I became remarkably well-informed about things that had almost no effect on my actual life.
Trouser rises.
Lapel widths.
The cultural significance of button-down collars.
Whether navy and black should be worn together.
The difference between hue, tints, tones, and shades.
None of it made me feel any better in my clothes.
I think the internet encourages this.
Learning feels like progress.
Watching another video feels productive.
Learning another style rule feels like self-improvement.
The knowledge keeps accumulating but the sense of freedom never does.
I wasn’t actually learning about clothing anymore.
I was learning about style culture.
Those are different subjects.
One teaches you about clothing.
The other teaches you about symbolism.
My “expertise” grew much faster than my enjoyment.
That seemed counterintuitive.
Authentic hobbies generally make you more engaged with life.
This hobby, however, had me contemplating my sleeve length while waiting in line at the grocery store.
I don’t completely regret learning any of it.
It helped me understand why clothing affects people the way it does.
It also gave me a new language.
I suppose I’m now somewhat bilingual.
I just realized it wasn’t my native language.