Dearlings,
I have said it before and I will say it again: just because we can get a garment over our heads, buttoned around us, or pulled up around our waists and fastened does not mean that it fits.
I saw a photo recently of a clergy person in a suit that was so tragically ill-fitting, it almost seemed a joke. The suit jacket was big and boxy and had 6-8″ of excess fabric on each side of the waist. In fact, there was no waist to speak of. The sleeves hit the wearer at some bizarre spot on the wrist or fingers (jackets should either hit right about at the knuckles when the arms are at one’s sides for women and short enough to show some cuff for gents and gentlemen’s clothing-wearing people. There are bracelet sleeve length blazers that are much shorter, but this was just not fitting, period.).
The person in the photo was as drab and ungroomed as can be and did not in any way appear to have a sense of themselves as a public presence. It was as though they had thrown a suit on because they had heard or read somewhere that People In Leadership Wear Suits. Everything about their outfit indicated – nay, screamed – that they had not one iota of awareness about how they came across to others, which indicates a total lack of self-awareness.
It depressed me very much.
We are not souls whose bodies are afterthoughts.
When we show up, we must communicate that we are clear about our personhood, our role, and the institutions and ideals we represent.