I just finished Susan Cain's "Quiet." I was intrigued by this concept of "restorative niche" and it's applicability to our individual sartorial choices. "'Restorative niche' is Professor Little's term for the place you go when you want to return to your true self. It can be a physical place, like the path beside the Richelieu River, or the temporal one, like the quiet breaks you plan between sales calls. It can mean canceling your social plans on the weekend before a big meeting at work, practicing yoga or meditation, or choosing e-mail over an in-person meeting." But I argue, that our outfits can also be a way to build a 'restorative niche' into our day.

So here goes my thought pathway. Hi my call sign is gryffin and I am an introvert. I means this in truest sense of the term. I am not shy but I do not filter well. I am easily overwhelmed in over stimulating environments and require quiet, repose, order and harmony to in balance with my true self. So is it any wonder that I have stripped down my color palate to black/gray/denim with touches of white and that I prefer simple minimalist clothing, symmetry to asymmetry, texture over color, matte over shine? I like quiet dramatic pieces (like embellished belts, a striking pendant but always with balance. Where bright colors and pattern would drain me, I would argue that extroverts might gravitate, like Angie, to color and pattern mixing because they are restored by energy. OTOH, a minimalist, black, strict outfit which I would perceive as elegant, harmonious, a place of repose and restoration would be the black hole or energy drain for an extrovert because it lacks the energy and stimulation they need to feel most at one with themselves. The "food" for one would be the "poison" of the other. I wondered if this concept resonated with anyone else, or is it just me!!