Writing Exercise 11: Dressing Up

This exercise may interest fashion addicts (although I’m not one).

 Stage 1.
Answer the following questions:
What is your favourite outfit? 
Where and when do you wear it?
How do you behave when wearing it?
What impression do you think it makes on other people?
Suppose you could keep only one item from that outfit, which would it be and why?
If you could buy any item of clothing at once - but no more for the next year - what would you choose and why?

 Stage 2.
Think of a real or imagined character. What are they wearing when you think about them? Write it down.
If you were buying a single clothes item for this character, what would it be and why?
Describe their reaction on receiving this item.

 Stage 3.
Now imagine you have to wear the outfit your character is wearing (altered so that it fits you).
How do you feel in this new outfit? Think about the physical sensations of wearing the outfit before considering any emotional reaction.
Imagine walking around in this outfit, doing daily chores and even a job. Do you feel different and act differently? Do you even talk differently? Does the different outfit affect the way you see the world?

 Stage 4.
Write an account of putting on this new outfit and the time you spend wearing it.
Read back what you have written. Edit it for as long as you like. You may prefer to rewrite it in third person, as if someone else was wearing the new outfit.

 This is a piece of writing you won’t necessarily want to share with the owner of the outfit!

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