Part One: Beauty is subjective

“The absence of flaw in beauty is itself a flaw.” - Havelock Ellis

'Beauty' is a concept central, in my opinion, to the essence of fashion. Whether we acknowledge it or not, it is undeniable that fashion and the way we dress is a form of semiotics. It is, although at times subconscious, a materialistic extension of ourselves for the world to see. At its rawest form fashion is merely a functionality, but look past that inherent first layer and you see the empowering statements and ideas fashion can embody.

At a grass roots level what we wear can project how we wish to be seen. For example, a man working in the city wishes to wear a clean cut and well fitting suit in order to appear professional and dominant, a key factor in business. Equally fashion can express our identity and personality, it can be an insight to our culture, how we see ourselves and even a way of hiding and protecting our true selves.

Equally, one of the most important roles fashion plays in our society today is undeniably that of enhancing our 'beauty'. We all wish to find clothing that enhances the parts of us that we believe to be our most flattering and attractive. Yet the journey through understanding fashion and how it is used starts with understanding our concept of 'beauty' as a whole.

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it" - Confucius

I recently read an article, in the September issue of Elle (UK) Magazine, entitled 'why i love imperfect women - one man explains why he loves the bits you hate' by Walter Kirn. The article stood out to me as it provided a message so dearly needed in our society today, where such great pressures are put on us all from a young age to conform to one ideal of 'beauty'. Indeed this comes before even thinking of how we ought to dress, therefore is our starting point in this discussion.

Although admittedly I did find his article somewhat too broad, with some rather flippant comparisons, the essential idea was of great value. As such I thought it would be easiest to include a few snippets that I particularly found to be of importance:

"In the story, Cinderella goes unnoticed until her appearance is transformed to match little girls' ideal of loveliness, which they grow up believing is little boys' ideal of loveliness, too. This belief is wrong..."

It is a sad fact that the media perpetuate a singular vision of beauty, that we are all told we must achieve in order to be attractive and feel good about how we look. We are constantly bombarded with products and advertisements to nip and tuck, and to make us look far better than we ever could naturally. However this is where the story of Cinderella comes into its own: she always was that beautiful!

She was dirty and unkempt at first, but after being cleaned up and 'at her best' she was worthy of being a princess. What the story means to me is that we all have beauty inside us, whether others recognise it or not. All we need is that chance to sparkle, and that really does not require a Fairy Godmother and a glass slipper. The chance to sparkle for me is simply a state of mind and, similar to Cinderella, a 'clean up'. As long as we are comfortable and confident in who we are, we can look amazing in rags or dressed up for the Ball. Everyone has the chance to shine within their grasp, the hard part is taking it.

"To me, it comes down to Los Angeles versus Paris. In LA, a lot of the women have nothing wrong with them - but nothing particularly right about them, either. [...]

In Paris, which I first visited in my twenties, the situation was opposite. On that trip I sat at a cafe near the Louvre, watching the French women walk by. As they strolled past, what loomed were their protruding noses, conspicuous ears and overly broad shoulders. I noted their formidable posteriors, or their lack of posteriors, or their squat or boyish physiques. What lingered when they vanished, however, was their heartbreaking seductiveness.

They came in all shapes and sizes, but rarely in the standard ones. Until I saw them, I hadn't realised how many ways there are for women to be themselves - their best and most enchanting selves. I'd been living in the one dimension - on the surface of the TV screen, the catalogue page."

Obviously how one is attracted to a person physically is of importance, on par with personality and character. However what I liked about his story here was that for him the Parisian women were far more comfortable with who they were and how they looked. They were evidently not as self conscious and more secure than many of the other women he had seen. We all obviously have body woes, regardless of how attractive others find us, however it is in confidence of ourselves that we truly excel.

"I have never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful" - Unknown

The contemporary 'ideal' of beauty is a constantly changing and evolving concept, and these ideals are influenced by a great number of sources, which I hope to later explore. However what always remains is that regardless of how beautiful a person is, this beauty is not really seen until they see it within themselves. The pressures to look a certain way are highlighted in Kirn's story by the 'LA woman', constantly trying to look 'perfect', that in the end they are almost forgetable. It is indeed our flaws and quirks that make us stand out and that attract people to us. Similarly it is our confidence and character that keeps people attracted to us. The thing to remember is that beauty is subjective, it is a great person that can appreciate beauty in things they themselves find unattractive.

Hopefully the message here is that we are all beautiful, we just need to realise it.

"Give me an girl with a beautiful 'flaw', a girl with curves and confidence. I'll take 'real' girl any day" ( - Dapper Kid, if you will)

In the next few posts I wish to continue looking more specfically into fashion, the trends, and comment more on the 'ideal' beauty.

Currently playing: Fallen Angel - Chris Brown

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