I wasn’t even aware that people did this until the women in my life mentioned it.

Now I notice it all the time.  You know what I’m talking about; the way people “size you up” or check you out.

I don’t mean to sound sexist, because I think both male and female folks do this.

To some, it is a very normal thing to do. Some people have no motive; they just do it. Others are doing it just to admire.  Many do it to judge. Many people do it without being seen.

They are closet lookers.

Let me blow the whistle on myself.  I mean, I do it. I notice when someone is a particularly snappy dresser, very fit, or particularly attractive. How could you not notice these things? However, I don’t think I’ve ever stood and gone from head to toe while looking at people.

If I have done it, I didn’t realize I was doing it.

As with most things in life, I try to laugh at it.

I once worked with a fellow teacher whose past time was sizing people up. This person always commented on what you were wearing. One day, she told me that she wished her husband dressed as nice as I did. So, I should never have taken her up and down glances as a negative thing. Sometimes, people just like your style.

I find it incredibly funny that church seems to be the place we notice it the most. If you stand in the large welcome area of a church on Sunday morning and just observe, you will see it a lot.  You see the bold-face lookers who size you up as you talk them. You see the sizer-uppers trying to be discreet and then you see them get busted.

It shouldn’t matter what you wear to church, but to some people, whether they are looking for negative or positive reasons, it really does. Indeed, people put a lot of importance on their appearance. There have been times that folks are late because of it.

The need for perfection and emphasis on material things is as evident in church as it is anywhere else.

But please, don’t stay away from church for that reason.

My youngest daughter is one of the best examples of a devil-may-care attitude when it comes to dressing. At age 6, she is someone who benefits from the older girls in our family and those of our friends; she gets hand-me-downs. I mean, let’s face it, some of the clothes she gets have barely been worn, considering how fast children grow.

I feel that my children have been pretty well-dressed, all due to the generosity of mothers who pass clothes to one another. When we are finished, we try to pay it forward too. Why not?

My daughter is a show person, so she likes to wear pretty dresses and fancy bows in her hair. More often than not, she will find a pair of shoes she’s in love with and will latch on to those shoes.

She’s worn crazy, homemade jewelry to school and even sported a plastic necklace in her latest school picture, looking proud as a peacock with her hands on her hips.

One of her most recent love affairs with a pair of shoes resulted in her wearing a pair of ruby slippers, reminiscent of Dorothy’s from the Wizard of Oz. She happily traipsed into church one day dressed in a pretty dress with those bright red, probably clashing shoes on.

We didn’t care a bit nor did we mind the aghast look on a face of another child’s mother as we passed.

Human nature is funny. You probably think this column sounds a little sarky, to use a popular English term. I’m just amazed at times what we choose to focus on while we are here on this Earth.

I’m no better than the next guy. I have plenty of nasty little habits that rival giving people the once-over.

I’ve often wondered what would happen if we all had to wear uniforms.