my aesthetic for my body: how I dress & self-decorate
icon: "bodylove -- me (me sitting at the foot of a tree wearing a plunge-neck mottled blue shirt and black skirt, arms relaxed with hands together in my lap. I have violet hair and am wearing a large amethyst ring)"
prompt from lusimeles: do you have an 'aesthetic'? if so, how would you describe it?
Yes, I have an aesthetic for my body and one for my space. Due to length I will split this into two posts.
My aesthetic for my body is comfortable, colorful, and cool (temperature-wise). I like my clothes to be solid colors, abstract mottled patterns like tie dye, or geometric patterns, but will occasionally allow a floral pattern. Dots and stripes are NEVER acceptable, unless they are so small or indistinct that they blend together from a few feet away. Tiered skirts are permitted to have multiple patterns, but otherwise I will wear one patterned item and the rest as solid colors.
I prefer to wear my sleeves separate from my shirt, if at all: most of my shirts are sleeveless. I prefer shirts that are low-cut to allow heat to escape and because I like how my boobs look. If a shirt completely covers my breasts it makes me overheat. My favorite kind of top is a cowl neck, because it allows me to be cool and it looks flowy and free without being shapeless. I can't stand when shirts slide up my hips to my waist, so I prefer them to be made of stretchy material and be extra-long to prevent that, or better yet to be longer in front and back than they are on the sides. I prefer them to have straps that are at least an inch wide, because they're less likely to fall down that way. I can't stand long-sleeved shirts except worn open as an overshirt, and do not own any pull-over long-sleeve shirts.
My favorite kind of overshirt is one that is translucent, made of lace, net, chiffon, tulle, or gauze: second best is stretchy thin knit fabric. I won't wear them if they are scratchy, though, because comfort comes first. I prefer flowy dusters or clingy shrugs. Even better is a combination: a structured empire-waist duster that can be buttoned or tied right under or across the bust, which then flares out to swish around my hips and legs (I've only ever found that ONCE and long ago outgrew it).
I wear skirts because 1) they are cooler and let a breeze touch my thighs 2) they're more comfortable than something that rubs between my legs and 3) they come in much more interesting colors and patterns. I prefer skirts that are full enough that I can sit with legs wide-spread and have fabric drape down between my legs. I prefer skirts that are long enough that I can sit down without carefully pulling/tucking the skirt or having my thighs touch the surface of what I'm sitting on: ankle-length or just-longer-than-the-knee is ideal. I prefer circle skirts with vertical lines, with fullness added using triangles, but I also accept tiered skirts. I prefer handkerchief hems to all others.
I prefer skirts to have 3-4" shirred waistbands (fabric gathered and sewn together by thin horizontal rows on elastic thread), or waistbands made of a 1-2" line of flat elastic, just tight enough to keep the skirt from slipping but not tight enough to bite in at all. I will even buy boring-colored or ugly-patterned skirts if they have shirred waists, because comfort comes first. When I can, I want to hire someone to make me a bunch of skirts that are just-longer-than-the-knee in the back and just-above-the-knee in the front, and shorter on the sides, with shirred waists and side-triangles giving flare.
If I wear a dress, I want it to be long and swishy with an empire waist and low-cut bust. Second best is clingy from chest to just below my butt, with enough stretch to move easily.
I almost never wear pants and I don't even own shorts. I don't find them comfortable and usually don't like how they look on me either.
Aesthetically, I prefer my hair to be long in a wide strip down the center, shaved extremely short on the sides. I prefer the long bit to be a few inches below my chin in the front and gradually shorten into a point in the back before being shaved at the neck. I prefer it to be bleached and dyed with Special Effects Wildflower (a vivid violet dye). Second best is my natural color, cut to be short in back and long in front. That's pretty much what I have right now while I look for a job.
I wear scarves around my hips or hair or over my shoulders as a shawl, but almost never around my neck. I have a collection of probably 30 scarves, collected from thrift stores (and in a few cases, from ebay or gifted to me). All are very colorful, most are very thin fabric, many are sparkly, most have abstract patterns and a few have leafy or floral patterns. I allow floral if I like the colors enough.
I wear long dangly earrings which I made when I wear them at all; usually they're a two-pair set with a longer and shorter one for each ear (shorter always on the outside!). I make them to match favorite articles of clothing or just to be funky and unique. Rings are also part of my aesthetic but because they are impractical I rarely wear them. I like rings with large semi-precious stones cut in cabochons, set in silver, ideally with open backs so that the stone can reach my skin directly. Necklaces used to be part of my aesthetic but I have grown mostly intolerant of wearing any closed circuit around my neck, and I cannot wear bracelets at all unless they are an open spiral, and rarely even then.
Makeup I like to be colorful, sparkly, and bold. When I put on makeup, my style is pretty unique. I start with a bluish-white shimmer to highlight the purple under my eyes (one of my favorite features), and then I exaggerate the length and tilt of my eyes with thin black liquid eyeliner. After that it depends on my mood. Sometimes I pick one color and use several different shades of it, but more often I use multiple colors. I like to put dark shadow at the base of my lashes and in the crease of my eye, and do the rest in bright colors. Usually this is where I stop.
Sometimes I draw designs on my cheeks in clear eyeliner and then pat glitter on to it while it is wet so it sticks, or use this same method to make a goatee. Sometimes I add jeweled stickers. Sometimes I attach laboradorite or moonstone with double-sided tape. Rarely, I put on lipstick as a lip-liner and then use burt's bees lip shimmer in the middle. I never wear foundation or concealer or 'natural' makeup unless I'm going on a job interview. I never paint my fingernails.
Aesthetically I prefer being barefoot: practically I almost never am. I wear colorful socks that are mismatched in color but not in length or texture: I buy them in mixed-color sets so that I can match the feel and mix the colors. I have one pair of shoes which I have worn nearly daily for the past 7 years: I replace them with an identical pair about once a year. They're black suede lace-up work shoes from Sketchers (one of the two brands which make shoes with enough arch support for me) and I wear them with insoles that raise the arch still more.
When I can afford it I would like to buy several pairs at once to rotate through so that they have a chance to dry fully between wearing and don't get stinky. As it is, I change my socks any time I take off my shoes (usually carry a clean pair with me for this purpose).
I almost never wear heels, though I have some for wearing to interviews.
Underwear is all about comfort. I have this one kind that is my favorite: I have about 10 pairs in different colors. They're not sexy, but they are comfy, silky with rolled covered hems. Bras are much the same. I have very close-set large breasts and the skin between is extremely sensitive to rubbing, so I can't wear anything but plunge bras: I can't stand for the wire to come up between my breasts.
There is one particular style available at lane bryant and I buy that style in a 40DD or 40E in whatever color/pattern that is cheapest. Usually I dislike the color/pattern but whatevs, I don't want to spend an extra $20 just to get a color/design I like slightly better. If they had colors/patterns I really loved it might be worth it but the best colors/patterns are almost always only available up to D. Usually I buy when they have a buy one get one free sale, because they're a large purchase and spending more than $40 at a time scares me. I tend to wear one or two bras until they literally fall apart, then I replace them. I never wear hose or slips.
In the winter I wear the same clothes, but with knee-high socks for the short skirts and I wear more of my bulky/heavy skirts. I have one jacket which I wear anytime I go outside, and a set of two pairs of gloves, with a soft fluffy white pair on the inside and a multicolored knit pair on the outside. I have four purple scarves (a sparkly violet one, dark knit one which a friend made for me, a super-soft warm-tone purple one, and a rough cool-tone one) which I wear for warmth and to match what I'm wearing that day.