Bohemia

"Our clothes are too much a part of ourselves for us ever to be entirely indifferent to their condition; the feeling of being perfectly dressed imparts a buoyant confidence to the wearer, and it impresses the beholder as though the fabric were indeed a natural extension of the man. … So strong is the impulse of sartorial morality that it is difficult in praising clothes not to use such adjectives as “right,” “good,” “correct,” “unimpeachable,” or “faultless,” which belong properly to the discussion of conduct, while in discussing moral shortcomings we tend very naturally to fall into the language of dress and speak of a person’s behavior as being shabby, shoddy, threadbare, down at heel, botched, or slipshod."

As I read Quentin Bell's lines depicting the importance that was levied upon clothing and sartorial choices, I think less about him, more about his aunt, Virginia Woolf.

My friend recently gifted me a book that sums up most of Woolf's published work. A feminist icon, a Bloomsbury snob, a difficult person, an extraordinary woman who killed herself, a writer who brought a revolution that defined an era, a lot has been said about her.

But I have seen very few people talking about her being a sartorial figure during the Victorian era. She and her sister Vanessa Bell were actually instrumental in bringing the bohemian way of dressing into consideration if not norms.

Today, the term bohemian chic is more common. I have always thought that bohemian style is something that speaks volumes about a person. I think it is a style that does not stem from nothing. There always seems to be a story, or a place or a free spirit behind it.

What do you think?