Last Monday, I was strolling home from a lovely chat with some friends and saw a tall, colt like, almost gangly young woman heading towards me, dressed spot on what I'm loving at the moment: hard/soft, masculine/feminine. Split second impression. Should I stop her? Do I have time?
I asked if she'd pose & she sweetly said yes. Lovely lovely girl - not conventionally pretty, gap in her teeth.. not at all like the countless of perfectly pretty posh girls I see in our part of town. Once again: the moment I snapped, there was something about her pose.. 'Are you a model?' Yes. Of course. She is Lydia Beesley, from Storm.
So I went online this morning - because she'd given me her card & I promised to get in touch - and I couldn't find her on the Storm site. There was a Lydia, but that girl looked nothing like her. But wait: it IS her!
(Thank you to Storm, who have unwittingly let me borrow these two shots: this gorgeous one is by Andrew Vowles).
I've been thinking a lot lately about beauty, and how hard we are on ourselves (women, I mean, altho, disturbingly, sometimes guys, too), and we were talking yesterday at the Cupcake Convention about people that get 'work' done.. but if I start banging on about it now, Mr. Dot will go to the cinema without me, and I'll be in BIG trouble.
Just curious: is there anyone out there who is perfectly happy with their appearance the way they are? Is there anything you'd change? WOULD you actually change it, tho, or would you just like it to be different?
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17 comments:
I personally don't think that there's anybody out there who is perfectly content with how they look...we're just not made that way, i guess. We should just all not get too wrapped up in it. What's the point? You change the thing you dislike, you'll most definitly find something else that bothers you.
To answer the question: I have some things I'd like changed but I don't think I will ever have anything done.
This is a refreshingly lovely blog, by the way...
I replied to you on my blog but I am still chuckling over the thought of a Mr Dot blog!!
I spent half my life wanting a nose job, then I guess just one day I decided I didn't want to have somebody elses face. I mean how scary would it be to look in the mirror and see a differnt face! Of couse I would love to be a bit trimmer and a few inches taller, but to be honest I am pretty happy just being me (albe it in sky high wedges). I am sure even Giselle has fat days x
totally with you on that pearl. i too spent much of my adolescent years wishing there was a different nose on the middle of my face. it is literally the exact same as my dads... we also have identical hands (seriously, we are hand twins, it it wild). anyway, but now i'm fine with it. there are certainly days when i wake up and think 'oh my gosh, i am looking so beautiful' and some days when i wake up and i think, 'oh my gosh, i am a hideous beast' (uhh... mood swings anyone??). people that i know that have had work done have gotten totally sucked in and just keep wanting more... how horrible to wake up looking like post-surgery heidi montag and look like a totally different person. i don't think i would get any work done... especially not at this stage in my life, and not on any of my permanent features (i.e. wrinkles and post baby saggy boobs could possibly be an exception... too much info?)
good post jill. very thought provoking. i absolutely adore her dress and that bag! xx
I love that dress and jacket combo, like you said, edgy yet soft...
The only thing I have really ever thought seriously about changing was my breast size - and then mostly because I have my family's luscious hips and I am much more a fan of hourglass looks than pear... lol But I actually went online and saw before and after pictures of breast augmentation and realized that though my breasts are small, they are pretty! I never realized how blessed I was until I had a real comparison (which makes me feel a little shallow, but oh well). And I think I would be paranoid that it would look fake or unnatural... I think women grow out of wanting to change things. There are always exceptions of course; my best friend will have several surgeries at some point and has even been saving up for it - but mostly I think we realize at some point that we were specially made, unique, different and beautiful in our own way. I find that meeting anyone who loves (not cocky or full of themselves) themselves as is, is really beautiful. :)
I love the print on that dress so much, it is perfect. There isn't one thing about me that I even remotely like, but despite having the lowest self confidence out of anyone I know, I don't think I could change anything for fear that a) I'd never feel happy with my appearance no matter how much money I spent on it, and b) it would all go horribly wrong and I'd end up maimed/dead! I also find it somewhat cringey meeting people who really do love themselves, but that's probably because I'm jealous.
if you get a minute, please check out my blog at leather, lace and studs. my 200th follower receives a gift from my wardrobe :)
She has a very unusual face, and she looks so different when she models! I really like her lace up boots.
I'm quite happy with my appearance, sometimes I wish there weren't the acne scars on my face, but I know they will fade with time. Also sometimes I wish my legs were skinnier (I have quite athletic calfs, unusual since I am really not sporty!), but I've learnt to accept them after a long time.
S
http://notjustmedical.wordpress.com
Wow she looks very different without her make-up..very unusal face it has to be said. You can tell that she is a model!
I personally dont think too much about those things..obv i think that everyone hates something about their own body, we are our own worst critic as they say, but you have what you have! No point over analysing it or thinking too much about what you wish you had or what you don't have..
Just learn to love and appricate what you do have and so will other people :)
Love this blog btw.. I saw it advertised in a magazine and had to check it out!
xxxx
www.thegenieswand.blogspot.com
I think a vast amount of people, particularly women, would change their appearance given the chance. I think our problem is, we're constantly comparing ourselves to each other. More and more pressure is constantly piled upon us with all this media hype on 'perfect', but what is perfect? They paint this picture, which ultimately, no one knows what it looks like. It's either too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall.
I think we all need to learn how to be proud of our inheritance and really think how boring a place this would be if we all looked the same!
x
http://ThroughRoseTintedSpectacles.blogspot.com
She's so unique looking! That last picture is perfection.
I think every woman struggles with her appearance. My mom was telling me about a bible study she was at recently where there were women from age 20-60 at all different weights and appearance-levels, and they all had exactly the same concerns! Ironically, it was the older women who tended to be more comfortable in their own skin, even if they weren't as "beautiful" as they had been in their 20s. It's really more of an internal issue than an external one, which makes me feel better when I find myself nitpicking at my flaws!
Robyn
ChiChiSaysRobyn.blogspot.com
I very much appreciate seeing unconventional-looking models. I'm tired of cookie-cutter everything. Lydia is strikingly beautiful.
Wow, what a question...an excellent one!
Of course, we always say we'd change this or that about our appearance, but the reality is, by the time you reach a certain age (40s...?? you (hopefully) kind of accept, or even embrace, the things that used to bug you about your looks. For me, it was always my nose and fine hair. Now, I wouldn't change those things at all.
I suppose I'd like to be taller. Not tall, just...well, taller than 5'2". That would be nice- much more practical, too. :)
What about you, J?
P.S.
J, I didn't mean "have you done anything to change your appearance" (and as for me, I'm not sayin'!)...I meant are you content w/ your appearance, or is there anything you'd change?
I have one more: I'd like a normal size foot! At size 5 (35), it's damn tricky finding shoes sometimes. I do manage (quite well- too well sometimes!) but there are those that don't come in 5 that I pine over.
This is really a great topic.
Wow she's so flexible!
My greatest personal struggle and groath is accepting what I look like, who I am, and how people perceave(sp?) me. I have come so far but have a picture in my head and heart as to how I want to feel and live my life on a daily bacis when it comes to subjects such as this.
I may never reach my goal....but I will enjoy pushing my self to be a better person not only for me but for those who love me.
Today I can say that I am imperfict and that is exactly where I need to be.
It's odd how often this question comes up when I'm chatting to friends, girlfriends in particular. I always find it very hard to answer, mainly because I would genuinely say I'm perfectly happy with how I look.
At about 18 I realised there was no point in wishing bits of me were different, I might as well just accept myself as I am (and work on the whole ‘personality’ side of things instead), from there to being happy with how I look has been easy. I should probably add it's not as if I'm some 6ft model, I'm pretty much 5ft nothing but attractive and slim - which I imagine helps with being fine with how I look. But therein lies the problem, the pressure is always on to find something to complain about, nobody likes a boaster, especially not in England. I think if it were more okay and even something to be admired to be happy and proud of how you looked it would be a hell of a lot easier.
I guess it’s human nature, I imagine if I read this post I’d immediately check the blog and see what it was that made this person think they were so great…
Just my thoughts on the whole thing.
I remember wanting new legs in my teens after moving to South Africa, where weirdly every girl at school seemed to have perfectly shaped tanned ones! A few years later I suddenly felt so convicted- "I have 2 healthy legs that work!". It may have also had something to do with dumping a very critical boyfriend... I now have a great husband who loves me just as I am and all 3 of my sons find my stretch marked tummy fascinating (the twin pregnancy really sealed that one!). I first noticed the lines around my eyes just before turning 30 last year. I immediately rushed out to buy some age delay cream and vowed to drink more water, but actually I think it's so amazing to watch age take it's course xx
http://brightonstylememos.blogspot.com/
I love Lydia's look, it's so refreshing. So many models look the 'same' to me.
I had my nose changed aged 28 & it helped my confidence enormously, I wished I had it done aged 18. However I had always thought that I was unattractive but when I look back at the photographs now I can see that I wasn't, my husband's framed office photograph is of me pre nose job! Maybe we should have self confidence classes in school? Nowadays I just try to make the best of what I have.
This is fascinating, rather than address you individually: thank you collectively!
I'd tried posting a comment & it disappeared! I might just have to do a post on it.. yeah, think I'll just have to do a post on it!
The short version tho is I'm AMAZED at how much self awareness women have - often so young, too. I've noticed the older we get, the happier we are in our own skin (in general).
I'm just wondering.. because we know not all women feel this way, or there wouldn't be all the botox etc - so it is just that the people who read this blog are happier with their appearance than the general population? Or just the ones who comment?
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