ai fashion conversation James Butters with Maria Valinho at Mojo Waterfront Wellington City.JPG

Working From The Inside Out

"I think fashion can make us happy, or maybe happier, but it doesn't really get to the core of happiness.

You often see people who may be super well dressed, who wear the coolest accessories and are aware of the latest trends, but they're not exactly wearing what they would want to wear. Or maybe they are but they're spending so much time thinking about it that it takes over their lives. 

I know I myself am influenced by the general mentality of the way in which you're expected to present yourself, or what sort of information your fashion passes on to other people about your personality and about how well you look after yourself. The irony is that I don't think it's a sign that you look after yourself or that you're connected with your well-being, because you may be having a really hard time or you may be having a hard time looking after your body or feeling healthy. 

That's what I'm working toward. I would like to care less about what I dress in and instead know how I feel inside to be able to then be comfortable with what I'm wearing. Not thinking so much about what is going to be expected of me or seen of me from the outside. It's trying to reverse it - The inside out rather than the outside in. 

I have a feeling that the opposite process, working from the outside in, happens most commonly with myself and other people and that needs to be changed."

Conversation with ED nurse Maria Valinho.