One of the most endearing shows in history is The Torkelsons. You’ve probably never heard of the show as it only lasted one season. The Torkelsons follows an Oklahoma family that has little money but a lot of heart and quirkiness. The most relatable character on the show is Dorothy Jane.
Dorothy Jane is a dreamer’s dreamer. She’s the smart, responsible girl, who’s an outsider. She wishes to be part of the in-crowd. She dreams of escaping her small town life for one of metropolitan sophistication and romance. She pines for the older, boy-next-door Riley Roberts. Essentially Dorothy Jane wants what she cannot have (don’t we all?), and it’s really touching and funny.
The second episode, The Cotillion, is one of my favorites. Dorothy Jane has a school dance to attend. With no money for a new dress and with hopes of going with Riley, will she have the dance of her dreams? Or will it be a hilarious disaster? Watch:
When Riley steps in and tells Dreama that no one would look better in Dreama’s donated dress than Dorothy Jane, CLASSIC. And when Dorthy Jane declares it her “reincarnated” fall cotillion gown, that was… too cheesy.
This episode made me think of a high school incident I had. But my incident has nothing to do with a dance or any crush. In fact, by recounting this (ancient) story, I will be confirming that I am a bit of a… nerd (shock!), but here goes.
One of my best high school friends – let’s call her “Allie” – loved to shop and dress in trendy clothes. I believe she shopped at Macy’s and Forever 21. One day I wondered if she would be willing to wear clothes from a thrift store or from K-Mart or Sears. So I asked her.
Allie immediately responded, “Hellz no!” I tried to sweeten the deal. I told her I would pay for an outfit from K-Mart, if she would wear it to school. The answer was still “no.” I then told her I would buy her whatever outfit she wanted from K-Mart and she could tell our schoolmates it was from Macy’s. Yeah… that didn’t work either. She refused to be associated in any way with any thrift store, K-Mart or Sears clothes (apparently she hadn’t seen the softer side of Sears).
This incident and The Torkelsons episode got me thinking. By wearing “cheap” clothes, do we signal to others that we are “poor?” Does it matter?
Apparently it mattered to Dorothy Jane and my friend, Allie, who were both high school girls and came from working class families. Would it be different if they were older? Younger? Male? Richer? Out of school? Working?
Do clothes make a statement about the person wearing them? Should it? Is it superficial to judge people by their clothes? Or is it an important method to analyze people?
Yes, you ARE a nerd! Heehee...but only in the best possible way!
I guess the question you should ask is: if clothes don't make some kind of statement (either positive or negative) then why do people make the effort to dress in a specific way for certain occassions? For example, if you're going to a job interview, I'm sure you will dress differently then if you are going out with your friends. Why? Ultimately first impressions are important and regardless of how many people may deny it, we are all judgemental at some point in our lives.
FYI, I remember seeing this episode from the Torkelsons when I was 12 or 13. It's one my favorite classic Disney Channel shows way back when we were all young and innocent. Ahh...the memories.
Posted by: :-) | June 03, 2009 at 12:16 AM