Developing personal style & a sense of touch (Michelle!)

So... I followed the links to Michelle's blog! What a great piece on developing a sense of style, Michelle!

It had a lot of resonance for me because I'm a very tactile person. I touch everything when I shop. The feel of things gets my attention, whereas I glaze over quite a lot just looking. In a lot of ways, it's both the first and last hurdle when it comes to me buying anything.

Intriguing to me was the idea of a personal tactile style. Sort of obvious that there should be such a thing... but perhaps so obvious that it goes unmarked. I found it so interesting that Michelle likes pearls because I like chains. Lots of people like cool and smooth, industrial style; others like soft and fuzzy, in homey fashion.

Anyways, yes, very interesting. Lots of things of things to think about there. How strong the influence, preferences, etc. etc.

p.s. Michelle, I must have missed all your classic WIWs... I think of you in a moto jacket! The floral dress is a knockout, btw; I hope you still have it - I can see it with the moto ;>

13 years ago

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Thanks for the kind words, Rachy! No worries, the floral dress is still a favourite and even got taken in this summer so it could come out to play often.
I suspect you're right and that a lot of people give touch more weight in the balance than they realize. Maybe not necessarily in terms of *developing* their preferences, but certainly in terms of maintaining them. How many of us here pass by an item because it just didn't feel like you? Take that abstract statement and boil it down to its concrete essence, and that's basically blindguy style in a sentence.
What are your tactile preferences besides chains, Rachy? How do they manifest themselves in your style? I don't think of you as a classic dresser, so obviously you channel your tactile impulses differently than I do.

rachylou

No, I'm definitely not a classic dresser! I suppose even though all those seams and darts, that go into classic clothing, can be flattering on my figure, I also feel like a trussed turkey in them.

I like texture and ease of movement (but not floppy, flapping clothing). Esp. soft and fuzzy. Jersey. Cashmere. Fleece (yes! ugly fleece! Lol).

Smooth is OK, but I don't like cool and silky. Also don't go for stiff and starchy or things that catch on other things - buttons, eyelet. I'm only now starting to explore the "silky button front blouse" with YLF training, but it's definitely an acquired taste.

I go back and forth on natural / synthetic materials. I go through periods where synthetics bother me a lot. The smell, the sticky feeling on the skin. And then sometimes I can take it.

It's interesting in terms of how all this manifests. I did a sort of hipster thing for a long time because of these "restrictions," lol. Jersey tops and cotton twill pants for running around. Sweater tops and wool gabardine trousers for the office.

But here is something: I don't like cotton sweaters.

Also: I prefer my clothing to be quiet.

There's a question: How much do you pay attention to the sound of your clothing? I pay a fair amount to that, although I let the click-click of high heels go (my bf does not, though).

fern

I am absolutely influenced by tactile preferences.
I think it's tricky because we are communicating over the internet - so in addition to saying, "you can't see the subtle color differences in my photo", it goes without saying - you can't feel how soft this scarf or sweater is.
A few of my online returns have been completely tactile-based. "I don't like the way this feels" - even though it fits, and looks just like I expected.
I'm missing my nubby green sweater and green velvet pants that, yes, I wore together until I wore them out.
Neither pearls nor chains but definitely pendants here - with a nice weight to them.

Kari

I had such a blast shopping with Michelle in particular in Toronto because she was VERY discerning about whether fabrics met her comfort and quality standards, and I took that concept home with me. Too often I would look at something and go "oh, but that print is so CUTE" and utterly ignore the fact that the fabric was really stiff and constricting, or would wrinkle if I so much as sneezed, or just felt shoddy. And when I stop to consider the tactile impact of what I'm shopping for, I end up being more picky about not making do with an imperfectly feeling or fitting item, and am less likely to end up with an uncomfortable wardrobe orphan.

Anonymous

This is fascinating! I love the way pearls feel, but I tend to mix them with chains (which feel icky to me) to make them look more modern. I'm learning more about drape, and not just fixating on fabric content. All cotton is not created equal. My BB shirt is super soft, even luxurious, but if I had only judged button front shirts on what I could find at Ross, I wouldn't have ever bought one. Some of those cotton button-fronts were so stiff and itchy that I couldn't wait to tear them off my back!

Is BB Brooks Brothers? Are you telling me, Claire, to stop trying to test the button-front thing by going to Ross?

My dad gave me a really nice button front that I never wore. May have been from Pinks. I gave it away and now I regret it somewhat.

@fern - nubby green sweater and green velvet pants. I can tell they were super nice to wear.

@Kari - that's really true. Paying attention to the tactile really helps to stay on course with PPP. Yuck defeats impatience.

Holy smokes... the sound of things... yes, yes, that is me.
For instance, I discovered that most Frye boots do not make the click-click sound, as you walk and I am hooked. Some shoe brands seem to be quieter and I appreciate that. That is one of my issues with down jackets, actually, most of them make a swoosh sound, when walking, as I naturally move my arms with my stride. That drives me bananas. Same thing with the sound of bangles. I cannot wear them to work, the sound of them banging against each other while I type drives me up a wall... and I can go on and on... I am very sound sensitive.

About feel yes, me too! With knits, I go with blends that feel "cold". That is why I have little luck with merino wool and cashmere, they feel warm to me. I reach out to silk and cotton blends for that reason, they feel cold.

Astrid

This is very interesting! I'm tactile too, I'm always touching items in stores while I'm walking by. I love texture! I wouldn't buy something that doesn't feel nice, even if it looks spectacular. That's one of the reasons I have such a hard time finding blouses, all these wacky polyblends feel horrible on my skin.

Aida

Interesting! I am just starting to really appreciate texture and material feel; I think I've always paid some attention to it on some level since I'm somewhat tactile, but I'm certainly much more visual than tactile. Also my skin is very not picky, so that helps My husband on the other hand is Mr. Tactile, and will often reserve judgement even on pieces he likes the visual of until feeling. So I've slowly been adopting that from him. As for sound, now that I do enjoy having. Clickety clack of heels and shoes? Love! Jingly bangles and earrings? Love! Though music IS my primary art love, so that probably explains that heh.

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