Give us your Sunday best.
[No. 29]
WHAT SHOULD I WEAR ON MY DATE? DOES IT REALLY EVEN MATTER?
“If you love something, wear it all the time. Find things that suit you.
This is how you look extraordinary.”
Vivienne Westwood
When I was ten, my grandmother came to stay with me and my brother while our mom was out of town. Familiar with the traditions of the fifties, she insisted I wear a fancy dress to Sunday school at our local temple. I pleaded with her, explaining that no one dressed up for Hebrew school. I lost the battle and spent the next five hours feeling silly. It wasn’t standing out that bugged me so much as the fact that I felt far away, itchy wool sweater and too tight tights disconnecting me from myself. It awes me to this day that what we drape over our skin seeps into how we feel inside it. The soul is covered in skin, and we cover the skin in soul once again to bring everything home.
Throughout my young life, I could have filled a scrapbook with strange outfits I cobbled together. Eventually, I found my way. Still, the opinions of others can get to you. A partner once said [ARE YOU ALWAYS GOING TO WEAR BLACK?]. I wondered if the way I felt sexy wasn’t doing it for him. I grew insecure. I started wearing color, and heeled clogs. I grew my hair and tried to keep us afloat, by any means necessary. It didn’t work, and the clogs found their way to Goodwill.
I’m back in black. I shave my head on a near-weekly basis. There is a rooted knowing when we tap into our personal style sweet spot, and the world senses it. So, Alien, to answer your question, dress to make yourself feel so very you. What do you wear in your dreams? Practice [WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET]. Dress for the date you want. 
My daughter grew up wearing pajamas with rainboots, and I let her be, even at Hebrew school. And it made her no less spiritual. Thank you, body, for the lesson.
“You’ve got style
That’s what all the girls say…”
Madonna
Then again, when I look back, I understand that my grandmother’s childhood was a whole other time. A time when being sparklingly Jewish was radical. I feel okay that I got dressed up that day for her. For a date with our ancestors, for whom the idea of a peaceful leafy day at Hebrew school was like a Christmas morning.
