You are what you wear.

You are what you eat.  You are who you hang out with.  You are what you do.  You are what you wear.

Which one of these are true?

Well, I’m sure most of them are relatively true.  But recently, I’ve been wondering about the last one: You are what you wear.  How true is this?

If we look to society, there are arguments both for and against this expression.  For instance, there are so many “poseurs” out there who attempt to mimic others’ style of dress when that isn’t even their preference at all (think back to middle school when A&F was all the rage).  However, in many cases, what we wear does define who we are– to a certain extent.

At masquerade balls, during Halloween, our costumes give us the advantage to be whomever we choose.  We can be that silvery masked beauty who smiles mysteriously or that frolicking, bubbly princess who grins widely.  Under this disguise, we are made more free to become someone we normally are not, and to do things we may not do regularly.  Even in regular daywear, certain things render us more or less confident in ourselves, thus shaping our personalities for the day.  Wearing a spiffy new sports jacket or a pair of sexy heels can make us more outgoing or willing to put ourselves out there.  When we perhaps would not want to be noticed, that day, we do.  Should we have a bad hair day or wear ill-fitting pants, we feel self-conscious and fidgety, wishing to be overlooked so as to avoid embarrassment.

With this notion in mind, then to some degree, our outward appearance does influence our own inward personality.  Many times it can be a reflection of our personal traits, characteristics, or preferences.  At others, it can be a reflection of society’s.  Or both.  For example, in the case of the hijab for Muslims, it is both a personal choice and a socio-cultural value.  It is quite possible that one could wear it because of societal pressures although she may not wish to or that one would wear it in spite of cultural norms to pursue her own personal convictions.

What, then, becomes of a law that restricts the right to wear “ostentatious symbols of religion”, as such exists in France?  After reading several articles and a book on this subject, I couldn’t help but wonder, who is right?  Which belief holds precedence over the other?  Is the desire to unify a secular country greater than the desire to express one’s religious affiliations?  If an individual’s choice in clothes represents her choice in self-expression, her visible manifestation of her invisible qualities, is that a right to be protected or a privilege to be lost?

If we are what wear, then is such a law that restricts our ability to wear what we choose a law that denies our own intrinsic qualities as unique human beings?

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Gabby Park is a both a rationalist and an idealist, who occasionally wrestles with the understanding of deeper questions of human nature.