Flow of Dignity

"Self respect is the root of discipline: The sense of dignity grows
with the ability to say no to oneself."
- Abraham Joshua Heschel

On a more objective topic today, I'd like to discuss something that most women, little girls, and even men eventually must blunder about once in their life. Dresses/Skirts. On one side they can be wonderful to wear for they provide enough leg freedom that allows for us to roam free without any of the sort of restraint of fabric. Dresses/Skirts give this sense of comfort, it just hangs over the shoulders of your body draping down without any effort. In addition, going to the bathroom suddenly becomes a ten times less tedious task. Bunching up the ends of your dress as oppose to zipping down your pants serves to be quick, easy, and efficient. Also dresses/skirts are so helpful for formal events, to look nice, or even to have a break from pants, they never fail to effortlessly make you look cute.

However, the joy and perks of dresses/skirts can only go so far. In certain respects, depending on what kind of dress/skirt you have it can be the complete opposite. Sometimes, the attribute of being flowy can cause the dress to be carried to the wind too easily and end up in you losing a bit of your dignity. Take for example a breezy summer dress, that would fit the perks that we discussed without a doubt, as they are made to be flowy and relatively loose, but a fancy well fitted business dress would not. Zipping up the business dress in the first place is already a struggle, having to undo and redo that while in a public washroom would be horrendous. Having to either choose between two options: 1) Somehow try to awkwardly bring the tight ends of the dress upward and possibly destroy the integrity of the dress. 2) Undo the entire dress and redress while in a public washroom. Another thing that can be quite unpleasant about a dress/skirt is the way your thighs seem to touch. On hot summer days when nylons and pantyhose are not even a conceivable option, the "freedom" of your legs learns to come to terms that the barrier that has kept them apart in the past has also been their saviour from sticking together. Nothing is more frustrating and irritating then the feeling of when your thighs seem to stick together or the red splotch you get because one leg had been touching the other.

All in all, dresses for the most part are really fun articles of clothing and are very versatile. They can be more formal, and can be casual all at once. They can leave you uncomfortable in more ways then one, whether it be sticky thighs or bulky tight fits but nevertheless it is always in your power to choose which one you purchase. The level of comfortable depends on the person, but these were just general and common aspects of wearing one. I for one feel more comfortable being more dressy as oppose to casual, but that is my personal take. So whether you are a man in a quilt, a woman in a business suit, or a little girl in a new summer dress, it is hard to hold down your dignity but wonderful to feel free.

Here's a tip though- wearing spandex shorts underneath is always a sure-fire way of making you feel more comfortable wearing a dress/skirt, and can save your dignity!

Han Van