Metamorphosis: A Review of Playing Dress-up with Your Friend

By Gamze Toksoz and Chengyue Zhang

Gamze (the intro):

This all started when, one day, Chengyue said my style was lacking. Apparently, the “just bright colors” were “too repetitive” and I needed to “change it up.” Of course, I didn’t really care about this comment, since the only reason I wear these clothes is that number one, they are comfy, and two, they are the only way I can visibly cling onto my eroding childhood excitement. Anyway, Chengyue’s comment got me intrigued. Before I really even asked how I should go about “doing better,” Chengyue already started listing how I need to try a more fancy, monotone, sleek look.

A drawing of Chengyue(left) and Gamze(right) in Jojo-style by Katelyn Cui.

I teasingly mentioned the comment the next day to her. That’s when the idea sparked into that magnificent brain of Chengyue’s—WE SHOULD PLAY DRESS UP. She would give me an outfit to wear for the day in trade of my clothes that were seemingly “just bright colors” to her. We spontaneously made the plan (well she spontaneously made the plan) that on the following Wednesday (during midterms) we would walk to Starbucks together in our swapped outfits where Chengyue promised to buy me a drink (which I ended up buying for her smh).

Chengyue (the ultimate intro):

Since the day I met Gamze in Physics class last fall, Gamze has always impressed me with her colorful clothes. She usually wears solid bright colors, like a bright blue, bright red, bright green. She is always made up of blocks of bright, bold colors, never any in-betweens. You can recognize her from the lounge in the science building from a sea of black, gray, and other faded pastel colors. Gamze’s dressing style is definitely a significant character trait. The point is, I have always been amazed and a little jealous of her style. My friends have of course complimented me about my black ‘trash bag’ jacket or other clothes that I own.

I actually don’t really remember how we decided to exchange clothes. I think I might have been the one to come up with the idea. So a Tuesday night before the Wednesday off, Gamze brought a pile of her clothes to Gould House, and we exchanged outfits.

Gamze (build-up):

On that Tuesday night, I walked to Gould House with an enormous heap of clothes in my arms, which, once let in, I would finally drop on the floor of Chengyue’s room. When I was looking through my clothes prior to bringing them, I realized how little I actually thought when putting them on. I just take a top and a bottom and wear them and then boom. But at that moment, considering it in the context of someone else, I actually have to give it some thought. So, seeing them on Chengyue’s floor, I started to feel a bit uneasy. I wondered if this dress-up would really be successful.

Chengyue (transformation):

The process of exchanging clothes is what I would call… interestingly awkward. We explored a few options we each had. I made Gamze try on some formal attire, including a navy blazer that was a bit small for me but perfect for her, a shirt with big-puffy sleeves, and my favorite dark-pink tie with intricate navy, floral, swirly, octopus-like patterns. I proudly presented my tie-tying ability to Gamze. Another outfit was a black and white striped turtleneck and dark green jacket and black dress pants. It was fun to see Gamze transforming into a different person. We were laughing loudly the entire time, and I was actually surprised that the faculty on duty didn’t come check on us.

In the end I settled with an all red outfit of red yoga pants, a crop top-ish zip-up hoodie, and a red V-neck vest with geometric shape (In the process I also tried out the most ridiculous thing, like a short-sleeved shirt on top of a long sleeve shirt, and surprisingly it did not look horrible…) For a moment looking in the mirror, I thought I became Gamze. I felt the looseness and tightness of the fabric around my skin. I was physically in Gamze’s shoes, seeing the world in her clothes.

Gamze (journey):

No you weren’t in my shoes Chengyue, I didn’t give you any remember? Anyway, when I woke up the next morning, I obviously didn’t have to think about what I was going to wear—even though I wouldn’t have really done that anyway. I picked up the white blouse, snazzy purple wrap-around overlay thing, black trousers, knee boots, and finally Chengyue’s spunky tie. I remember that as we walked from a French class last year, I had complimented her on that same tie. Now, on this random Wednesday morning, I was clumsily shuffling it on, still pre-tied from the night before.

I set off to Wetherall for breakfast in Chengyue’s black boots which she never wore, where I met up with (the one and only) Chengyue, (and of course) Katelyn, and Maeve to start the day with sustenance. Chengyue properly re-tied the messy tie and purple overlay—both tying situations I barely understood (sad to admit, but I still use bunny ears for my shoes).

Lastly, Chengyue gave me these painful clips on earrings and an unusable whistle she 3D-printed in the design lab before we embarked on our long journey through the brackish waters of Exeter (the rain falling that day) to get to Starbucks. We even decided to carry each other’s backpacks along the way to truly feel like a new person for the day.

Chengyue (reflection):

After that Wednesday, I kept Gamze’s clothes for another few days. I cannot believe how many compliments I got from wearing Gamze’s oversized fluffy jacket with smiley faces on them. Someone would compliment my dress and I would have to say “Aaaactually this dress isn’t mine. My friend Gamze and I exchanged clothes.” I now appreciate Gamze more and feel that Gamze and I are indeed the ‘cool kids.’

Waking up in the morning, I put a few seconds of thought into dressing a bit differently than what I was used to. This made the whole day somehow special. It was as if I was telling myself: “Today is going to be a good day because you dressed up especially well.” Besides, when I was stressed about my last History essay and my mid-term, struggling to drag myself out of bed at 8 a.m., I wore Gamze’s jacket and I felt protected by her happy energy. It reminded me that life at Exeter is more than school work. The fun things you do count too.

Additionally, I enjoyed clothes that I do not wear that much finding a home with Gamze. The amount of formal attire I own results partially from my previous boarding school with strict dress code and partially because I buy that old-school aesthetic. However, I don’t really wear them that often because it’s just so much work to put them on in the morning, not to mention having to actually change to athletic wear before sports.

Gamze (the ultimate reflection):

Weirdly, with these new clothes I felt uncomfortable. Chengyue originally wanted me to wear her blazer with the tie and blouse, but it felt too stark? Vulnerable in a way even though I usually present myself in the opposite manner. I guess I looked so serious that it made myself uncomfortable. I had switched personas—not with Chengyue (because Chengyue rarely wears the clothes she gave me)—but with an alternate version of me. A version that lived a quite different life than the me that is me currently, a me that made a lot of different choices, which was quite unsettling.

Apart from that I did get many compliments. Well, they too in a way, because of mere quantity, made me question myself more. Do people just like something that is new and startling for their eyes? Was this image complimented more because of how much it contrasts from how I usually seem to box myself?

Speaking of seeing things in a new light, I was able to appreciate the items I own more seeing Chengyue wear them. Like I had mentioned before, I kinda just wear my clothes, because part of their function is um… to just be wearable. Of course the reason I own these things is because I liked them all individually, but seeing someone else wear them ignites the heart eyes I had for them again, validating my purchases in some way.

Chengyue & Gamze (P.S. #1)

Although not inspired by A Separate Peace, I recognize a connection of what we did to a scene in the book (the novella is even written by an Exeter Alum so extra brownie points). We will end with this quote from the concerningly unreliable narrator Gene:

“...I looked for and finally found his pink shirt…the rich material against my skin excised a sense of strangeness and distinction; I had no idea why this gave me such intense relief, but it seemed, standing there in Finny’s triumphant shirt, that I would never stumble through the confusion of my one character again. I didn’t go down to dinner. The sense of transformation stayed with me throughout the evening, and even when I undressed and went to bed.”

Considering the progression of the book, we don't really want to be drawing too much of a connection here, but to put it very surface-level, the shirt and the exchange of clothes can at least be a symbol of friendship in a way. It made clothes-wearing a communal experience. Simply wearing someone else's jacket added a spark to the day.

Dress-up: a physical manifestation of friendship. In conclusion, friendship is magic.

Chengyue (P.S. #2):

And yes, it would not be fair if not to mention the set of jojo photoshoots we did. Basically, I am very into a manga series called JoJo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki. The Jojo series has been running since 1987 and was characterized by its dramatic character design and fashion magazine inspired cover art. Araki took inspiration from high fashion brands like Gucci and basically made everyone in his manga dress like models in everyday life. Jojo pose in its nature is just weird, dramatic, stylistic poses that characters are placed in. Honestly I cannot really explain the appeal of it, but it’s just so godly and surreal. If you just google “jojo pose” on Google Image, you will know what I mean.

So by my request, Gamze and I did a series of photoshoots inspired by jojo poses, a drawing of which I think is going to be in the illustration for this article done by our friend Katelyn Cui.