Although few people dress up for Valentine’s Day (generally only celebrated by happy couples) the outfits and accessories that are worn especially for the day of love always seem to elicit smiles.
This year, Mattie Drucker ’17 was one of the rare students who wore a themed outfit. She said, “My friends and I decided to dress up for the event! We wore all black and whatever red accessory we wanted. A lot of us put on red lipstick which was really fun, and I had a red bow in my hair, so I felt extra saucy.”
Although Drucker and her friends chose to dress up, very few people joined them. Out of all of the popularly celebrated holidays, Valentine’s Day seems to be the one that brings out the most disagreement and least excitement on the day. Referred to as a “Hallmark Holiday,” individuals tend to repudiate it claiming it to be too forced or fake. The act of wearing all pink and red can often come off as tacky and untasteful, making many opposed to such a strong display of love and kindness. Many of the people who dislike dressing up are angry simply because they are single, but they defend themselves by complaining that they should be able to say they love their friends, family, or significant others on any day and not have to display it so openly. I, however, do not see why there cannot be one time in the year specifically dedicated to love and happiness that’s accentuated by dressing up. There are many equally unimportant holidays, such as St. Patrick’s Day, that people dress up for. Why not February 14?
With her own opinion, Drucker shared, “It’s the day of love, and you have to love the day of love, right?! Everybody knows it’s a Hallmark holiday, but I’m pretty sure it stems from Christian religion, although I don’t really know the technicalities.” Valentines’s Day is, in fact, an ancient Roman holiday dedicated to fertility. However, despite her misunderstanding about the origin of Valentine’s Day, Drucker continued, explaining the makeup side of V-Day dressing up, “I have to say that I totally buy into it. I am such a consumer and I’m not going to deny it. I called all of my family and it’s just a good reminder to reach out to the people you love and pull them closer. I even gave some consensual kisses to my friends, so they had little red lips on their cheeks, which was cute. Even though it’s cheesy, it’s just a good day.”
People who embrace Valentine’s Day by dressing up simply help create a happy atmosphere. For those who are “cuffed”, as millenials would say, it gives them time to openly show their love through fashion, something difficult to fit in on Choate schedules. For others who have the great luck of having their full time dedicated to their peers, it gives a day to appreciate the least societally treasured kind of love: friendship.
