Pretty and Fun Tops

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The genius who produces Pushing Daisies a few years ago ran a show called Dead Like Me. The story was about George, a girl killed at 18 who then found her unlife’s work to be as a grim reaper, removing souls and thus reducing the trauma of death. Because these things work that way, Georgia didn’t really live until after her death, and in one of her ruminations, she mentioned that her attitude towards fashion was a gauge of her relationship to people. “Not once has anyone ever said to me ‘nice top!’ ”

While I suspect I’ve always been a bit more engaged than protagonist Georgia, it did remind me of a chunk of my life where my interest in fashion was discouraged. Now that I’ve embraced my interest and recognized that any perceived shallowness is not my problem but somebody else’s, I’ve learned to relish having plenty of items that make people say “Nice top!” etc. I’ve also learned there is infinite value in complementing a person on his/her appearance – since nearly all other interaction requires a certain level of digging, possibly even invasion of privacy, it’s safe and courteous to start shallow and them move up if the person shows they’re amenable to approach. The shallow comment also gives a not-shallow indicator: it says “we have something in common – we share a liking for your shirt/boots/hair etc.”