Suits of Armor
Written by Frank Talarico – Huffington Post, October 2, 2017
From the moment we step toward our closet doors, we decide our fate. Our persona. The image of ourselves that we project out onto the world. What we wear is our second skin.
As CEO of Goodwill of Orange County, I am in the used clothing business. When you donate your gently used clothing to Goodwill, you fund critical programs that serve tens of thousands of people overcoming barriers to independence. When you “shed your second skin,” you give countless others a second chance, a fresh start, and the opportunity to be independent. I oftentimes wonder about these clothes.
Why do we wear what we wear? How much of your personality lives in your clothes? What becomes of the meaning your outfit once created for you, after you donate it to me? When its new owner wears it, is a new meaning born? I am convinced that when the next owner of your donated clothes puts on those garments, they are empowered in a way you were, each and every time you dressed in those exact clothes.
A good friend of mine and successful business litigator, before going into court, describes getting dressed on trial days as “putting on a suit of armor, to slay the dragons.” Very clearly, what we wear is not just a choice, it is an attitude.
Made-to-measure is making a resurgence because, let’s be honest: we not only tailor our clothes, we also curate our persona. Self-expression through “customized” clothing is proving that no amount of online, artificial intelligence can design in the same way as the hand of someone who has made tailoring their life’s work. Seeing, touching, and observing the spoken and unspoken traits of the man or woman being fitted creates a personal connection between the tailor and the client. You quite literally need to be “in the flesh” to get the full measure of another person.
Bespoke tailoring is a generations-old craft, mastered by few and traditionally enjoyed by fewer. Mark Pomerantz, Founder and CEO of Mark Pomerantz Menswear is an expert at bespoke. He and his firm are also fantastic supporters of Goodwill of Orange County, donating clothing to our boutique stores that are as gorgeous as they are valuable. Having worked at prestigious fashion houses around the world, Mark believes the connection between clothing and personality is “a certainty.”
“What we wear is as much about who we are as the words we use to speak. It is our foot forward into our days, into our worlds,” he told me.
This is true whether we are the first owners of these suits of armor or the second. I see this every day, as the funds from clothing help transition men and women “in uniform” back into civilian clothes and civilian life. Goodwill of Orange County operates one of the largest veterans’ services program at the Tierney Center for Veteran Services. We serve thousands of veterans as they transition to civilian life. The funds you help create by donating your clothing make that transition somewhat easier.
As you stand before your closet this morning, consider how much will you say without uttering a word. Believe me, it will be louder than you may think. What I think about, when I’m “hearing” what everyone around me is wearing, is that what we wear today, if donated to Goodwill, can speak volumes for someone else tomorrow. What a powerful statement.