Why Would YOU Wear That...?

I think the reason I rely heavily on photos and cloths and imagery is for my own memory's sake. It's much easier for me to remember something I have seen and associate it with a certain time, person, or place, rather than remembering descriptions, or things that I  hear. For example, I am much more able to recall an essay I read, than an essay I heard. The more beautiful and interesting the subject is, the more I remember it and more relevance it will have in my life.

That is because I am then able to associate a feeling with it, whether it is a happy time, or a dangerous moment I need to be more casutious of in the future, or the time something important happened in history. When I see something beautiful, it is like my mind is ignited, and the more beautiful things I see, the longer my brain is ignited. That is why I always seek for everyone to be beautiful, because beauty keeps my mind alive, present and interested; it's the only thing my mind craves for optimal functionality.

Because I have moved around a lot in my life, being a military brat, I have met and built relationships with people all over the world, and I've found it easiest for me to associate time and peole with the trends that took place while I knew them. I have really come to understand that fashion is much more about remembering a time and feeling, rather than it is about the actual cloths. Cloths help to etch out that image of a certain time to our memory. We unsually associate our favorite memories with not just what happened, but with what everthing looked like as well. Cloths are that vehicle to the mind that links our minds to reality and how we see our role in life. As I read a style.com interview on the Future of Fashion featuring Carine Roitfeld, even she elaborated on fashion's connection to time and our experiences.

I am very connected to my cloths because they are the only things that truly go with me wherever, and because of that they have become my best friends in that sense that your best friend is usually that person who is with you all the time and you remember the best times with that one person who is always there.

I think it's a fear of all of ours, not to be forgotten about; not to be included. I have had many friendships all over the world and I have lost contact with many of those relationships, unfortunately. All of the really good friendships I have had, had to end because I was moving from the area, again, and we all know how hard it is to keep in touch with people (Pre-digital/Pre-Facebook era), especially as a kid. Because of how my life was as a child, I have tried to remedy this lack of a solid friendship all my life because I don't want for my life to be meaningless to the people I do develop relationships with. I don't want to be just a passing figment of one's memory if I were to meet them. I want them to associate some type of importance with myself and the time we shared. If I come into your life, I want for you remember what impact I left on you as I exited your life at that moment. I have found cloths to be my main source of defining my presence, who I am, and as a way to put a "Jonathan Was Here" stamp on someone's life. My cloths help me to distinguish that even though I may not be a large part of the people's lives that I do come in contact with, I have an importance in this overall life, and I have insights you may be able to learn from as well. I like to follow Oprah's mindset of thinking where she says to use you life as a classroom. How is anyone to use what you taught them if they can't remember you, right?

I have had so many friends, and lived in so many places, and done so much in my life to remember it all at once. But thinking of the cloths I've worn, and how my look has evolved and matured, in retrospect I am able to recall my life and how my personality has grown; how I got to where I am now. I am able to remember the mistakes I made, the lessons I learned and how I will never repeat what I have already learned. My cloths keep me on a trajectory towards progression. As time goes on I want my look to become more polished and refined for who I am, who I was, and who I envisino myself to be. I feel the better I continue to look and be comfortable in my own skin, the closer I am getting towards fulfilling the goal of life: to be happy, and reach our highest potential.