do you sometimes feel like a freak?

[Naama]

Am I the only one who comes into situations in wich I just somehow feel completely out of place, just because I dress the way I do?
For a vintage dresser, I have a rather strange taste in music, I like all kinds of music, and I really enjoy dancing to electronik music (lol yes, I do!). So sure, I go there in my generell attire....
So, not long ago somebody told me I'm pretty "flashy" (whatever that's supposed to mean....) and that just made me wonder....
I don't know, I thought about it often, but I just can't overcome my sense of aesthetic and put myself into jeans and t-shirt! Even if it would make many things easier (I guess)
Does anybody dress different for "special occasions" to blend in better with the crowd?

Naama

 

[Quigley Brown]

I don't live or work the lifestyle of having to wear a suit and tie...blue jeans, sport coat and vintage tie is getting pretty dressed up for me at work. I can start wearing my white bucks now. Speaking of electronik music, Naama, I was wearing white bucks and vintage tie while at a Kraftwerk concert in Washington DC a while back. Those guys are sharp dressers!

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[olive bleu]

March to the beat of your own drummer, Naama. !!

I grew up in tiny community where i received a lot of ridicule for dressing differently.I continued to wear my beloved vintage clothes through my 20's, but somehow over the last decade(I am 40 now) kind of lost my sense of self,and grew tired of standing out... i think i was just TIRED, period, gave away alot of my vintage stuff, and really no longer expressed myself through my outward appearance.

Over the past 2-3 years, I have come to terms with this and decided that i no longer care what people think.I hate most modern clothing( unless it has a classic, timeless style),and just felt ugly & dowdy most of the time.I have returned to collecting the vintage pieces that i love,and I am feeling like my old self again.hanging out here at the FL, just reinforces for me everyday that i love who I am,and I will never change again for anyone.

 

[mysterygal]

A sympathizer

It's hard. I've always been a bit different from my friends...while they were all slobbering over the back street boys, I was loving Billy Idol, was into classical when everyone else listened to nothing but country.
I think it comes down to personal taste and personality. I've always HATED being just another person in the crowd. Dancing to the beat of a different drum is not always bad, but yes, it can make you feel a bit lonesome at times.
I actually tend to be drawn to others like you, those who go with thier own likes, it makes one interesting

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

Allll the time...

For me it goes beyond wearing my U-Boat stuff everyday. The things that make me feel really out of place would have to be those inexplicable experiences I had at the last WWII event I was at.

At times, I've wondered if I'm a figment of Carl Jung's imagination simply because of all the strange 'coincidences' I've had in my life.

Coincidence...or fate?

Prien

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's so much harder when you're young and the peer pressure to fit in is so relentless. I went thru it all as a teenager myself -- but I think it actually made me stronger in the end, because I realized that I didn't *want* to fit in with the kind of kids who were razzing me about not fitting in. So when they made fun of the way I dressed, I figured I must be on the right track. And that made me all the more committed to keeping on going the way I wanted to go.

But you've got an advantage today that I didn't back then -- we didn't have "subcultures" or "scenes" in the time and place where I grew up, and we certainly didn't have anything like the Internet or institutions like the Lounge to bring kindred spirits together. It took me thirty years of carving out my own path before I realized there were other people who liked the same things I did...

 

[Fletch]

I turned 40 and resolved I was going to dress as I pleased from then on and never feel like a freak again. It's worked so far.

 

[herringbonekid]

some 14 year old kids were pointing at me today and laughing out loud.

 

[olive bleu]

In some respects,I actually found it easier when I was younger. I think when you are young, people almost expect you to rebel against the status quo.MY problem as an adult, is that they seem to think I should have "snapped out of it" by now.I think there is more pressure to conform ( at least in my circle) when you are supposedly "mature". That, at least. has been my experience.

 

[Flivver]

I learned early in life to march to the beat of my own drummer, so yes, I often feel like I don't fit in with the "crowd".

Being an only child, I spent a lot of time around adults as a kid, so I received a much larger dose of depression era traditional values than did my boomer peers. The value differences weren't too noticable in grammar school, but by high school (in the late 1960s), it was like I was in a different world! But I refused to give in and am very glad of it today. The time I didn't spend "fitting in" was used to learn about countless things that still interest me today.

And as Lizzie said above, eventually you learn there ARE kindred spirits out there that share the same interests...like many of you here on the Lounge!

 

[pigeon toe]

Sometimes I feel a bit awkward, like I'm too dressy and people are going to think I'm "showing off" or something. That's probably because I'm surrounded by college kids in sweats. I also get embarrassed that I spend a lot of time getting dressed and doing my hair in the morning, while most people just roll out of bed and get to class. It makes me feel totally vain!

In terms of the music I listen to, I wouldn't feel out of place at a psychobilly show wearing what I do. A lot of other girls dress either more "-billy" (vintage-inspired or rockabilly) or "psycho" (rubber! vinyl!), so either way goes.

Sometimes I'm afraid that people will mistake my more feminine and "old-fashioned" sense of dress for meaning that my personality is the same way. Not that it's bad to be ladylike or traditional, I'm a little bit of both, but I'm much more of a clown than a lady! And since I'm shy, first impressions mean a lot with me.

In the end though, I get a lot of compliments on how I look, and it makes me feel better to take the time to look nice. So I guess it's all worth dealing with those awkward feelings and comments I sometimes get!

 

[Trixie]

Am I the only one who comes into situations in wich I just somehow feel completely out of place, just because I dress the way I do?
For a vintage dresser, I have a rather strange taste in music, I like all kinds of music, and I really enjoy dancing to electronik music (lol yes, I do!). So sure, I go there in my generell attire....
So, not long ago somebody told me I'm pretty "flashy" (whatever that's supposed to mean....) and that just made me wonder....
I don't know, I thought about it often, but I just can't overcome my sense of aesthetic and put myself into jeans and t-shirt! Even if it would make many things easier (I guess)
Does anybody dress different for "special occasions" to blend in better with the crowd?

Naama

I feel that way quite often because I'm a stay at home mom so most of the people I deal with on a daily basis are quite casual. I do alter my look for occasions sometimes just to not stand out as much (no red lipstick, no hat). I have also been called "flashy" and "an outgoing dresser" however I think it's amusing because most of the clothes I wear are very subdued in color and style. Just that they're not what everyone else is wearing.

Dont give into the jeans & t-shirts

 

[dnjan]

I've had the handlebar moustache for almost 30 years now, and that is one of those things that you can't take off or put on depending on how "conforming" you feel. So I've gotten used to the freak feeling. And by starting small like that, I have been able to move on to other "eccentricities" without caring how other people think of me.

 

[CharlieH.]

I seldom feel like a freak, mainly because the people around me (school) are used to my anachronistic looks, or simply because nobody around town can tell a fedora from a cowboy hat (or saddle shoes from sneakers). I do get comments every now and then, but they're quite rare and too dim-witted to be even heard. The only times when I actually get a noncomformist sensation are when it is pointed out that I don't drink! (or similar inconspicuousities)

However I would definitely feel like a grotesque spectacle if I didn't comb my hair and wore jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers... *shudder*

 

[HadleyH]

Since I don't dress "vintage" but rather contemporary, the world doesn't know... but if they could read my mind and spend some hours in my home, then.... they would totally freak out!! because for me it's ONLY 1930s music(and late 20s) that's all I hear all the time...ALL the time..... and movies the same (20s and 30s) ____________- So yes, vintage through and through but it's a secret , nobody knows.

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

Hey HBK,

It says alot about them. As far as I'm concerned, when someone does that to me (oddly enough, no one has...) that it is because they don't like a part of themselves and belittle others to make themselves feel better (rather than face their own inner hurt, or whatever it may be.)

Just try to keep that in mind.

Prien

 

[Marc Chevalier]

A song for us ...

Sung by Mama Cass Elliot in the freaky '70s film, Pufnstuf:



See and hear it here, in living color: http://grouper.com/video/MediaDetails.aspx?id=1458531



---------------Diff'rent


When I was smaller and people were taller,
I realized that I was different.
I had a power that set me apart,
I learned to take it and used it to make it.


It's not so bad to be different:
To do your own thing and do it with heart.
Different is hard,
Different is lonely,
Different is trouble for you only.
Different is heartache,
Different is pain,
But I'd rather be different than be the same.


At first I wondered what hex I was under,
What did I do to be so different?
Then I discovered some others like me,
Wonder no longer,
Together we're stronger,
It's not so bad to be different.


Be true to yourself,
That's what you must be.
Different is hard,
Different is lonely,
Different is trouble for you only.
Different is heartache,
Different is pain,
But I'd rather be different than be the same.


Different is hard,
Different is lonely,
Different is trouble for you only.
Different is heartache,
Different is pain.
But I'd rather be different than be the same.


.

 

[The Lonely Navigator]

Marc.

Perfect song.

Gets right to the point.

Prien

 

[Bebop]

I thought I was the only guy that was not a freak because of how I dress! Now I am worried.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I thought I was the only guy that was not a freak because of how I dress! Now I am worried.

Let Mama Cass tell it to ya gently: http://grouper.com/video/MediaDetails.aspx?id=1458531


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