I have something to add here. This exterior beauty is--well, just that--exterior, the shell. THE SHELL! Can it draw people in? Sure. Can it turn heads? Of course. Exterior beauty alone is just not enough. I think of it like some cars on the road that "look" good but have crap reviews. I think of it like a hotel with a beautiful lobby but rooms looking like the Holiday Inn. Real beauty that comes from the inside--that is beautiful. It can show in the way a woman carries herself, in her works and in her words. THAT has substance. That, to me, is real, true beauty.
Hey, for the record...I LOVE WHAT NOT TO WEAR! LOL--okay, yes they do make everyone wear a jacket! But honestly, if you had NO clue how to do yourself--that is the show to watch in my book.
I agree with some others that beauty is more than appearance, although that is part of it. Confidence also plays a role in how other people see you. When I feel confident I walk differently, straight and tall with my head held high, and other people notice that.
Unfortunately, I find it very difficult to apply that thinking to myself, although I have no trouble seeing others' inner beauty. I have friends who have beautiful souls, and as a result I find them beautiful. But myself? No way.
My family and husband insist that I'm pretty, but I don't see it. I look in the mirror and try to see what they see but I can't. All I can see are my flaws.
I know that I may never be beautiful, even when I'm thin, but at least I will be healthy! That in itself is a fantastic thing.
Susan - LOVE that saying! I've never heard it before.
Hey, for the record...I LOVE WHAT NOT TO WEAR! LOL--okay, yes they do make everyone wear a jacket! But honestly, if you had NO clue how to do yourself--that is the show to watch in my book.
I like watching the show, but I do feel bad for the people who (at least in my opinion) didn't look bad at all in the before - just quirky with a unique sense of style. I don't think they always make people look "better," just more socially acceptable and conventional.
Sometimes that IS the point - a fashion "victim" will be looking for a job in a conservative field - then it may be necessary to hide the tattoos, cover the midriff..... (at least for the interviews).
I think the throwing away clothing the person has an emotional connection to is often unnecessary and even cruel (come on, why do you have to throw away comfy "jammies" even if they look horrible.) On the other hand, anyone who agrees to go on the show, should be aware of the possibility. It's the trade-off for being on the show.
As with many 'self improvement' books, sites, magazines, TV shows ... if most folks take away just a couple little things that improve their outlook ...
The producers of the show never intended for every woman in America to be wearing a jacket that locks and loads the girls, after the first show.
Watching What Not to Wear will make me beautiful huh? I really do think beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That show puts every single person in the same outfits( seriously no more jackets NO MORE!!!) They give each age group the same haircut/makeup and make them all shop at Ann Taylor...no wait it's Macy's now they changed sponsors.
LMAO! I'm sick of those wrap shirts, wrap dresses, V-Necks 'cause they lengthen you! You're right, everybody is the same!
i think im pretty no matter how i look; but thats just my face. My husband thinks i am. My parents say i am. they're the only people that matter.
Besides, once i watched a doco about how people attract one another; people are generally attracted to people who are a similar number to them (it was done, betwen 1 and 10. The least attractive people (say 3) went towards people who were least attractive for their gender(2-5 per say), but it didnt matter, cos they found each other attractive).. lol im sorry, its complicated to explain. ^___^
point is, if the issue is attracting a mate, you need to get out. If you just want to feel better about yourself, exercise and eating well can do that for you. When you look in the mirror you'll be happy when the results start to show, even the tiny ones, and you'll be happy and relaxed for the day thinking about it. And as a result of your hard work you'll probably appear younger than you really are (if you moisturize also). If thats not enough, then i just dont know
Watching What Not to Wear will make me beautiful huh?
Not really what I meant. I just meant it as an example of taking people who look like crap, dress like crap and showing them they don't have to look that way. It's all in your choice of how you present yourself.
And for people with that extra belly fat, the jackets can give them confidence, and noone says you have to wear exactly what they do on the show... they offer basic principles that some people are clueless about. Granted Stacy & Clinton don't know everything... else Stacy wouldn't have the godawful grey streak in her jet black hair. She's no Indira Gandhi! LMAO!
Anyways... like I said before: "I just want to share something other than the usual, 'the beauty is on the inside' bullcrap! "
i think notions of physical beauty or attractiveness are highly subjective and evolving, though there are definitely some clear aesthetic elements that people agree that they find beautiful even across different cultural contexts and time, such as symmetry, and of course the confidence thing plays an important role as well.
i think the point of the posters who have referenced WNTW is that very few people on this earth are the gold standard of beauty, if that were to exist. we're all in various stages of "getting there." we are given our lot, but there is a lot of leeway on how we're perceived based on how we present ourselves. so we may as well try and maximize and get the most out of what we've got to work with. and i think that's what the show tries to do: to help people realize their potential (in terms of physical appearance) and put their best foot forward. i agree that some of the stuff that stacy and clinton suggest can get repetitive, (the aforementioned jackets, v necks, etc.), and there are some definite misses (i won't even go into these), but by the same token, the elements they suggest work for a reason. they are basics that can improve almost everybody's appearance. and maybe that's the point. i do need to admit that i have a personal connection to this show and so i am somewhat biased, but i still stand by my underlying points.
Granted Stacy & Clinton don't know everything... else Stacy wouldn't have the godawful grey streak in her jet black hair. She's no Indira Gandhi! LMAO!
Uh, that's kinda mean. It's just what she's born with. Is she supposed to dye it so you don't have to see her god-awful natural hair?
I'm glad people are discussing this. I've seen the mention of "the ugly factor" before on here, and I know that it is a factor for some people. Sometimes, I think, attitudes and excuses are simply unchallenged thought processes, tapes that play over and over in our heads and that trip us up, and we maybe don't even know the right arguments to counter them. That's why it's important to throw them out there and let other people, with different thought processes, examine them.
Two examples of women who might look a bit more attractive (to me) with a little bit of extra weight (and I mean a little, not 50 lbs) would be Margaret Hamilton (the wicked witch in the 1939 Wizard of Oz) or Nancy Kulp (Jane Hathaway in the Beverly Hillbillies series).
I work with a woman like this. She has such a high metabolism that she is a petite XS without any effort. We're talking like 1% body fat, and she eats like a HORSE. Chocolate every day, huge bowls of pasta, puts away a pint of Ben & Jerry's once a week, gets a Frappuccino every Thursday etc. etc. Food is very important to her, is what I'm saying.
But she's got so little body fat that every time she bumps into something, she gets a horrible, dark red bruise. Just from a little bump. It's just how she was built, though. She's tiny, and her sister is tall and thick and looks not a single thing like her. Go figure.
Honestly, I don't think I'd trade metabolisms with her, even though mine's so sluggish. I wouldn't ever want to be *that* thin. It just looks unhealthy.
I'm sick of those wrap shirts, wrap dresses, V-Necks 'cause they lengthen you! You're right, everybody is the same!
