Can We Talk: We're More Than Fashion!

A couple of days ago I was reading the February 2010 issue of Marie Claire, and after I finished I felt overwhelmed. I had gone through such a mixture of emotions and feelings while reading the issue. Initially, I felt only excitement about the clothes, shoes, accessories that I viewed that are going to inspire and elevate my spring/summer wardrobe. There were shoes that took my breath away, dresses that I could live in for weeks, and accessories that made me seriously try to rationalize why I, a graduate school student, should be fine with spending $1000 on single pieces of couture costume jewelry. In contrast, by the end of the issue I felt sad, smarter, more aware, and empowered. My initial feelings need no further explanation but I'm sure you're wondering why I was experiencing the later emotions. Well, as I finished the reading the magazine I realized that for perhaps the second time in my life that magazines geared towards fashion are soooooo much more than look books into the coming season's trends. Fashion magazines provide style AND awareness.

 In this single issue of Marie of Claire I was sad because I was touched by an article written by a woman who has struggled with PTSD and depression due to the brutal murder of her sister when she was an adolescent. You just never know what people are struggling with and that some wounds, especially when left untreated, can take years to heal.

I became smarter after reading the article on Lori Gottlieb's, who authored Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough, written to make sure that women know the difference between being too picky and settling (because all of the attention and chasing that occurs in your 20s won't be around in your 40s!).

I was more aware after reading the article on a product that women can use to appear to still be virgins. This product is geared towards women living in countries like Egypt, Syria, and followers of Islam. As many of you know, virginity is very sacred in certain countries and in Islam, and if a woman does not bleed on her wedding night she will be believed to not be a virgin, and the consequences for that can include being beaten or killed. The product is inserted into the woman's vagina and adheres to the cervix. During sex it's punctured and a blood-like fluid is released so that the sheets can be stained, as the woman's hymen as been broken for the first time.

I was empowered after reading an article on Marine Corps Sergeant Ronda Porter, a tough as nails drill/sergeant instructor who is highly respected in her profession. At work she's the bitch you love to hate, and who you probably think is a lesbian who hates all men, but outside of her job she is happily married (her husband is also in the marines) and loves to dress very feminine. She's rough and tough, but she maintains her highlights and is an advocate for lip gloss. A woman who can intimidate men until they're in tears and physically sick all while her lip gloss is poppin...now that's a F***in lady!

I was also empowered by the magazine issue as a whole. People think that women who care a lot about fashion don't care about much else, especially important and global issues, and of course THIS IS NOT TRUE! Just because speaking about my newest designer handbag crush gives me butterflies, doesn't mean my mind is far from what really matters in life or what's going on in the world. It doesn't mean that I'm an airhead, that all of my money is spent on clothes and looking good, or that I'm living in bubble.  Can't I can have my Tory Burch satchel AND still discuss world affairs and advocate for human rights? I'm quite sure I can! And as all true fashionistas know, fashion is about more than just clothes, trends and style, it is also about self-expression, independence, and art. 

Sidenote 1: Over a year ago I was on a date and the guy actually said that the more well dressed and stylish a woman looks, the more likely she is to not know how to save, or is in debt, and/or can't afford to live on her own (as in have her own place). And since I am definitely not a shabby dresser I immediately took offense since his philosophy basically applied to me. I set him straight and of course that was the first and LAST date (it was overall a wack date in anyway). Fashionista does not equate to being broke, just as it does not equate to being an airhead or unaware of what's going on in the world.

Sidenote 2: It's funny, but I really don't know how it came to be that I have been receiving Marie Claire for free for the past four or five months. I must have won some sort of contest but I don't remember!

There are people who have money and people who are rich.

--Coco Chanel

WHAT DO YOU THINK?