Is It Us, Or Is It Them?

I often speak about how I hate when people judge others… I do not believe that any person is able to decide if another person’s decisions or lifestyle are better or worse than anyone else’s. So I have spent much of my own life striving to understand and come to terms with other people and their lives without passing judgment, and all in all I like to believe that I am successful. I am able to accept people of all religions (or lack thereof), sexual preferences, general morals, and economic and geographical backgrounds, and I strive never to argue or attempt to impose my beliefs on others. This is an important aspect of my personality that I am very proud of.

But as horrible as it sounds, the one aspect that I struggle not to judge people on is their fashion sense. I recognize that this is shallow and absurd, but I am a fashion snob. Since my appearance is so important to me, I have difficulty understanding how other people can go through life not caring about their clothing, or how they can care about clothing that is not “stylish.” Every day there are occasions when I feel a twang of guilt after seeing a person and immediately critiquing their outfit.

I think a few clips from the film Mean Girls portray this concept pretty accurately...

Recently I have found that many people, regardless of their own background or personal style, suffer from similar fashion snobbery. After thinking about it, I have concluded that this problem essentially stems from fear. When people see someone who is different from themselves, they are often afraid and quick to judge that person; the easiest and quickest way to establish differences between people is with their clothes. And ultimately, although I often feel bad about being a fashion snob, the people I judge can easily be judging me and the fact that I care too much. So then who are the fashion snobs: the people who care about fashion, or the people who don’t?

Fashion snobs are everywhere, and it is quite possible that everyone has a little bit of snobbery within them. I am completely aware that this does not make it okay. Although this judgment may be a person’s most immediate reaction when they see a person who looks so different from their standards and expectations, it is important to overcome this visceral fear. The world could be a better place if every person tried to stop judging others based on their appearance. So I have set a new goal for myself: to stop myself from being a fashion snob. I need to align my life philosophy about not judging others with my overly critical fashion view; although it’s a little late, I am making this my New Year’s Resolution!