the drizzle trying to will the wind to blow just a little bit more in order to get just a slightly more interesting shot.
The vintage dress I purchased off of Ebay two years ago for a garden party. I ended up wearing another dress but I've always been quite fond of the pattern and thought the leaf motif was suitable for this gloomy Fall day. I added a pair of thrifted heels since the dress looked silly with flats and who cares if I look over dressed for my errands later. If
Andrea can teeter around in heels while doing housework, I can teeter around a hardware store in heels!
Would she approve?
