Hello Everyone! One of my absolute favorite parts of fashion is the ad campaigns. They stamp onto bus stops and taxi cabs and poster the windows of stores. They show off the designers’ taste and look for the season while remaining true to the story line of the collection. Every collection evokes some sort of era or time period intermixed with trends and stand out colors and prints stemming from the designers’ inspiration. Not only are the ads fabulous and one of the reasons why I love reading fashion magazines, but they also capture the idealistic beauty of a woman.

However, although I am infatuated with the whole idea of the ad campaign side of the fashion industry, many times, they set a false standard of “perfection.” There are not many women out there who fit the model ideal of height or thinness but, because their images are everywhere, we have the illusion that there are many women like this and we are simply not measuring up. Stars are starting to really embrace loving your own body. Beyoncé, my all-time favorite singer, is at the forefront of making women feel beautiful. I love her song, “Pretty Hurts,” because it is addressing the pressure women feel about themselves and celebrates inner beauty.

This drives me to question the whole idea of “perfection.” I actually don’t think it is the proper word to describe beauty. I much prefer unusual or striking. Striking is probably the highest compliment; it shows off confidence and radiant beauty. The fact that so many girls and women are comparing themselves to Victoria Secret Models is ridiculous. I love reading about them and watching their shows but they are the angels for a reason; they are larger than life. Much of fashion is. It is painting a world for us to drift into. That is my favorite part about fashion. You can transform into anyone you want to be while staying true to your character all at the same time.

I hate hearing that women compare themselves to models, when the models are simply taking on the fantastical world the designer is trying to create. It isn’t real, they are purely trying to evoke the art form that inspired their designs, yet we question our own figures. You are hardest on your own body. But all everyone sees is the personality that translates into your appearance. Being comfortable in your own skin is the most striking. I love to see confident people, women that speak up. Fashion is one of the boldest and most effective ways to display your character and embrace your figure and personality all at once. There are two ways to look at ads. You can look to see the flaws in yourself, or you can imagine yourself in the clothes on the runway, to love what the designer is doing, and try to translate the feel of the collection onto your own body. Ad campaigns are there to create a fantastical world within the pages of the magazine however they do not reflect upon the everyday woman, they reflect on our fantasies of worlds unknown. Remember when seeing these ads that they are not real and not intended for comparing yourself to but are instead there to spark interest in fashion and the world designers are constantly trying to construct around them.

xoxo,

Cecilia Roses