Dress Like You’re at the Beach

Right now, this minute, I’m sitting at my home-away-from-home coffee shop, in a tank top I got from a friend. This beautiful, blue, perfect-for-Blue-Moon-Day top has…well (am I really going to admit this in public?), has what we gals call a “shelf bra.” Meaning, I am in public, PUBLIC, without what my southern-rooted manners would call “proper support.”

Would you notice? Probably not. But I know (and, sigh, now you do). For me, this is pushing the edge of propriety…UNLESS I were on vacation at the beach. Then it would be fine. But why?

It begs the question, why don’t we dress like we’re out of town every day? We allow ourselves to be freer, more casual, more open when we’re Someplace Else…does that equate with expressing and being more our true selves? It’s a small world, these days. I once ran into someone I knew in line at Epcot, for crying out loud. You really never know when you’re going to run into those who know your “normal” self. So why separate them?

I would like to propose integration of our beach selves and everyday selves. We must push ourselves to really ground down into who we really are and begin to free ourselves to be that in everyday ways. Propriety, social needs, we don’t have to ditch those to do this (no hanging out parts here, thankyouverymuch). But please, push the edge a bit. Dress like you’re at the beach!