It's WHO WHAT WEAR WEDNESDAY!!!
So DISCLAIMER:
They aren't all gonna be dressy & glam...and I got a little inspired to tell you why in my post today...
Today we are snowed in. The kids schools are closed so I scrubbed out all day in my sweats! It felt so good to not have to get all dressed up. I showered...threw my wet hair in a messy bun and put on the most comfy clothes I could find.
My sweet baby gal Sparkly remembered what day it was and was so excited ...and said
"Mommy...Isn't it wardrobe wednesday!?!"
"yup"... I said halfway...
she replied with a "go get your camera and let me take your picture!"
So. I. did. (mind you--- I am in granny, velour, sweats and I only have on enough make-up so that the mr. doesn't ask me if I'm not feeling well).
While I have a few cute "wardrobe wed's" on reserve for days JUST.LIKE.THIS....she was so excited and I didn't want to explain to her that I didn't think I looked so pretty today.
I've been thinking alot about this lately...(the impact I have on her ever growing and developing self esteem). Why is it that we women are so dang hard on ourselves? I know I would NEVER, EVER say some of the the ugly, hurtful things that I secretly tell myself in the mirror to someone I love. So if I love myself...why do I say them to me?
A huge part of our own concept of womens beauty springs from what the media tells us (or shows us rather) is beautiful. We see adds of flawless, rail-thin, supermodels. They sell us everything from cosmetics to cars. But the truth is...these women themselves are not flawless...and often not as thin as they are made to look in print ads etc. Excessive airbrushing and photoshopping is what we have to compete with. As a photographer myself I know my way around photoshop. I used to joke around with my friends...I made no secrets that I could make myself a couple pounds lighter.
A couple of years ago I was editing my family photo for our Christmas card....my son came up (5 years old then) and I was slimming one of my legs down a bit. He thought that was super cool and wanted to know if I could make his head WAYYYYY bigger!!! Little boys are so funny. Later that night I laid in my bed and the HORRID thought occured to me "what if that had been my girl?" "What would that have done to her own self image?" I vowed right then to never edit myself that way again. I do still touch up blemishes etc....but I leave my body alone.
I LOVE Kate Winslett who dares to be herself...even speaking out ....being outraged even at being excessivly retouched.
She spoke about this GQ cover stating "I don't look like that and more importantly I don't desire to look like that! I actually have a polaroid that the photographer gave me on the day of the shoot... I can tell you that they've reduced my legs by about a third."
I also really love THIS little snippett from her Oprah interview where she says
"Nobody is perfect. I just don't believe in perfection. But I do believe in saying "This is who I am, look at me not being perfect. I'm proud of that!"
Okay....so here I am...look at ME not being perfect on Wardrobe Wednesday!
-velour pants??? i've had them for ages
-white oversized hoodie- target sale rack $4.00!!
-v-neck- old navy...I stock up on them every spring in every color! (when they are on sale of course!)
-SPLURGE- uggs! (a gift from mr. Quinn...I'm starting to see a pattern here!)
"I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and my soul knows very well."
Psalm 139:14
Also, If you have some extra time Starving Artist Ink has a very moving blog post about loving your imperfections.
You are so beautiful. How did I get so lucky....
ReplyDeleteI love this new blog! You look beautiful. You really could not look bad if you tried. I think a lot of that comes from the light inside you, it shines out and you can't stop it. you are a wonderful mama and beautiful on the inside and out! You are one of those natural beauties that I find look better the more un-put together you are. THAT is a gift...
ReplyDeleteMom...i'm the lucky one...love ya!
ReplyDeleteLeila...thank you! that made me smile! You are a natural beauty too!! I miss you!