From James Elkins, The Object Stares Back: On the Nature of Seeing. NY: Simon and Schuster, 1996, pp. 82-83—
Sometimes I dress to fit in, so that I can blend with the crowd and not attract attention. When I do that I am imagining the world as a picture, and I want to find a place in the picture where I can disappear. As I walk down the sidewalk or enter the conference room, I want to be nothing more than a blotch among other blotches. But on many other occasions I have exactly the opposite effect in mind. I dress in my best clothes, and I make sure I look just right, because I want to make an impression: I need to stand out, I want to be noticed.
