Ode To Uniqlo

I love clothes. In an outfit I feel at home in, I feel like wherever I go, I am offering something. Someone told me "serving looks" is a form of public service, which made me laugh as a sort of inversion of the common notion that fashion is always superficial and self-centered.

I love unique and particular clothes, and second-hand shopping, but I also often get very attached. I also quite often lose things — I think this might be a form of neurodivergence and not something I'm likely to be able change in this lifetime, even though some folks chastize me that I would not lose things if I did X,Y,Z.

Loving unique second-hand clothes, and losing things, can sometimes be a painful combination.

For this reason, I felt especially appreciative two days ago, when I bought a simple and well-made heavy off-pink t-shirt from Uniqlo, for twenty dollars. It might not be my favorite piece of clothing, but I liked it, and I felt like if I lost it, or it fell apart, I could buy another exactly like it.

I felt this was very relaxing. I could live my life in this shirt, and go to "the function", or "the dance class", or "the dinner" or "the gym". I briefly felt connected with the indestructible diamond-like Vajra nature of the Self, which cannot be destroyed by any circumstance, although obviously in a limited form as the true Vajra nature of the Self does not depend on having a Uniqlo T-Shirt.

But I'm still grateful to have some taste of that in some form, through something that for the time-being seems readily available. I imagine that if I could connect with this indestructible, unchanging beauty of Uniqlo, then I could also enjoy more particular and unique fabrics with a gentler touch, recognizing them for what they are, as appreciated visitors, beautiful for however long they last.

10.10.24