What our outfits say

Since childhood, the most important, long-awaited holiday is the New Year. Preparing your own outfits or carnival costumes for children is a tradition that most often brings us joy, despite the hassle and material costs. Many enthusiastically look forward to buying a new dress, paying tribute to the sign “New Year – in the new.” Although for some, the need to “dress for the holiday” is annoying, like a bored formality that has lost its meaning. Why do we attach special meaning to a holiday outfit, regardless of the emotions it evokes?

Transition Magic

New Year is a pagan holiday, the border of time. In many countries, Christmas is celebrated more magnificently, but this does not change the magical essence of the moment: with the birth of Christ or with the beginning of the calendar year, a new countdown begins for us, a new future, fraught with uncertainty. “Overcoming the time limit, from the point of view of a pagan (which we are to some extent deep down), is a responsible and even dangerous process,” explains social psychologist Yulia Fedotova. – Even centuries of materialism and exaltation of rationality are not capable of destroying this superstitious, pagan beginning in us. On the border between times, everything happens: spirits roam there and magic happens. It is not for nothing that we make wishes just to the sound of the clock, at the moment of transition between years. But, developing this plot, it is necessary to attract the attention of spirits with caution, for example, by wearing a mask. Or changing the look. Then, if something goes wrong, the evil forces will not recognize us in our everyday form.”

“It’s kind of a good omen for me to have a new outfit for Christmas,” says Julia, 37, the publisher. – If there is a week left before the New Year, and I still have not bought anything, I am overcome with anxiety. A new dress is like a guarantee of good luck for the future.” As French psychologist Martine Barbeau explains, festive attire is also a kind of symbol of the abundance that we bring to our destiny.

Lure holiday

The holiday begins with pointing beauty in front of a mirror. “An elegant dress is what distinguishes a holiday from everyday life,” says 38-year-old Oksana. “Even if my husband and I stay at home on New Year’s, I wear high heels.” “In this way, we carry out the “ritual of attracting the holiday,” Yulia Fedotova explains. – After all, we do not just take it out of the closet and put on “something to go out”. The collection process is always complicated and somewhat festive too. For men, this is a particularly thorough shave, a meditative selection of a shirt, tie and accessories. For women – a fragrant bath, a choice of perfumes, underwear, hairstyles and makeup. Sometimes this process happens to music, perhaps to a glass of wine. In this way, we seem to evoke the spirit of the holiday, setting ourselves and the space around in a special way, making the environment sound in a different rhythm from everyday life.

For yourself or others

“I don’t like overtly festive outfits,” admits 42-year-old Marina, a photographer. “But I like tone-on-tone silk underwear under a chestnut-colored cashmere sweater.” According to Marina, to give excessive attention to “elegance” is ridiculous, it is much more important to feel comfortable. And 54-year-old businessman Vladimir, on the contrary, considers it very important to distinguish between casual and festive clothes. “There is an element of respect for others in putting the time and effort into your appearance,” he explains. – To the festive atmosphere that the mistress of the house is trying to create, or to the solemnity of serving in a restaurant. Previously, it was customary to “dress up” both in the theater and even in the cinema – unfortunately, now it seems to many that such “decency” is outdated.

For women or men

“How I sometimes envy such heroines as Natasha Rostova or, say, Scarlett O’Hara: how carefully they thought out their dresses for the ball! complains 26-year-old Elena, a lawyer. – Many of them were sewn specifically for some event. It’s not like that these days.” For some, beautiful clothes are akin to therapy: “I have a couple of dresses that I try on in front of the mirror, but in the end I don’t dare to wear them to a party, although I get great pleasure from owning them,” says 34-year-old Olga, an auditor. “I often have to worry about being dressed appropriately, rather than spectacularly: in our team there are three times more women than men,” says 40-year-old Anna, a teacher. “Friends and female colleagues are the ones who will really notice, appreciate and criticize your outfit.” “But in my opinion, the New Year is a holiday that unties the hands of everyone,” says 29-year-old Elena, the manager. “You can let your imagination run free and put on the most risky outfit – this is a carnival!”

Lose temper

The choice of outfit puts us face to face with the questions “what am I?”, “what do I want to look like?”. Here is how Yulia Fedotova comments on this: “There are many facets in the personality of each person. For example, it can be “gentleman”, “shy” or “coquette”. We choose that facet of ours that will safely manifest itself in this outfit. In addition, this is how we seem to plan how the festive evening will go, program our behavior and possible events. After all, the “princess” will not sit modestly in the corner, she will dance with the prince! If we came up with the idea to choose this image for ourselves, perhaps this hypostasis is already present in us. The costume helps her to express herself.

We can choose a magical outfit that helps us find the princess or prince in ourselves. Or a little black dress (for men – a classic tuxedo) to dissolve in the festive crowd, feeling like a fish in water. Or put on something daring, risky, seductive… And in any case, we can ask ourselves the question: does our choice mean a desire to manifest something hidden in the depths of us, or, on the contrary, to hide from it?