What your choice of clothes will tell you

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Author: Tatiana Bondarenko, stylist, consultant on archetypal strategies, school of imaginative solutions IDEA-class

“Fashionable, stylish, sexy, bright” - the majority of women will answer the question of how they would like to look and what clothes they would like to purchase.

However, behind these common words for many, there are completely different decisions, and different things acquired as a result.

Any purchase has both conscious and unconscious motives. What things do I need? Where will I wear them? With which of the existing ones will I fit them into sets? We go to the store after answering these questions. But … purchases are made contrary to our plans. I saw the thing and could not pass by. I thought about practical trousers for every day, and as a result, a cocktail dress. Knew bright purple didn't go well, but he was so good in this sweatshirt. I wanted to buy something unusual, but the bag contains another gray turtleneck. Why is it so often the unconscious choice is stronger? And what influences our decisions?

We are aware of only a small part of our actions. Behavioral strategies are inherited from our genes and then slightly adjusted under the influence of external circumstances. Something fades into the background, something intensifies in the same way as trampled paths, which are walked more often.

Such patterns, developed over generations and directly related to our emotions, reactions and values, Carl Gustav Jung called archetypes *.

Archetypal strategies are similar to the behavior of characters in fairy tales or myths, and their essence is clear even to a child. Sage, Hero, Magician, Ruler - we immediately understand the essence of the character and the atmosphere in which he “lives”.

Tell you the word "Seeker", and you will imagine a road going into the distance, endless expanses, mountains, forests and meadows. Or maybe a sailboat or yacht in the middle of the sea or tourists with backpacks. Pictures of different people may differ, but the essence will be the same - nature, freedom, path.

But with the Caring archetype, your associations will be different - hearth, warmth, a cozy home, fragrant tea, hugs, children with their parents, a soft blanket, knitted socks, homemade cookies.

The "Magician" will immerse you in the space of magic: smoke, fog, twilight, stars, twinkling, radiance, all-seeing balls, magic wands, dried herbs and books with spells. Each archetype will not only have its own set of actions and values, but also its own visual world, its own atmosphere, space, colors, textures and even smells.

Our leading archetypal roles crave to be lived, and therefore we unconsciously choose the attributes of these archetypal plots, the "costumes" of these roles, the phrases of the "heroes" of these stories, we go on trips to countries in tune with our archetypes, eat the food and drink those drinks that ate and drank "our heroes", listen to special music.

In childhood, in order to receive the energy of this or that archetype, we constantly played, reincarnated, took on roles, becoming either brave Indians, or luxurious queens, or travelers discovering new lands, or sorceresses, or gallant riders. Some of the roles became loved, we drew strength from them, with the help of the characters' energy we found answers to questions and ways out of difficult situations.

Now we do not have such a wide opportunity to play, although everything that we choose for ourselves in the surrounding life or for a hobby somehow helps our archetypes to be realized.

So when we go to the store, we choose not just a dress or a blouse. Unconsciously responding to the visual signals of archetypes, we acquire a thing in which a whole world is hidden, so valuable to us. After all, magical mermaids, rebellious pirates and royal princesses have not disappeared anywhere, and continue not only to live in us, but also influence the development of life scenarios, allowing the strategies laid down in us to be realized.

After all, if a bird was born with wings, and a fish with fins, then the first will do everything possible to fly, and the second - to swim. Appropriate attributes - clothes, accessories, hairstyle and makeup, help to "enter the role" and activate the energy of the archetype, feel its emotions and state.

But, on the other hand, things alone, without actions, will not give the effect we need. Like a pill for pain - the symptom relieves, but does not eliminate the cause. Sometimes it's worth getting out of town, going into the wilderness, going on a hike with your gadgets turned off instead of buying yourself another safari-style item.

Brave Heroes, Magicians-Shamans, or refined Aesthetes who live in us must receive space for life. Yes, clothing is a wonderful opportunity to activate the energy of archetypes. But a tight-fitting black dress with large red flowers alone will not replace the need of the Lover archetype for passion and sensuality. And if you notice that you often look in the direction of such clothes, perhaps it's time to sign up for a tango or have a romantic evening! But for courage and entering the state, it is really worth buying such a dress.

Clothes that are attractive are a great marker of what you need at the action level.

* This article uses the typology of 12 archetypes, described in detail in the book by M. Mark and K. Pearson "Hero and Rebel"

School of imaginative solutions IDEA-class https://idea-class.ru is a leading school of authentic stylistics, providing a wide range of professional and hobby programs available from anywhere in the world. Experienced teachers - innovators, authors of unique methods, experts of international conferences help to understand the style worlds and stories, establish a connection between the internal and external, create a resource image for a person or personal business projects.