We often do it unconsciously, but when we look at furniture, clothing or cushions in the store, we run our hands over them. Even with other mostly natural materials. The feeling of a certain fabric is very decisive and determines whether we like it or not.
Cuddliness
Strange actually, because you would think that what you see determines whether you like something or not. But nothing could be further from the truth, we look with our hands, as it were. If the hands are left with a pleasant feeling, then it seems to have passed the first test. Touch always gives a pleasant feeling, just lightly touch the other with one hand. Just stroke it, it gives a soft, pleasant feeling.
On the one hand it may have to do with memories from a (distant) past and on the other hand with a pleasant feeling of what the touch of a certain substance does to you.
Memory
Your memories always play an important role, because memories evoke something that feels pleasant or unpleasant, gives a nostalgic feeling or something that creeps you out. A 2010 study in the US (New York) where people were allowed to feel, but not to look, yielded some remarkable memories.
Jute
The substance caused a 25-year-old lady to feel disgusted. As a child, she had played in a large barn in the countryside. At some point she lay down on the hay with her girlfriend, tired. There was also a burlap bag on which the girls lay half down. Until the bag started moving and it turned out to have a snake in it. The ladies suffered no physical damage from it, but this lady had to agree that she still cannot stand the feeling of jute. She went on to say that when she met him, her current boyfriend had a lounge sofa made of a certain type of jute. He replaced him for her and that is love!
Velvet
This is a very soft fabric and for a 32 year old lady, feeling the petals of the violet was so velvety that it brought a smile. It reminded her of her grandmother who loved velvet and often wore velvet-like clothes. As a child, I loved to stroke Grandma’s arm and made her feel safe. The leaves of the violet reminded her of this moment.
Learn
We all think it is very cool and if leather is supple, it also feels nice. However, for a 23-year-old man it gave a mixed feeling, because the leather reminded him of his father’s leather motorcycle suit. A cool father in a cool suit. However, this father had an accident in this sturdy leather suit. Later the man indicated that these are mainly beautiful memories, because as a growing boy he sometimes wore the cool leather jacket and of course his father was a role model for him. About five years ago, his father died in an accident wearing the same leather suit and the man had seen his father carried into the hospital with that cool jacket still on.
To feel
We associate what we feel with different expressions such as:
- tough
- sweet
- Nice
- soft
- passion
- scary
- hard
and the list is much longer. But that does not alter the fact that in practice it is often slightly different and then the image comes into play. For example, velvet gives a sweet and soft feeling, but if the soft fabric is red it has a different meaning than if it is purple, blue or black. Silk in white has a different meaning than black or red silk and we often find leather cool and masculine, but when it is red it suddenly becomes feminine.
Continent and color
Very remarkable were the expressions of a 35-year-old man who travels around the world for his work and associates white and sand-colored linen with African countries and black linen with South American countries. It had less to do with what people were wearing and more to do with the colors of the continent.
Finally
There is a general line to be discovered when it comes to feeling (in the now), but when memories come into play, everyone has their own story. Very remarkable how the mind works.