Read Surveys (By Author)
Kit Barren
1. When do you feel at your most attractive?
When I first wake up, I look really, really good. I don't know if it's just the lighting in the morning or if it's just because my face has marinated in night cream for 8 hours.
2. Do you notice women on the street? If so, what sort of women do you tend to notice or admire?
Women who look like me, only prettier--bigger eyes, clear skin, darker hair, skinnier necks.
Or, women who look nothing like me, but who are really beautiful.
3. What are some things you admire about how other women present themselves?
Natural beauty: some women can go out in leggings and a sweatshirt and be absolutely gorgeous. If they do their makeup and hair and wear nice clothes, they're alien beauties. Part of it is confidence, and part of it is whatever lifestyle they have that allows their skin to be clear, their hair thick, and their posture perfect.
6. What are some rules about dressing you follow, but you wouldn't necessarily recommend to others?
I wear pretty modest, whimsical, aggressively matching clothes. If it makes me happy, I'll wear it. Probably, others would recommend I show more leg and arm, stop wearing high necklines, and try to look more natural and low-key.
11. Is there any fashion trend you’ve refused to participate in and why?
I hate jersey knit fabric. I refuse to buy anything made with it, and everything is made with it.
12. Can you say a bit about how your mother’s body and style has been passed down to you, or not?
Most of my 'good' clothes came from my mom's closet, stuff she hoarded from the 80s and 90s. So I was the 9th-grader wearing skirt suits with shoulderpads. I didn't mind having 'a lot of look', in the words of Tim Gunn. I liked that it was something my mom and I shared, even though she had outgrown the clothes.
16. Please describe your body.
Average in most respects. I am very short-waisted, rounded and sloping all over, with long-ish legs and arms. My weight tends to settle on my stomach and inner thighs. I am otherwise pretty lean and muscled. I am pasty white. I would be super hot in 17th century Holland, basically, if not for the acne.
19. What are you wearing on your body and face, and how is your hair done, right at this moment?
I'm dressed in PJs for bed. My hair is gelled and pinned into finger waves, as an experiment. I'll take out the pins tomorrow morning and hopefully have waves.
20. In what way is this stuff important, if at all?
I have control, for once.
24. Do you remember the biggest waste of money you ever made on an item of clothing?
My mother bought me a winter coat that is slightly too small, gapes, and is very tight around my stomach and hips. It emphasizes my thick waist. I have to wear it every winter because it was expensive and a gift. I hate it. It makes me feel fat and unattractive when I wear it. She shouldn't have bought something like that, wasting her money, without getting my input and actually having me try it on.
30. What sorts of things do you do, clothing or make-up or hair- wise, to feel sexy or alluring?
I dress down if I want to look sexy for a man. It doesn't work; I feel more natural (isn't that what they always claim to want, a natural beauty??) but it doesn't feel like me.
31. Many people say they want to feel “comfortable,” or that they admire people who seem “confident.” What do these words really mean to you?
I feel comfortable when I'm covered and in clothes that are tailored; the clothes have their own shape, rather than having my body shape them. I don't feel comfortable in sweatpants and a t-shirt, because they have no form of their own. I feel comfortable when I don't have to worry about my own form. I have confidence when I don't have to worry.
32. If dressing were the only thing you did, and you were considered an expert and asked to explain your style philosophy, what would you say?
Respect the integrity and structure of a garment.
33. What is really beautiful, for you, in general?
People who don't need to worry.
34. What do you consider very ugly?
Cruel comments about things that can't be changed or helped. People start to look less attractive to me when they act like assholes.
44. What sorts of things do you do, clothing, make-up or hair-wise, to feel professional?
I dress down, in muted colours and minimal accessories.
52. Do you consider yourself photogenic?
Sometimes, if I'm in good lighting. Bad lighting (overhead fluorescent lighting) puts weird shadows on my face and body, and makes me look like shit.
53. When you see yourself in photographs, what do you think?
I don't really recognize myself; I look very different in every photo, even ones taken two seconds apart.
56. What would be a difficult or uncomfortable look for you to try and achieve?
Effortless, sporty casual.
57. If you were totally comfortable with your body, or your body was a bit closer to what you wish it was like, what would you wear?
I would wear more revealing clothes.
58. Is there anyone that you are trying to attract or repel when you dress?
I want to draw people's attentions to the clothes, not my body or skin.
60. What do you think of perfume? Do you wear it?
I want to be the woman who wears perfume. There's too many to choose from, and they're so expensive. Maybe one day.
62. How does makeup fit into all this for you?
Hide and camouflage. Trying to make my face blend in to what's normal, not stand out.
65. What is your favorite piece of clothing or jewelry that you own?
A red vintage dress with incredibly well-finished innards.