"I imagine nude to be strange" – how does a blind person dress?

Without extravagant jewelry or a piece of clothing with which I associate a story, I would not leave the house. I used to be punk, today I belong to the Gothic scene. I like to emphasize my waist, wear blood red lipstick and light foundation to emphasize my Snow White type. I don't lace myself a corset every day, but I always try to combine a piece that stands out from the crowd. If I were to dress “normally”, I would have the feeling that I am going under in the mainstream.

Some people wonder because they think a blind woman shouldn't care what she looks like. But imagine if you were blind tomorrow, would you no longer care about your hairstyle? Don't live your style anymore? Stop wearing jewelry and clothes that you previously liked? I didn't go blind from an illness until I was 20, so I know how important the first visual impression is. You choose your clothes and use nail polish or lipstick not only for yourself, but also for others.

I think of “nude” as very funny

In contrast to birth blind people who imagine colors associatively, I have visual memories of what colors are. Nonetheless, I sometimes have trouble getting my bearings when it comes to new color names like “taupe” or “ecru”. I also think of “nude” as very weird, because friends have told me that it looks like a woman has no pants on when she walks around wearing nude leggings. My favorite colors are black and burgundy. I almost exclusively wear these two colors – that also makes it easy for me to choose suitable combinations.

There is strict order in my closet, no one is allowed to mess around. Skirts follow dresses, then tops. I hang up a lot so I don't have to rummage around in piles. I feel for collars, ruffles and buttons, sometimes I use a color recognition device. You just hold it to the fabric and it tells me the color – now there is even an app for it. But mistakes also happen to me. I have the same dress in red and black, and I've switched them over. That day I felt totally "red" the whole time, even though I was actually inconspicuous. Another time I accidentally wore the red dress and thought I was wearing black, until someone said: “Oh, today in red!” I once mistook leopard tights for black, and a colleague said: “ You are wearing a pair of exciting tights! ”Then I thought:“ What's the matter with him? ”

I only wear high heels while sitting

Current trends are not so important to me because I have my own style. I own gaiters, petticoat dresses and corsages that designers have made for me. For a corsage I felt different materials in a shop. I especially like matte, silk fabrics with fine applications because I like to run my fingers over them. I only wear high heels while sitting, mostly when I present my show. I can't run in high heels, I need tactile contact with the ground. Things that you can get stuck with are also problematic. In the past, when I was wearing outfits from the gothic scene, I would get stuck in a hedge of thorns or landed in a soup plate. I've weaned myself of such clothes.

Now and then I am sad that I cannot copy a combination from others. It is exhausting just to put everything together in my head. I prefer to shop in smaller boutiques or at fantasy markets because there you get more intensive advice. Online shopping doesn't do me much good because there are few pictures and detailed descriptions. Most of the time I only order if I already know a part, because I have rented it from a friend and felt it beforehand. My dirty little secret is teleshopping. Because the clothes are often described in detail.

I have my fingernails kept in good shape in the nail salon because I know that you always pay close attention to your hands with blind people. Blind people are very active with their hands – because they replace the eyes. I can't paint my nails myself, you never know if you're going to paint over them.

There are top-styled people who act like stained sweatpants

I can apply make-up myself, many things can be used for blind women, some just have to be modified a little. As a sighted person, for example, you move your hand up and down with the mascara brush, as a blind person you have to keep it very still and “wink” the color so that you don't smear anything on your eyelid. And when applying makeup, there are certain massage operations so as not to forget any area of ​​the face. With blush you have to count the brushstrokes, lipstick is carefully applied from the center to the corners of the mouth. This make-up egg is also useful. This is my last security round because it picks up excess makeup that I didn't notice.

Fashion is important to me, but I can advise you to be a little less guided by visual impressions. I often see people around me building up prejudices quickly. There are top-styled people who act like stained sweatpants.

Thomas Anders says a lot of great things

When I get to know someone, I am forced to pay attention to whether someone behaves “nicely”, how the person speaks, how they treat others. Age is being lost, as is conventional thinking. I focus on their stories. Every now and then I get scraps of conversation and think, “Wow, what an eloquent person is that!” And my companion says it was a brat who had her feet on the chair. I once spoke to a woman who had an incredibly confident and charismatic voice. When I was in my mid-forties, I imagined them in pinstripes. Afterwards I found out that she was still very young, wearing jeans and a baseball cap. That didn't match my inner picture at all. On my show I once interviewed Thomas Anders from Modern Talking. He was smart and smelled delicious. I found it interesting that in the past it was only defined by its appearance, although it has so many great things to say.

At least after the impressions that I piece together from my environment, I have the feeling that everyone wants to be individual, but somehow they all look the same. I do not understand that. I like people who have flaws and trademarks and who dare to create their own style. Perhaps one day blindness will be declared a trend. Then everyone walks around with pink blindfolds and pink sticks.