Why Outfit Posts?

(Top -COS, pants- Theyskens Theory, shoes - Maje). Minimal and clean look; I am really in love with these pants -- they are made of really structured heavy silk, and thus are simultaneously very tailored and very fluid. Also, being short and wide, they are not traditionally flattering, but I do love the way they look, especially with this boxy top in structured cotton. 

For the longest time, I avoided doing outfit pics. Partly because to me fashion blog means talking about fashion at large; outfit snaps seem to indicate personal style blogs to my eye. Most fashion blogs nowadays seem to be personal style ones, where the main focus is on the pics and not a whole lot of actual analysis going on.

This blog tended in the opposite direction: I talk a lot about emerging and/or international designers, about intersection between garment industry and social justice, between fashion and cultural dominance of the West. I also talk about sartorial visibility of the other and sartorial invisibility of women over 40; I talk about feminists that curiously seem to share the general contempt toward all things traditionally feminine, including fashion and clothes, with cis straight men. Diluting this with outfit pictures seemed unnecessary until recently. And that brings me to my second reason.

Talking about all this is important, sure, but I also started to think that maybe I need to show some of it as well. After all, I am a cultural outsider, an academic, a woman over 40 - all of those not terribly common in the personal style blogosphere. And as I grapple with (in)visibility of all these categories, it seemed fitting to show myself.

I don't think that I have any insights or advice to offer when it comes to styling. But I do hope to have a visual record of what I wear on a daily basis. These are mostly work outfits; my wardrobe is a mix of small indie labels, designer stuff from seasons past, vintage, and fairly little high street. This is my backyard, and a lot of the pictures are taken before going to work or after getting home. And these are the clothes in which I  negotiate academic and outsider spaces. Putting them here feels a bit strange, a bit vulnerable. And this too is an important reason, perhaps.