Share

Obsessively checking the weather forecast has made my outfits boring

accreditation

I am completely obsessed with knowing the weather forecast. I even sometimes look outside, see it’s sunny and still refuse to believe it and automatically reach for my phone to hit Google up (note: not AccuWeather) just to make sure my eyes aren’t deceiving me.

Unfortunately, I'm no Karen Smith from Mean Girls, able to tell whether it's gonna rain with my boobs.

Image: Giphy

I have even started to wonder whether I’m, in fact, going mad or if (hopefully) it’s just Cape Town’s volatile weather that’s to blame.

Read: Why not wear a uniform every day?

But I recently realised how this compulsive weather checking impacts my way of dressing. I sometimes lie in bed at night and think about my outfit for the next day – mostly in an effort to save those few minutes in the morning better spent sipping a cup of coffee on my couch. But I think there’s comfort in just… knowing. That the day starts with a certainty.

So last night I considered this outfit: grey-blue pleather skirt from Zara, black Topshop ankle boots, black t-shirt and plaid jacket. Yes!

So I try not to check the weather this morning in an attempt to see a) how this makes me feel (unsettled? less mad?) and b) to see how things actually turn out for me and my outfit (if freezing, will I attempt a makeshift jersey out of colleagues’ stray scarves or will I curse myself for wearing polyester in 32 degrees heat? Only time would tell). But morning breaks and I see the Mother City clouds are feeling frisky.

Relying only on my ability to feel temperature and draw judgements from my observations, I dress myself.

Then I just can’t and I check the weather. #fail

I was not to be trusted in the ways of feeling temperatures and things. I get dressed in my ‘safe outfit’, i.e. one that probably won’t require me to steal colleagues’ scarves and one that won’t result in my boobs sweating.  

And no, Marie Kondo, this outfit didn’t spark joy, unfortunately. Of course there’s nothing really wrong with playing it safe, drawing on previous disappointing experiences and trying to adjust your behaviour (making sure it won't rain) for a better outcome in the future (not having your makeup run down your face because you forgot your umbrella/ resembling The Joker in public).

But does this careful behaviour not stunt growth in some way – in wardrobes and in life?

This carefulness has mostly let me live a low-risk life. Much like re-watching a favourite series and knowing how it will end, going to the same restaurants over and over because I know I won’t be disappointed, and even the fact that I don’t really mind spoilers is all part of the same thought-process - if I know before, I can prepare myself for it.

But do we not learn and become greater in those situations where we are forced to act quickly and on impulse?

This made me think about the other day when my Uber driver said something incredibly wise to me: “People who never travel, never learn, never change.” He went on to say that people from his hometown in Zimbabwe just stay there and just mingle with people who are just like them. He wanted to travel because he wanted to change.

Predictability doesn’t change us, doesn’t make us better or worse, it just makes us (and our outfits) stay the same.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE