Depending on who you ask, “normal” can mean a lot of different things.

Not all normalcy is bad--quite the contrary, in fact! In this crazy world, it’s great to hold onto as much sanity as you can.

But there’s also this idea, sometimes unspoken, that there are certain things you just can’t do, and it isn’t because they’re crazy or dangerous or improper, it’s just because they’re not normal.

Especially when it comes to how people dress.

“I wish I could dress like that…”

Did you have a costume bin when you were a kid? I did. I can’t count the amount of times where I wore something from that bin out in public. Some days I would wear a cape, other times I’d wear a fairy princess dress, or even my brother’s Obi Wan Kenobi cloak.

I feel like a lot of us kids used to do that. Why did we stop? I mean, obviously there’s a time and a place for some of that, but that doesn’t mean we need to cut it out completely!

At some point in high school, I realized that I didn’t have to wear a t-shirt and jeans every day if I didn’t want to. It started during the pandemic, when my friends and I had started dressing up like characters from the movies we were watching–not like Halloween costume dress up, but with articles of clothing we already owned.

I’d forgotten how fun it was to bring a little whimsy into my wardrobe. Nowadays, I often dress like a Hobbit. I think it’s fair to say that 90% of my closet would blend in at Renfaire, no questions asked.

A comment I get frequently is “ah, man I wish I could dress like that.”

Well, great news! You can!

There’s literally nothing stopping you from dressing like a pirate when you go to the grocery store. Going out for lunch? You can dress like a victorian ghost. Going for a walk? Why not look like you’re taking that ring all the way to Mordor?

It’s easy to slip into a self-conscious mindset. I know. But if it’s something you really want to try, then there’s no real harm in doing it. There’s only our own little voices telling us ungrounded assumptions about what other people might think of us.

Beware the opposite end.

If you’re like me and you already love to dress all fun and magical, let me remind you of something. How you dress does not define who you really are. Your identity doesn’t come from the world. Clothing is a wonderful way to express yourself, but expression isn’t definition.

So, on the days when you really just want to throw on a t-shirt and some sweatpants, that’s fine! It’s not a requirement that you dress whimsically. That’d be silly.

But I know that sometimes I get myself down when I wear something simple. But that’s just the same issue as before! That’s just replacing the “I can’t wear that because that isn’t normal” kind of thinking with an “I can’t wear that because it is normal” kind of thinking! Can someone say counter intuitive?

It’s really a no-pressure situation.

You have freedom. You don’t need to make a rule for yourself that you can only wear one thing and not another.

But if the mundane way of dressing isn’t fun for you, remember that you can switch things up. You can wear waistcoats like a Charles Dickens orphan, or flowy skirts like a woodland elf, or sweaters that look like chainmail.

There are so many days in your life. You can try out different looks. It might seem like a weirdly big choice to make, but in the grand scheme of things it’s really not a huge deal.

Come be not-normal with me.

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