I've always heard the saying, "Be classy not trashy" my entire life. And let me say, the connotation that you need to respect yourself is still true, because we all need to have self-respect and know our worth, there's an attitude of something else in there as well. Since when does what I wear remotely affect you at all? Did you happen to pick out my outfit this morning? Do my hair? Do my makeup? No? Okay, then unfortunately, you have no right to tell me that I look "trashy." Now, before I get the onslaught of people gasping, "excuse me" and "what" think about something if you wiil - It's hot—a sweltering 100 degrees outside, and you're hot. Sweat is just pouring out of your skin, and you're miserable.
So you, as a sensible human female, or human for that matter, logically will wear as little as possible. It's literally not for attention, or for show, it's just for the fact that you are hot.
And then you get the dirty looks, the judgmental vibes, and the eye rolls as you pass by for wearing what you feel comfortable in.
Imagine how awful that feels, how insecure in your own skin that you would feel. Welcome to pretty much every day in summer for the average female, especially us college students. While that may sound a bit dramatic, I can assure you from personal experience that this in fact does happen. And it is rather sad, considering that everyone deserves to be comfortable and happy with themselves. No one needs to be catcalled, judged, or lectured about their choices in clothing.
Of course, everyone needs to have common sense, and we do need to respect ourselves. As someone who was forced to be extremely modest due to their religion, I am even a bit guilty of shaking her head at others for what they have chosen to put on their bodies. However, what you as a person chose to wear is solely up to you, and you should OWN it! Only you can decide what is appropriate and right for you. If you want to wear short shorts, go for it. You want to wear the same band tee three days in a row? Get it. Mini-skirt? You're a queen, do it. You wanna wear a tank top and have a full sleeve of tattoos? Show off that art, it's beautiful.
It's high time that we stop policing wardrobes and start defining people by who they actually are. Why does it matter what your acquaintances are wearing? Shouldn't you be focused on your conversation with them anyway? Regardless, what I wear should not affect you. If you have the gumption to come and tell me my outfit is "inappropriate", you've probably been looking too closely at me.
The same thing applies to everyone around you. So think about that the next time you look at someone in judgement or think that they're putting too much on display. Respect yourself, obviously, but respect others as well!
