Taking care of your image is not vanity. It’s belonging.
- Daniela Mansur
- Jan 15
- 3 min read
There is a very widespread — and very mistaken — idea that caring about image, clothing or personal style is something vain, superficial or unnecessary.As if getting dressed were merely a practical matter: “anything will do.”
But that simply does not exist.
Everything we wear communicates.Always.
Before anyone hears our voice, our clothes have already spoken for us.
Clothing as a social language
Human beings have always expressed themselves visually. Clothing functions as a silent language — fast, powerful and extremely efficient. It is through clothing that we recognise tribes, groups, lifestyles and values.
Without a single word being said, we immediately identify:
Without a single word being said, we immediately identify:
the rocker
the streetwear crowd
the person with a hippie aesthetic
someone who dresses in an elegant, classic way
someone with a sporty style
the athlete
the creative
the executive
the minimalist
This is not coincidence. It is social coding.
The way someone presents themselves helps us understand where that person fits — or wants to fit — in the world.
The constant search for belonging
The real force behind clothing is not vanity.It is belonging.
The sense of belonging is a basic human need. It is as essential as the air we breathe. From a very young age, we seek to belong:
to our family
to our culture
to our history
to our ancestry
When we say “I do this just like my parents”, “I got this from my grandmother”, or even when we look for patterns — habits, behaviours, and yes, even illnesses — in our ancestors, we are trying to answer the same question:
Where do I fit? Who do I belong to?
Clothing as an emotional bridge
This is exactly where clothing comes in.
It creates a bridge between who you are on the inside and how you are perceived on the outside.It activates that sense of belonging when you look in the mirror and think — often unconsciously:
Yes. This is me. I belong here.
It might be an aesthetic tribe, a cultural one, a professional group, a spiritual space or an emotional moment in your life.Clothing organises that message.
“I wear anything” is a myth
There is no neutrality in image.
Even those who say they “don’t care about clothes” are communicating something.Even “basic”, “simple” or “unstyled” is a choice — and every choice communicates.
The difference is that when the choice is unconscious, the message often comes across distorted, confusing or misaligned with who the person really is — or needs to be — at that moment.
Dressing with intention is emotional comfort
When you dress with intention:
you communicate your values
you express your personality
you reinforce your identity
you feel that you belong
And that creates emotional comfort.
It is about aligning image and identity.
When this communication happens in the right way, a very specific — and powerful — feeling appears: inner fulfilment.Because it is not just about clothes.It is about recognising yourself in the world.
Image as symbolic survival
Taking care of your image is not vanity.It is emotional, social and human strategy.
It is understanding that clothing is not a detail — it is a tool for expression, belonging and identity.
Getting dressed is, at its core, a way of saying to the world:
This is who I am. And I know where I belong.
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