self-perception

superqueen posed an interesting question: describe your style: i.e. how you see yourself as opposed to how others see you. this blog indirectly speaks about my style, but it is trickier to define it with words. moreover, maybe because of my age, maybe because i am about to enter a new year and my life has reached a stable stage, i am experiencing my annual identity review. i would like 2007 to be a turning point for my persona, but i have not figured out what direction i want to go to yet.

my look, as a mirror of my identity, is therefore in constant development. it is not a case that people can never recognise me in photos since, they say, i always look a chameleon every time. this day last year or the year before you would see me compiling long new-year resolution lists. i have always felt blessed that i found out, just on time, what i wanted to study, what i wanted my profession to be and where i wanted to live at a particular point in life. plus, when i discovered yoga i felt secularly enlightened. but, as well as cultivating my passions and interests (art, travelling, languages, friends, etc.), i feel i need some other *mission* to concentrate on. this could simply mean start saving up and generally being cautious with my finances, or go out and start helping strangers by doing some volunteer work, or bring my yoga practice to the next level... basically i would like to do anything that would make me feel very much accomplished and *pure*, but i have to underst first what would make me feel truly achieved regardless the others' approval or praise, which has been always my main indirect concern. the way i have been seeing my look so far is in fact the combination of three components: how i think i see it, how i think the others see it and how i would like to come across in other people's eyes. as a matter of fact, my style is individual, but my look is also influenced by external culture: street fashion and the arts - in particular contemporary dance and yoga, art cinema and experimental theatre. layers, contrasts in colour, shape and fabric are the signposts of my appearance. at times it can come across as a *romantic* look with a punk soul.

i am very fussy about textile, and this should say a lot about my personality. i always read the labels to avoid synthetic materials, such as nylon, polyester or viscose, and try, when my finances allow, to opt for cotton, lamb or merino wool, cashmere and silk. i favour colourful clothes, cosy jumpers, cool tees, flat shoes (ballerinas or boots - combat boots, riding boots, motorcycle boots), military coats, chunky scarves and jackets with a twist.

i have always to feel comfy in my clothes. my hair has to be soft and rebel, possibly of a warm and natural colour. i like my complexion to be solar and healthy, so i occasionally sprinkle it with orange/brown blush. my lips have to be shiny and moisturised (a lip gloss is always in my (roomy) bags), my nails have to be short and squared, every now and then i like to varnish them with ferrari red or cherry polish. accessories, always carefully chosen and mixed together, are usually the quirkiest part of my look, even when i look under-accessorised. i always wear a squared diamond ring (except when i loose it) that my grandma bought me and, since my granddad departed this life, I always wear a Rubin gold ring that he regaled to my mum on my birth day. steve and i share a white friendship bracelet, which is almost paradoxically a symbol of freedom...

so, how would my readers define their own style?