Usually my style is really understated more than anything else. I like to keep my hair short and wear jeans and a sweater, jacket, or sweatshirt without a hood and I mostly stick to flat colors like grey, green, blue, or white. I do, however like to splash in a little bit of something else to keep it stylish. Usually that comes in the form of shoes, as they are something that I have a strange affinity for. I don’t often wear any other jewelry other than a watch and with that I basically complete my “understated” look. This is what I look like when I am in a normal day-to-day outfit or situation.

When I am at a business function or classy event however, this all changes. My style goes from understated to classic but “stand out” style. If an event or function is asked to be formal or professional dress I take the time to find a suit or outfit that will be in the “dress to impress” category. Usually that means that the suit will be fitted very well in a slim or modern cut and either a shirt or a tie that has a sold or close to solid color, but the color will be one that stand out from everyone else. My shoes will rarely be black or subtle as well, but instead a light brown or some sort of wingtip that will make people take notice. My dress in these situations does not stay the status quo. I do this to make others notice me in a room crowded with other regular suits.

These two styles reflect the main sides of my personality and core beliefs almost perfectly. One side of my personality is the type to keep my head down and do what needs to be done without needing any affirmation or needing everyone to know what I am doing. This side is the understated style that comes out most of the time in normal situations. The idea of a quiet humility comes mostly from my deep belief in Christianity and partially from my family. In Christianity there are many themes of humility and working to the fullness of your ability. Not demanding attention from others in order to garner praises and affection. A security that I do not need to care about what others think as long as I know what I am doing is right. My family shares this belief and because of that I grew up in a fairly conservative home and our dress reflected that. This fuels the understated look that stays mostly around the solid colors and very little ostentatious clothing.

The Bible does also talk about taking care of the bodies we have been given and I do believe this extends to clothing and jewelry as well. This explains why you will not find any tattoos or piercings in my usual ensemble. That is not my only reason for not having any tattoos or piercings however. I also spend great deal of time looking forward to the future before doing things that have long lasting effects. Tattoos are something that I do not personally believe age very well as is the same with piercings, and because such, I do not partake.

When it comes to business and formal events, these are something I frequent as a future businessman. I am constantly surrounded by others who are striving to be on top and work very diligently to do so. Because of this I am constantly involved in a healthy competition to be noticed by companies and higher ups. This almost contrasts my initial core beliefs, but somehow they are both satisfied very well in the business world. This healthy competition causes my second style that is better said by the wording “dressed to impress.” I have a very gregarious personality and my intention with being noticed is not to be noticed for my work or to be prideful in myself, because I am “so great.” Instead I want to be noticed as someone who they met. I want the people at these gatherings to remember my as someone they have met before and hopefully as someone who they got along with. Dressing to impress actually helps this a lot. Many people at these events go through meeting a great number of people, and if you have one more thing to set yourself apart from the rest makes a big difference in the chances you will be remembered. The way that I dress to impress in formal and business settings are usually in direct relation to this idea.

Person number 1:

The first person I watched was the man with the mullet. I found when I was watching people I was attracted to the eccentric and the “out of the ordinary” people. So the first person who caught my eye was the man with the mullet. He was wearing jeans, a generic t-shirt, and toms. The man gave me several impressions ranging from a “Bad Ass” to a regular Joe on the street. From the front, nothing looked out of the ordinary, but as I looked closer I realized the mullet that immediately made me think of him as “harder” than the regular person. Then I realized that he was wearing a shirt in almost 30-degree weather. This confirmed my first assumption until I noticed the toms as he got closer. The shoes really changed my perspective, from a “Bad Ass” to someone who really just did not care about his appearance. To me if he were “hard” he would be wearing a tough shoe, not something that is usually seen on hipsters or girls.

Person number 2:

The second person I noticed was the bearded man. He walked by wearing a loose fitting poncho and jeans to go with his sandals and big wire framed glasses. His head was shaved bald, which gave the look a district assumption to me. My first assumption told me that he was maybe Middle Eastern and most likely Muslim based off of the prevailing religion in that area. The baldhead and beard along with the poncho were the main signs that pointed toward the Middle East. I immediately assigned him several assumptions in my head based off of the Middle East conclusion that I had come to. First my assumption was that he was probably decently wealthy, because although his garb did not show it for an international student to come over he must have a decent amount of wealth, as it is expensive to do so. Second, I assumed that religion was a large part of his life because he had the dedication to up keeping the beard and shaved head and many times the dedication also spills over to spiritual life.

Person number 3:

The final person I watched I labeled the athlete. He wore Oregon affiliated sweatpants, an Oregon sweatshirt, and a backpack that read “Oregon Football.” The last part was dead give away. He had large diamond looking earrings and a gold necklace around his neck. Being an athlete I immediately assumed that he was at least part African American due to a large amount of the football players being a part of that race. I also made some large assumptions about his background. I think that he probably grew up being one of the most popular people at his school due to the earrings and necklace. The fact that he is wearing collegiate level equipment I think that he was many times looked up to in high school by younger kids. I also thought from the gaudy earrings and necklace that he enjoyed the attention. They made me think that he wanted people to notice him as he walked by.