form vs. function; the map of a compromise

subtitle: notes from a college dropout who never took an art class.

I took one of those goofy personality quizzes a while ago - this one gives you your own "personal dna" code at the end. I wasn't surprised at how hard it was to make choices, I don't like to be fenced in, even by a stupid survey no one's ever going to see. What struck me was that I was stopped dead in my tracks whenever they asked me questions concerning form versus function. I picked the middle of the scale for each one, so you could think I didn't care, but the truth is I was seriously torn. Each time. They felt like life or death decisions. Apparently I'm hung up on form versus function. Ok, ok, so I learned something from a quiz I called stupid.

This reminds me of a Peter Coyote quote about fashion, of which I am very fond. I know, you don't think of him as a fashion writer. That makes this even better:

The struggle between freedom and form is archaic and common to us all. I can understand now that it is fully expressed in every dimension of human experience, even the design and choice of clothes. Perceiving fashion in this way, links it, in my mind, to the fundamental tension within each of us which constantly impels us toward the impossible option of choosing one and abandoning the other. Today I see that even the choice of color, cut, and texture of clothing is an expression of that struggle, an act, which without denying the validity of the social coding it transmits, can also be read as one possible solution to this tension; the map of a compromise. - Peter Coyote from The Soft Wars

Oh, and I did make another sweater dress. It sold a few hours after I listed it on etsy, yippee. It's called New Mexico or Bust, and looks mildly less fuzzy if you click on it.