On Wardrobe

Tonight I'm playing a benefit show for CFMU, a radio station in Hamilton, Ontario. A bunch of good performers are on the bill, including Toronto's Gregg Lawless and Steve Briggs, plus Stephen Fearing, an inspiring guitarist and songwriter I've looked up to for quite a while.

As usual, I spent quite a bit of time deciding what to wear.

Recently I saw a young woman perform for the very first time in a tiny Japanese restaurant. She wore an evening gown and very high shoes. At one point I thought she was going to fall face-first into the sushi.

She made the mistake of wearing something to the gig that she'd never wear in real life. The outfit contributed to her nervousness.

When you try too hard with your wardrobe, you're asking for disaster. But on the other hand, if you wear something that you'd just as likely wear to No Frills, you probably will feel as if you don't belong on the stage, under all those lights and stuff. That's how I feel anyway.

Gig apparel must be that ever-challenging perfect combination of elements. Special...yet comfortable. Fancy...but not fussy. And then there are other considerations, especially if you're a woman.

Sexy? (My husband is always encouraging me to go this route...and I appreciate the compliment.) Yes, why not...as long as I feel comfortable on stage and not too self-conscious. Sometimes, too, even folksingers can have embarrassing "wardrobe malfunctions" a la Janet Jackson's Superbowl escapade. I saw one woman perform in a gorgeous silk top that just happened to keep half-falling off. I felt bad for her at first, but then I started to suspect that she was intentionally letting it fall. And then I was just annoyed.

Pretty/tough? Youthful/mature? Trendy/classic? These choices, faced by everyone who wears anything, are more important when people are going to be staring at you for any length of time.

How do TV anchor people do it? Well, I guess the really successful ones have professional stylists...and a wardrobe budget.

Me, I go to Value Village.

That's where I went today, and found a form-fitting but not low-cut t-shirt with design that says "Schmidt's Cafe" in just the right amount of sequin action. (That's another thing: glitter is good, but if there's too much of it, you just look like a bad lounge singer.)

Magically, the top goes with my best pair of slightly shimmery magenta jeans...which I have now worn to at least five gigs. Total cost of outfit: $18.00.

I'll post a picture later.

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By the way, I did write that Bruce Cockburn song and it turned out great. I was just keeping you (and myself too for awhile) in suspense. In my next post I'll tell you how I survived that particular patch of writer's quicksand.