"The clothes we wore yesterday are the essence of who we each are." - Mio
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I invited the women
to reflect on the stories all the women shared yesterday and to share with the
group the details of one story that resonated with them most.
Asuna
Asuna connected to
Mayumi’s story about her love for uniforms and how she feels beautiful and
confidents when she wears a uniform.
She confessed posing
in front of the mirror sometimes wearing her uniform. It makes her feel
confident. When she wears the uniform and she has her make-up on, she is ready
to meet people, she is ready to be seen in pubic. It comes with certain
gestures and poses.
Aya
Aya never wears
second hand clothes, but she related to Hitomi’s love for vintage garments
because she thought it might be similar to her love for old furniture. Someone
else already used the furniture before her, and she hopes that another person will use the furniture after her. Aya feels beauty in that sense of continuity
and connection. She also experiences that the presence of the second hand
furniture in her space, makes her belong to the space, instead of the space
and the furniture belonging to her.
Yukari
Yukari connected to
Aki’s story about the family lunch and to Asuna’s story about the clothes that
were especially made for her performance on stage. She observed that many times
in Japan people wear clothes that signify and mark a certain holiday or
occasion.
“You see people in
the street and you know what is going on in their lives.”
“These clothes have
nothing to do with fashion, and each Japanese person has them in their
wardrobe.”
“Maybe these kind of
clothes are a kind of uniform as well.”
Ayaka
Ayaka connected to
Mayumi’s story about her relationship to uniforms. She relates to the “switch
on” once you wear the uniform. She also was inspired by Mio’s story and she
imagined that after 20 years her clothes fit her body, instead of the body
needing to fit the clothes.
Hitomi
Hitomi recognized
herself in Ayaka’s story about gender issues. She has been struggling with
gender issues as long as she can remember. Her parents wanted her to be a boy,
so she always had short hair and wore boy’s clothes. To celebrate Girls Day, a
special set of dolls is displayed in Japanese homes; her older sister always
got to play with the princess and she got to play with the prince.
“There is a famous
theatre in Japan that has only female actors, they play both male and female
roles. I am fascinated by women playing male characters.”
Aki
Aki felt connected to
Ayaka’s desire in college to be a certain persona by wearing related clothes.
Aki wanted to be a “Forrest Girl”. A “Mori Girl” has distinct characteristics;
they are usually short girls who wear long skirts, loose fitted, layered
clothing, and hats. It is a natural and earthy look that suits a short girl
very well. Aki is quite tall and finely build. She decided to be a “Forest
Girl” in college anyway; she kept up with it for at least 3 years. She has
always been very conscious about her length and would rather be shorter.
Mio
“The clothes we wore
yesterday are the essence of who we each are.”
“Yukari’s leather
jacket is very important to her because it is still in her possession even
though she uses the “Goodbye” principle.”
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Today I invited the
women to come dressed in the clothes that they wear very often, almost every
day, when not at work.
Mio
Mio weares the
clothes that she usually only wears at home, a jersey dress, a fleece jacket
and Ugg boots. This is the first time she wearrs these clothes outside her home
environment. Inside she feels it is nice to wear pink and girlie patterns; it
feels more intimate. Outside her home she would never wear pink and girlie
patterns.
The garments that she
is wearing today are her OFF SWITCH.
Yukari
Yukari wears a jersey
dress, jersey tights, and comfortable shoes. She likes shopping at sportswear
shops because there she can find comfortable clothes that she can wear anytime.
Unlike Mio, Yukari’s clothes are not limited to her home environment. She does
her housework in these clothes but when it is time to go to work she doesn’t
change them. She likes that she can move freely in her clothes especially when
doing housework.
Asuna
Asuna is wearing the
apron that she wears at home every day. When she does housework she doesn’t
have to worry about her clothing. She can wipe her hands on her apron. She
loves cooking. She wears a knitted sweater that she often wears around the
house as well.
Aki
Aki is wearing a
jersey striped top, a knitted vest, and leggings. They feel warm and
comfortable as a set, she always wears them as a set. They are easy to take of.
In the winter she has to remember to wear colors.
Aya
Aya is wearing an
outfit that she has been wearing for 20 years. She likes that the colors of her
clothes are quite neutral, not too brightly colored but also not without color.
Aya is self conscious about exercising in public; people might think she wants
to loose weight. She likes to go on fast walks and in these clothes she doesn’t
feel that people look at her as if she is exercising, because they look soft.
Her knitted vest has big pockets so that she can keep her keys inside them.
Ayaka
Ayaka felt socially
uncomfortable wearing the clothes she wore yesterday. In the clothes she is
wearing today she feels more like a grown-up. She specially bought these
clothes to fit in better. She is not as experienced as her co-workers and she
wants to make an effort. The clothes she wears today she always wears as a set.
MeMe
The clothes Hitomi
wears today are clothes she wears at home but not to work. She lives with her
parents, and her mother makes a strong distinction between clothes you wear at
home and clothes you wear in public. Clothes that you wear at home are allowed
to get dirty. 2 years ago, when Hitomi was still a student, she dressed to be
different, she wore strong colors, but she feels that those clothes are not
appropriate for work. She wants to look more like a grown up.