Image Field: 

As a stylist I have found that most people tend toward a type, usually a self-imposed identity, cliche and unconsciously acquired in their formative years. This identity most likely became solidified when the individual claimed a major in college. God forbid these were "glory years" and the height of one's development, and yet many are still dressing according to this persona 20 years later.  

To break a person out of this cliche or caricature, I don't just willy-nilly wipe the slate clean and bundle them in the latest fashion trend. This is a dangerous way to approach a serious issue of identity—one that has been a lifetime in the making. Instead, I look deep using the concept of archetypes, that ancient, universal language of iconic images, derived from an original prototype. My philosophy is that, back in the begining of human civilization, we developed leadership roles based on needs that were an eternity in their evolution. At some point a consistency developed because these roles satisfied individual and societal needs. For someone to emerge as a worthy leader, he would have to demonstrate above average skills in meeting one of the many needs concerning individuals and the tribe as a whole, whether these needs were spiritual, emotional, or material. Someone would use their skillset to fullfill that role to the best of their abilities, from which developed an outfit or uniform to set that person apart from regular folks or to even command an air of authority.

I believe that most of these ancient archetypes are still with us in modern society although someone who would have been, for example, a "shaman" may now be a "life coach," a "warrior" a "soldier," a "king" a "president" (or "CEO"), etc. Being much larger than the tribes where these roles emerged and were honed, modern societies have many people with tendencies toward the same archetype. Those types may lie dormant in everyday people who have come up through a system created to deal with large, dense populations by creating blanket uniformity. To succeed with a client means that I have roused their dormant archetype if one exists—and it usually does considering that the people who hire me often have a strong propensity for leadership. This is where I become the therapist. Lucky for me I can usually spot an unconscious archetype a mile away. The interesting thing is that it's usually buried under a misplaced sense of right and somewhat inverted. I attribute this to groupthink and its condemnation that being flamboyant or standing out must mean that the individual must want others to look inferior in his or her presence. After that value has taken over a psyche, the lack of style follows. One becomes middle-aged and wonders why life is unsatisfying and thus attempts a life change that we have come to call a "midlife crisis." I will argue that a midlife crisis is the result of someone spending most, if not all, of their adult life shoving their true persona into the corner.

There is in every social class and region—and for a good reason—a certain tyranny of the majority expressed through social norms, which are instrumental in maintaining order for the vast majority of the population. It's better to keep us in line and on track, because, let's face it, most of the time we wouldn't know how to do it ourselves. In doing so, populations and, therefore, the individual is meant to flourish. However, these very same norms can be enforced at the expense of those who should be leading the rest of us, or at least leading themselves as artists, prophets, or even manifestations of the divine. In the modern world, such an extraordinary individual becomes paradoxically superfluous. After all, millions of us can turn on the TV or internet, or flip open a magazine and simply see our iconic cultural titans at the ready, however remote, impersonal, and even ridiculous they may in fact be.

I, however, would like to believe that we have an inherent need to be communal and tactile with our cultural leaders, not passive voyeurs of their market friendly excellence. I think that intimate inspiration is something we can never have too much of, especially as we become more passive in the act of acquiring our basic needs. What activity will take the place of those endeavors now that we have so much free time? And with communication being what it is, are we to become one massive tribe? We still need to break our societies up into manageable parts, and those managers are our leaders. I don't know about you, but if I'm to be that leader I want to look effective, thus attractive for my people. If I'm to follow, I would appreciate the same courtesy. After all, years of evolution have proven that this image consciousness and our ability to appeal to one another is a form of intelligence, although perhaps we are often led to believe these contrivances are a matter of luck or accident. 

Over the years I have had to embody more than one persona as I have served in varied roles: little lady, rebel youth, mother/wife, officer, business owner, community leader/volunteer, party girl/muse. I am reminded of riding in the car at age four after just having learned to speak English. The world had opened even further for me when at an early age I learned that reality is actually experienced differently in a different language. My newfound perspective had me feeling zealous, ambitious, important. My mother asked me what I thought was a very serious question: What do you want to be when you grow up? My answer: Everything. I knew in the core of my being that I would be. By high school I was writing quite a bit, and realized that in that endeavor, one can indeed be everything. Or everybody at least. In the latest version of myself, I have been helping people discover their hidden archetypes, although it wasn't until recently that I realized my own.

I won't fullfill it until I'm old because who I am at the core is something like an old artsy, writer, eccentric who wears crazy clothes exclusively, says outrageously scary and true things while chain smoking in her loft located in the heart of some bohemian elite society. What do they call that archetype again? Oh yeah, Diana Vreeland. Before that one, Auntie Mame, and way before her...the woman who was tempted to know, the woman who brought us all to that state of mind of self consciousness where we discovered that we are naked. Eve. I believe it was Quentin Crisp who said that Jesus Christ was the world's first and foremost stylist, but I would say that Eve better deserves the title. Perhaps she asked herself, "Oh, geez...how to dress him?" And got the whole of humanity going down the path that led to some very refined image making. In any case, I have my band of followers and my heroes to whom I look not just for inspiration but to remind me of who it is I'm creating myself into being. Most of us won't be iconic, but many of us are archetypal. If we find oursleves restless, maybe it's that we need to be who we came here to be. For now, I know my job is to point out to others who it is they are trying to remember to be. I see it, I respect it. Welcome to the tribe.