Looking at Maria walking on the back porch today, I couldn’t help but marvel at all of the color on her legs and sneakers. There was more color in her leggings and shoes than I often see in days.
When I first met Maria she wore plain dresses and jeans.
She cared nothing about clothes, and spent nothing on buying them, all of all of her clothes come mostly from thrift shops and consignment stores.
When she came out as an artist, that changed. She found all sorts of colors to wear all of them from old clothes people had thrown away.
She still doesn’t ever buy new clothes, but she seemed to find her identity in her life is an artist and her clothes began to reflect that.
Nobody I know dresses like Maria, she is very much herself every day, she wears the color of a visual artist, she has her own style, and she is the only one she needs to please.
Maria is always herself. Her identity is not in service to others, me included.
I joke that George O’Keefe always wore black, but Maria’s clothes are an explosion of art, they have become her art.
I came to see that this isn’t about fashion, about which Maria cares little, but about identity. Women come up to me in my town all the time to tell me how much they admire the way she dresses. They usually add the observation that they couldn’t get away with it.
Maria gets away with it, this is simply who she is, her clothes reflect her true identity as an artist who brings life and color to things – her life, my life, our farm. Our farm house, once musty and stodgy, is bright and uplifting.
I love her new sneakers, they look much like one of the hanging pieces or Goddess creations she makes in her studio.
She doesn’t need any help in dressing but when I can, I will buy something she wouldn’t buy but that clearly wants to be worn by her. If I only do this once or twice a year, I can get away with it.
Her last pair of sneakers just fell apart. This came sailing across my browser. Identity is very important to my wife. As she told me tonight, she once submerged her identity, lost it among other people, and will not ever give it up again.
I support her identity as she supports mine. She buys me things all of the time and I yell at her for it just as she yells at me. Identity is important to both of us. Identity needs to be encouraged and nourishes, or it can wither and fade.
Love your sneakers Maria! they make a statement!!
Love those sneakers!! Where can I get a pair?
Love the shoes and Maria’s colorful being!
It looks like Flo approves of the sneakers!
I found this comment interesting: “Women come up to me in my town all the time to tell me how much they admire the way she dresses. They usually add the observation that they couldn’t get away with it.” I hear this from so many women, especially women in their 50’s and older. And it makes me sad. If we can’t dress to express ourselves at this point in life, then when? I despise the term “age appropriate” – there’s no such thing. I love that Maria dresses to express her unique self – and like Joan, I, too, would like to know where to get those sneakers, and the leggings!
Yes – isn’t it infuriating when fashion journalists and columnists tell us what we ‘should’ and ‘should not’ wear in our older decades? The other day I read one saying that it wasn’t appropriate for older women to wear bikinis especially frilly ones. What? Why? Whenever I read something like that it just makes me more determined to wear whatever I feel like and hope we all do. We are free and let’s all stand up for our freedom. We need to – it’s sooo precious.
Thank you Jon for telling Maria ‘s story. Wow Maria. You are an inspiration.
Love, love, love Maria’s trainers and leggings!
Here endeth the debate as to whether cats are able to see color! 🙂 🙂