This summer's must-have accessory? Kindness.

The last twelve months have been pretty grim if, like me, you're emotionally invested in creating a fairer, more equal society. In 2016 the EU referendum was fought on a platform of fear and lies, and left an angry, confused and divided nation in its wake. The hate stirred up by the tabloid press and fuelled by professional contrarians has resulted in violence and murder, so when another general election was called I felt like I needed to do something, anything, to counter the hysterical and vitriolic coverage of the election campaign in the press. I 'cosplayed' the election again, sharing my outfit posts (complete with calm and rational political commentary!) with friends on social media in an attempt to give people some more positive, cheerful content to enjoy. 

Unsurprisingly, my posts didn't go far beyond my circle of friends and mutual followers (pleas for considered and thoughtful action just don't have the click-bait appeal of hate-speech) and seeing the horrifying abuse that other people who have encouraged a kind and hopeful approach to politics have received, I'm kind of glad they didn't. But they did make me feel better, as they forced me to focus on the positive rather than the negative, so I wanted to take this feeling forward into how I engage with media content in the long term, rather than just in regard to election coverage.

As well as trying to encourage fear and distrust of one another, we're also encouraged to feel bad about ourselves, and publicly shame or ridicule anyone who isn't following an archaic, classist, discriminatory and seemingly endless list of 'rules' designed to police our appearance. I'd love to live in a world where I could breezily tweet "just wear what you want!" as temperatures soar and we peer into our wardrobes trying to figure out if we have anything, anything at all, that is 'suitable' for whatever we might need to do in weather we're just not used to. But we don't live in this kind of utopian future (yet!) and I'd be doing a disservice to a lot of people if I pretended that we are all subject to equal levels of judgement and condemnation. By moaning about my personal pet peeve (the ongoing policing of the upper arms of all women over 30), I'm belittling the constant public scrutiny other people face over every aspect of their appearance; it's false equivalency. "Wear what you want" doesn't require a daily act of courage from me, a rejection of years of social conditioning, the strength to face media-sanctioned cruelty from strangers. So I'm not going to demand bravery from activists who have been doing it for years, or from people whose bodies and clothing choices are none of my business, but I am going to demand an act of kindness from everyone else. 

We've been brainwashed by countless "circle of shame" or "worst dressed" photos to have similarly uncharitable thoughts about the people around us; people who dare to defy clothing conventions; who dare to (in the words of pearl-clutching tabloids) 'flaunt their assets'. Maybe we need to unpack why we leap to conclusions about folk who just want to go about their day feeling fabulous about themselves. Are we jealous of their apparent fearlessness, angry that they've decided that the rules don't apply to them when we've been trying so hard to follow the rules so closely, and are still told that we're found wanting? Whenever we criticise someone else for being "overdressed" or "not making an effort", for revealing or concealing too much of themselves, we're not just policing their bodies but also our own. We're restricting everyone's freedom of self-expression, but most vital of all we're restricting everyone's ability to feel comfortable in their own skin and just move through the world without attracting unwanted commentary. 

The acts of kindness I want to see involve, at the most basic level, doing nothing. If you don't approve of someone's appearance - who cares? Keep it to yourself! There's a wealth of old adages that can apply to this situation, and with good reason; petty meanness has never been a good look on anyone. Compliment pals who are rocking great outfits instead.

Hopefully this will already be second nature to you, and you might feel emboldened to gently challenge body shaming if you hear it from friends or family, and ignore it when you see it presented as a click-bait headline. As Labour's general election campaign showed, it's possible to challenge the status quo in quite a radical way and win people over to your cause if you do it in a thoughtful and positive way. I was so glad to see that there isn't an infinite appetite for cruelty, spite and deliberate misinformation. People have shown that they can be nuanced in their thinking, and that they are open to a kinder, fairer way of being. But rather than expecting other people to create this world for us, we have to push back, even in the smallest ways, against the relentless negativity we have been subjected to for far too long. Being bitchy is so last season, this summer should be all about kindness, and the joy (or, quite honestly, just quiet relief), that can bring into all our lives.

Alternative Outfit Inspiration Part 1: The Personal (Style) Is Political

I've just come to the end of my  Six Items Challenge raising money for Labour Behind the Label, and over the Easter weekend I've gone from only being allowed six different items of clothing (five dresses, one cardigan) to having the entire contents of my wardrobe available to me again. The possibilities are endless! Except.... sometimes they feel like they aren't, and it would be all too easy fall back into wearing the same comfortable, familiar combinations of clothing, and the things I told myself I absolutely would make an effort to wear continue to languish at the back of the wardrobe. 

There are plenty of ways to get the most out of your wardrobe: regular tidying and sorting so you remember what's in there, swapping unwanted items with friends or taking them to a charity shop, trying to stop the endless cycle of buying new things that look a lot like a lot of the old things. One of the things I've always found brings out my most creative and thoughtful side is some sort of clothing challenge, whether it's to raise money for charity (like the Six Items Challenge) or just for my own amusement, to make me think about the contents of my wardrobe and how I can put them together in new and exciting ways. 

The 'Suffragette' themed outfit from 2015 I shared on Instagram as part of the Eco Fashion Challenge

I am currently participating in the #ecofashionchallenge on  Instagram , and Facebook started reminding me of a challenge I set myself in 2015; to wear outfits inspired by aspects of the British political system in the run up to the General Election. I joked that I was "cosplaying the election", but apart from putting together a 'femme' version of the eerily similar outfit all the party leaders wore to look 'casual', I didn't dress as any specific person. Instead my outfits (accompanied by a little bit of fairly impartial commentary when I put up photos on Facebook) were inspired by campaign talking points (the NHS, the Welfare State, the EU) and the idiosyncrasies of our political system, right down to the physical structure of Parliament itself (did you know they have falcons to keep the pigeons off the roof?). Some of the outfits worked better than others, some were a bit too silly ('Mer-people of the Firth of Clyde Against Trident' sadly didn't make it out of the house), but I wore and enjoyed some clothes that hadn't seen the light of day in a while, and having to write the captions helped me to consolidate my thoughts about certain political issues. 

Too much activism? Or too much glittery tail? 

At this point in the original draft of this post, I headed away from politics and started writing about the style inspiration I take from my favourite fictional heroes. But the day before I was planning to post this, a General Election was suddenly called, and a re-write was needed. I'll be singing the praises of 'closet cosplay' in part 2 of this series of posts, because right now I need to talk about rights, and how ours are more closely linked to those of the garment workers I have been raising money for over the last six weeks than perhaps we would like to think.

In the past I have tried to keep my posts and social media activity politically neutral, for fear of offending anyone who held different opinions, but the time for that is long gone. Our complacency over the rights and privileges we have (the right to vote, free healthcare, employment rights, paid holidays and sick pay for employees, beautiful countryside to enjoy on our days off) has led us to devalue them and take them for granted, assuming they will always be  here. The rights we enjoy now were hard-fought, hard-won and the things we value will only continue to exist if we fight for them. Politics affects everything in my life, worrying about it having an effect on my wellbeing is not overreacting. We have a Prime Minister, intent on increasing her majority in parliament, who doesn't care about employment rights, access to healthcare or the environment.

For someone who is passionately concerned about reducing my impact on the world by making choices that might not be the easiest but will benefit the world in the long run, politicians playing selfish, costly games for short-term gains is  horrifying to me. I truly believe we can find a balance where we can all learn to tread lightly on the face of the earth while dismantling the damaging dichotomy of "strivers vs skivers" that keep us divided and fighting amongst ourselves.

So I'll carry on fighting for eco-friendly, sustainable fashion. I'll fight alongside anyone who shares my values. But I might also be adding some new political-themed outfits to my Instagram feed, and this time, I'll say what I really think.