If fashion is like a chameleon, then what lessons are being learned from those who dress up to blend in?
Fashion and travel is a splendid combination, wouldn’t you agree? It’s an educational study on it’s own. And the world of fashion and travel has many lessons to teach those recent graduates entering into the workforce.
When examining work spaces, one becomes compelled to understand a personal way of fitting in-especially if you are the new gent or dame at work. Everyone has their own swag, persona, and demeanor when they enter into the office space. Yet, there is a common energy, that is unique within that company. Everyone has their style. Yet, they manage to harmonize that style into the general aura of the work place. Its a rather unique form of group dynamics. A quiet form, to be exact.
So, you’re the new dame or gent in the office. You look around and there is silence. People are checking you out just to get a feel for how you are. Some may be eyeing you as competition. Wondering if you are going to replace them. It’s a possibility. Pause. We are not there, yet. Remember, this is just the introduction. Try to imagine yourself as it being the first week on the job.
Are you dressed right? Do you have the right office walk? Are you truly connected with other office employees? As this is simmering in your head, you sit and tell yourself. . .”geez, I wish they taught us about this in undergrad.” Or, the regretful sigh of “geez, I wished I paid attention more in undergrad.” Either way, its one of those moments, that you can’t learn or memorize from a book. Its something you just have to experience. And that’s where our lesson of travel and fashion come along.
So, you remember our lovely, Maldivian travel and fashion maiden-Maryam Shaghaf? Well, this is where she comes into play. Journeying through the different nations of Europe and Asia, she takes her fashion sense with her. Make it two. Examining her photos, you notice how she blends in with the scenery, while also keeping her own originality and persona. Her travel journeys are the living metaphors for blending into our work environments. Blending in, not to fit in. There is a difference. We lose ourselves when we try to “fit in.”
Just remember that we need to align ourselves with the natural scenery of whichever foreign environments we enter. Of course, it seems scary and slightly uncomfortable, at first. Yet, if we dress with the environment and society, we may add our own personal touch to the setting. Still blending in, while being true to our authentic self.
So, back to our dear, Mariyam Shaghaf. A fashionista traveler, who has used her fashion sense to make mo’ sense, of her presence, in a foreign essence. Using fashion to not only align with foreign territory, but to experience how she would look in a new environment. Prideful darling! Examining the pictures, one views and sees how Mariyam Shaghaf simply immerses into her environment. A foreign maiden in Switzerland, Croatia, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Malaysia, Japan, or Slovakia territories, this young Maiden finds a way to blend in while standing out. All the while, she continues to stay true to her own character and nature as a woman. Her own contributions to the fashion and travel industries.
It’s a phenomenal feeling! A total chameleon essence if you agree. And further observing her photos, you would think that she is part of a painting. The way that she dresses herself (from casual to glamorous), her presence reflects that she is no longer a foreigner in foreign spacing. Now, she has adapted herself to this new environment. She looks as if she is part of the scenery. She looks as if she fits in. However, she has maintained her own personality; while staying true to the crowd. That environment, where she has traveled to. It’s a wonder, indeed. And notice the element in how she moves with ease.
So, think on it. Are you ready? We return to that moment of your first day (or week) on the job. After graduating from college and entering into the workforce. You look around, and understand that you do not fit in. Nor, are you blending in. You haven’t dressed in a way that would show how your personality immerses into the workspace. Have you been using your chameleon nature in the office? And how have you allowed your fellow co-workers (and the boss) see that you can hold your own? Check out the office energy. How does it feel? What is it’s coloring? What is it’s design? Does it smell a certain way? And lastly, have you worked your own. . . chameleon sense?
