I’m the first to admit I don’t care if I dress cool or not – but at times when I have to, such as a date or other social function I frankly suck at it! I’ve always thought it was the Autism in me that couldn’t color coordinate my shirt with my pants – well that is officially no more. ‘Tharn’ wrote a great post on the Rules Of Clothing Selection For Autistics.
It doesn’t take too sharp an eye to see that many Autistics lack a certain amount of clothing-savvy. Maybe we don’t see any reason for it. This viewpoint has some merit; if your clothing protects you from the weather and from indecent exposure laws, why bother further? Department stores are crowded and confusing, and fashion “rules” typically border on utter nonsense, or at least some inexplicable sense, except when establishing some arbitrary “fashion don’t”.
The fact of the matter is that coordinating an outfit is actually an important skill to learn. The way we dress tells others a little about ourselves: how casual we intend to act, how much and what kind of attention we want, our interests, our cultural background, our appreciation for the weather, our perspective on our body, etc. Even non-autistics get anxious approaching strangers socially, and even this small amount of information helps get the social gears moving. By being aware of our own style, we can be more welcoming and discerning in whom we meet.
I really recommend you view his post on clothing selection for autistics. It includes a complete list rules in plain English.
