We all use our physical appearance to send a message. What we look like is a kind of shorthand, and we're walking personal ads, in a way, communicating our interests to people who might share them. A hipster in skinny jeans, for example, sends a much different message than a mom in mom jeans or a cowboy in Wranglers.
In Fangirl, Cath's Simon Snow tee-shirts and Target wardrobe make her feel even more out of place among her more stylishly dressed college peers. So while she's still got mad love for her fantasy world, now that she's in college, she's outgrowing the style she's built around that world like a pair of footie pajamas.
Questions About Appearances
- Cath says Reagan carries herself like her body is the size everyone else wants theirs to be. How can your attitude change your appearance?
- When Cath and Reagan people-watch in the cafeteria, they make up histories for their fellow students based on their appearances—for example, they imagine that one couple met in an American Apparel ad. What are some of the ways people express their past through what they wear in the present?
- Wearing a tail in public: bold individual statement, or cry for help? Discuss.
- Last but not least, the most controversial question: Are Uggs a charming way of keepin' it real, or should they have died a fiery death long ago? When in doubt, ask yourself: WWTGD (that's What Would Tim Gunn Do, for the uninitiated)?
Chew on This
Cath loves Ugg boots because they're the footwear version of a cardigan and a tea-stained Simon Snow shirt. Seeing other people wear them is a validation of her lifestyle choice (and that's the last time you'll ever hear us use that phrase, really).
Simon Snow tee-shirts aside, Cath doesn't go through a radical physical transformation—what changes is how she feels about how she looks only.