Strike on Uniforms

The air is crisp, the flowers are bursting with color that have been waiting for the warm spring air to knock on their doors to greet them and let them know it’s okay to come out. Spring in New York feels like anything is possible, the joy of going through a harsh winter, where everything is cold, dark and bundled up to a bountiful new season where dresses and skirts are worn without making you shiver. The absolute excitement of being able to walk aimlessly feeling the cool breeze and energizing rays of the sun on your face, allowing the people, sights, and multitude of colors to be captured by your soul. Fashion is most evident when the weather starts changing. Just walking down one block in New York City you will see people wearing coats, or some people wearing shorts. The beauty of an unpredictable city is that it is completely translated into what we wear. Clothes are a representation of mood, expression, feeling- who we choose to appear as that particular day.

As an advocate for freedom of expression, this is a strike on uniforms! Imagine having to dim your individuality to conform to those who seek a professional appearance- in fact what even is a professional appearance? Since when did adding color and originality to your wardrobe become the bane of employers' existence? I firmly believe that society as a whole- those who work in an office, or serve ice cream- should be able to wear whatever they want! A new establishment that allows complete autonomy, a philosophy that pushes boundaries to show that as long as you are confident in your outfit, you are confident in your work.

In a growing global conversation about sustainability, why is it important to companies that rave about sustainability to make their employees go out and buy clothes just for a certain look, that will only be worn to go to a certain place and do certain things- how miserable! Expecting to wear the same clothes everyday is like expecting to have the same emotions everyday- how exhausting and unethical! Wasteful consumerism is buying a blazer for a job that requires a specific look causing you to go on a chase for an outfit when a better approach would be something professional out of your own closet! Shopping in your closet is the best way to revamp your wardrobe, play around with style, pair things that you would’ve never thought would go together, allowing our inner child to have fun with how they would like to be dressed, free from a restricting box and translating it to who you are in the present day.

Why is it that those around us- supposed authorities- like parents, peers, employers, schools, etc, feel the need to dictate what we put on our bodies? This leads to nullification, sameness, and puts societies focus on being accepted first rather than happy- or does the acceptance of society make them happy? I'm here to say goodbye to acceptance of others but to focus on acceptance of yourself and who you truly are as a person and the happiness will follow. As a leader of this movement, I encourage those who want to participate to start small, a journey into your closet! Unleash your emotions, uniqueness and peculiarities to create a confident character in a world full of lackluster ones. Tune into what gives you joy and touches your soul, find the vivacity that has remained stagnant inside yourself for too long! So, here I am knocking on your little flower door to let you know that it’s okay to come out and feel the warm spring air.

Xoxo,

Emilia Lorenzi