Can I wear Intention?
Today's world is filled with so much activity, making it difficult to be intentional. I recently had the honor of interviewing one of the most incredible internet friends I've made so far, Arham. I appreciate his perspective as he sees himself as distant from the fashion world. I genuinely value "regular" people's opinions like his, which are more raw and natural than some random person at a big magazine company interviewing some other huge famous person, and it's probably paid off or biased in some way. Big, famous people are too ego-centric to give someone peace of their mind on a topic. Everyone in that world pussyfoots with ideas and never deep dives. There are very few fashion icons I trust in the fashion world. That said, Arham has a lot of insight and wisdom, especially concerning the topic of intention. I genuinely want his raw, unfiltered opinion on clothing and intention. It was an honor to conduct this interview, and I'm excited to share my friend's wisdom with everyone!
Arham and I met over Zoom. I told him to say whatever he felt, as we both wanted to capture the rawness of a real conversation. Anything that we do is an extension of ourselves were his first words. I almost fell off my chair, and if you didn't, re-read it, find a chair, sit on it, and fall off over those very impactful words. That is a quote to live by no matter what era it is for the human race. It can be applied to all aspects of life and is an excellent standard to live by. He relates this to clothing, saying anything we wear is also an extension of ourselves. He makes an incredible point: it is our first reflection. He says you see what someone is wearing before you even choose to initiate a conversation. He also points out how the preparation for the next day begins the night before in terms of what to wear. For him, it's not something just thrown together. It's the energy of intention when it comes to his closet. So many people genuinely throw an outfit together because they need better time management skills or they have put too much on their plate.
Thus making their outfit and their style nonintentional. This extends beyond the meaning of clothes; this is another subtopic about how being intentional affects our lives. Arham talks about how choosing his outfit is his first choice and that the first decision of your day must be for yourself. By doing this act of self-love or care, you can set the tone better for the day, and your actions will most likely be affected by those first few choices you made at the start of your day. We can visualize what he's trying to say by comparing it to an in-flight safety message video with the masks. In case you've never flown, if cabin pressure changes, these masks will pop out from the ceiling, and the saying is to help yourself first before you help others. Starting your day by pouring into your cup feels like helping yourself to help others better.
We also discussed how you can dispose of certain feelings throughout the day, but if you have the wrong outfit that doesn't bring you comfort or happiness, it's stuck on you, as Arham said. You are stuck in the outfit until you can get home and change later. That's another coin in how you should live more intentionally jar because, yes, even your outfit affects your mood. When he said this to me, I told him you are like that meme that goes along the lines of you just said what everyone was thinking. I have felt that energy in an outfit that made me feel uncomfortable or unhappy and just wanted to rip it off. Arham is so fun to speak with; he ate with that one. For me, it was the first time I had verbalized that feeling. Back to the point, your outfit is worth being intentional about because it affects you in many ways. Arham is also not involved in the fashion industry, making his perspective more impactful. He doesn't let his life be absorbed by fashion either; he has a clear vision regarding this perspective, as there is no distortion from anything else. His perspectives are based on real life, not an obsession or obligation. Thus making his perspective accessible to everyone, not just someone in that realm.
Arham ties everything together by saying that on our journeys and anything we are working towards, we are often going to end up with a result that might have had a part we never anticipated or even actively avoided, so that shows that there's not always going to be a moment of everything being the way you initially envisioned it and if it is then it might not be a good thing because there was no growth then and open-mindedness. If everything just went as it was supposed to, then no one would honestly care about anything. Even comparing this to our own lives, if you don't experience setbacks and get to a good place, how can you appreciate the feeling of being in a good place? You need rainy days to experience sunny days. So, with all of this being said, you can either accept this wisdom or don’t.