The New America

Why is it that women who take the time and effort out of their daily lives to look beautiful each day are viewed as shallow? Fashion is an art of which those who practice must follow much stricter regiments. They are living and breathing in their art at all times and NEVER abandon it.

Does anyone find it ironic that we live in a country that is a pioneer in this industry.....

as well as this industry.....

????

This has been hot topic for me for several months. I love fashion and I love talking about healthy living. Yet I live in a country where these polar opposites are playing tug and war at me. The imbalance of living in a country where advertising makes eating high fat foods socially acceptable coupled with the pressure to be model thin, adds unnecessary stress for women here. Plus, let's not mention the fact that I'm Fun Bobby and it's really hard to fit in my 750ml glasses of wine in the daily calorie budget.

I will get to my hatred of the American food industry during another blog post. (Just to warn, sometimes I have the mind of a cranky 85 year old man....I'm just very opinionated, and have literal tolerance for stupidity...) But, let's talk fashion. Afterall, it's New York Fashion Week. And I would MUCH rather be there than stuck in my dreadful office surrounded by a bunch of accountants who wouldn't ever dream of spending $2500 on a fabulous Chanel bag. Not to mention one of my coworkers who asked me why I was into horseshoes....it's COCO CHANEL people!! Okay so back to the fashion. I'm not going to talk about designers or the hottest trends out there. I mean I myself find that hard to keep track of. But, I am going to talk about being a good woman. You might think, with a name like Fun Bobby that I don't know what it means to be a good woman. Well, I do, yes I do. Okay, so let's talk about the female roll. I once had a guy say to me that he valued a girl who would look great in a tshirt and jeans over a girl who needed to get dressed up to look good. This statement has bothered me for months. There are so many things wrong with it, and perhaps it has a lot to do with men not understanding what women want. Why is it that women who take the time and effort out of their daily lives to look beautiful each day are viewed as shallow while other women who do not groom themselves in this regimen but enjoy an art show about once or twice a week/month are viewed as more respected and intellectual? People do not realize that both types of women are often quite similar. Fashion is an art of which those who practice must follow much stricter regiments. They are living and breathing in their art at all times and NEVER abandon it. This comment upset me because I wanted the guy to realize that maybe I'm not dressing up for men. Maybe I'm dressing up for ME. I enjoy the way I feel in my dresses and make up, and quite frankly it is one of the few creative outlets I have in my life. I have visions of certain looks and styles, and in a world where daily life can be mundane for an adult, it's nice to have my wardrobe to look forward to. I don't think that you should EVER judge someone for trying to make the world a little bit more beautiful. I think I'm valid in saying that I'm a smart woman, and the fact that I can carry on the demanding life I have, continuously grow my career, all while taking that extra time in my day to actually LOOK NICE says a lot about my hard work ethic.

Here is a quote I love from the movie The Devil Wears Prada:

"I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? I think we need a jacket here. And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room."

This leads me into my next major point. Why don't more people groom themselves for their jobs???? It drives me insane at work. I believe that looking put together is a sign of respect. Maybe it's because I am half Japanese, but I have a clear sense of formal and nonformal and there are many more things in my formal category than most people I know. I know many people who show up to work much less than put together. I don't get it. This is your job....your professional job!! I once had a girl at work come up to me and tell me in an almost jealous tone that my hair always looks so nice and she just puts her hair up in a pony tail because it is so much work to do her hair. Um...do you think I just woke up like this, girl? No, I didn't. I just take the time out of my day to style and do my hair. Even if it means I get less sleep every night. It's not a hard equation: time + effort= well put together person. I bet you anything that if she actually put that time and effort into doing her hair, it would actually take her less time than it takes me (I have more hair than anyone I know I believe, it's a pain!).

Lastly, many of you may be thinking. Well, why do we even care about this materialistic crap? It's so shallow. Trust me, I hear ya. One thing I've learned though, is that we are all human and thus we are all visual. Whether or not you admit it, you will judge me on my appearance first. Let's take two scenarios. The girl dressed in mismatched/faded/out of style clothing vs. the girl dressed very sleek, feminine, and yet appropriate. Both women are very smart and both land a brilliant interview. Who would you pick to hire? The woman who seems out of touch with the world and others around her, or the woman who is just as smart, enjoyable to look at, and is definitely in tune with the ever changing world around her. I think the answer is pretty clear. Fashion is an accessory, you definitely need to work on your inner self and intellect, but fashion is still a very important package to being a well rounded, highly valued woman. Plus, if you can do all that AND hold your own liquor like Fun Bobby, then you are the PERFECT woman.