I’m doing a public reading this weekend as part of a book launch party for another author. It’s a milestone for me, my first ever public speaking event as an author, even if it is a five-minute slot. I’m not normally a person who fears public speaking, which is another weird thing about me, but as I was making a list of things to do (read stories by the other authors, practice my piece, and get a haircut). I came up short when I began thinking about what to wear.
I need to come up with a public look. I don’t think it should be this hard, but I’m struggling. I’m normally a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy and most of my wardrobe revolves around that sensibility. The dressier clothes I have are ludicrously out of fashion, too loose, too tight, or a combination of all three (ask me about my pleated suit pants from 1999). The pandemic definitely didn’t help with this either, as I discovered from all the shuttered men’s clothing stores around town and the mass-appeal, comfort-friendly focus of the survivors.
If I wanted the tweed jacket or Mad Men retro clothing style from New Yorker author profiles, I was out of luck. Likewise, I wasn’t finding anything that fit a rock, punk, hipster, bohemian, or other outsider looks, and that’s probably for the best considering I passed through the acceptable age demographic for such things a few years back. But have the fashionistas-that-be truly consigned me to the Tommy (Bahama and Hilfiger) sections forevermore?
Maybe I need to rethink this. It’s the age-old problem of being my natural self versus meeting a certain social expectations of who I should be. Now while I can show up in my authentic writing uniform (pajama pants, t-shirt, and hoodie), or New York Times Bestselling Author uniform (blazer, designer dress shirt, and chinos) I wouldn’t feel right about either. The former because it’s too informal, the latter because it would be like wearing a costume.
Fortunately, I have a secret weapon: years of living as authentically as possible. It may not seem like much, but it shows in things I’ve accumulated over the years. For example, I picked up a linen shirt a few years back that had some structure to it and fit that sweet spot between a t-shirt and collared polo. In high school I wore a retro-inspired wristwatch that with time passed a true retro threshold, and now resembles an artifact from Badlands Born. A Blood Weeper pin coupled with a whimsical woven bracelet from my daughter along with a few other accessories adds a properly artistic flair without being over the top. In short, with a few touches, I should be properly presentable as who I am: Wade Peterson, Author.
What curios do you have that separately or in combination show a little bit about who you are?
