It is enough to own them

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Almost everyone has things in the closet that he loves more than the ones he wears

They stand on the shelf like an art object, are looked at in love and sometimes run short distances like an exotic animal. My fir green wedge heels from America, which are a bit too tight. But that's how we are. Falling in love with beautiful things without any practical ulterior motive, instead often associated with a fantasy that leads a life in the underground. I have this passion for movies from the 40s. The superelegant stars such as Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis wore wedge heels (for two years, yes again the moderenner) and looked with the broad-shouldered costumes and crazy hats extremely chic. Just as I often wanted to look like. And when I saw the green wedge-heeled shoes in a vintage Los Angeles store some time ago, my heart was pounding with excitement, as if I'd seen the ghost of Rita Hayworth. Of course I bought her! Green meant glamor. And that colored off.



The hidden Cinderella

The theme of transformation plays an important role in our lives. Who one is and who one would like to be sometimes consists partly of desire and projection. Clothing may dress our bodies, but it also strips the soul a bit. Every woman has a hidden Cinderella who wants to believe in the magic of transformation. Especially girls want to play dressing up as children and let out the princess, pirate or ballerina (the lack of clothing, to become a lawyer or chancellor, comes later). And when you later stand in the dressing room in front of the mirror and look at you, then you are looking for something more than just a realistic mirror image. So the fantasy of the dream outfit never leaves us, the style, beauty and individuality perfectly staged and beguiles our fellow human beings.



The childish craving for red patent leather shoes can last into old age

A friend of mine, who looks more Hanseatically elegant, has a beautiful eye-catching wrap skirt with luxurious night blue silk lining, which the shop assistant draped her pretty around the waist, with a gorgeous bow at the side. "Of course I thought at the moment that suits me, I love the skirt, even if I never wear it, because somehow, I'm not it." But I would never say it's a bad buy, I enjoy it - As an object, every now and then I fetch the skirt out of the closet and stroke the shiny silk. "

Almost everyone has things in the closet that he loves more than the ones he actually wears. There are shoes, accessories and clothes that are simply not designed to be worn. Your possessions are enough. For years hats in hat boxes and butter yellow leather gloves are unworn in drawers. Or hang a madly expensive white linen suit, a hand-painted kimono and a strapless sexy dream of black taffeta and noble lace like a fanal or artwork in the closet to be taken out again and again, tried on or stopped briefly. And then they disappear after a happy sigh of the owner in the back of the closet.



Alone her possession triggers positive feelings, the nostalgia is warm and cozy

Of course, the secret identities that we crave over the years also drive strange style blossoms. I know a pretty sensible woman, mother of two grown-up sons, who has kept a black nappa coat by Claude Montana in the closet for 18 years. "I look like a bleak bad girl from a 'Matrix' movie, but the coat is like a fancy costume and has to stay, although I do not like leather at all."

Often spontaneously purchased garments but also serve the late wish fulfillment. Girls, who always had to wear sporty clothes, are still attracted to glittering fabrics, and the once strictly guarded teenager with a boarding-school always wants only minidars. My burning desire as a child for red patent leather shoes (as well as for pierced ears and coral-heart ear-rings) was dismissed with the shocked remark that this was only something for proletarian children. The attraction for red footwear has remained, and a pair of it is always in the closet.

Then there is the fun of the irresistibility of trends. A former boutique owner loves these contemporary documents. "I bought black and silver pumps in London in 1973 in the legendary Mr. Freedom shop, which were so beautiful and playful that I had to have them - also because they were typical of the swinging London style."

The memory of an earlier self

Sometimes fashionable milestones serve as evidence for unbelievers and nostalgic retrospectives. My mother had a tiny lace shirt pant she picked up until she was 75 years old.Like many mothers with two children who do not have a personal trainer such as Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Lopez, who after four weeks look like asparagus spears, my mother had grown a lot around her stomach and breasts. But this delicate lace thing of 1941 was proof of her old life and her old self as a delicate, narrow art student during the war. Her daughters, who did not declare any inheritance rights to something old-fashioned, had their doubts as teenagers. "You've never fitted in there, Mommy!"

The same is true of another friend, at least in terms of dress size, but she has other reasons why this cute pink costume by Daniel Hechter hangs in the closet, which she bought in 1966 from her first self-earned money. Never in her life would she sell it or give it to the old clothes collection. "I always have to smile when I see it because it finally sealed my adulthood, I was so proud when I paid for it casually."

And that's the seductive thing about all these treasures: Their possession triggers positive feelings, the nostalgia is well-being, often funny and by no means characterized by regret over a life not lived. Nobody really wants to be someone else. It's just a game and a fun.

By the way, at some point five years ago, my mother's tip part went to a young Lithuanian cousin who was enthusiastic. What proves: If you keep something beautiful long enough, sometimes worthy customers for a long cherished piece. And when it takes generations.

Iyanla Vanzant: "You Alone Are Enough" | The Oprah Winfrey Show | OWN (May 2024).



Fashion, America, falling in love, Katharine Hepburn, Los Angeles, dress, attitude to life