What will you DO today?
Author: erikanblair
Beauty is…celebrating role models
Beauty is completely trend driven and changes from region to region and we are all chasing unattainable goals.
In February 2014, ad exec turned fashion designer Carrie Hammer made waves when she paraded Role Models Not Fashion Models down her runway at New York’s fashion week.
After graduating from UCLA, Carrie began working as an advertising sales executive. Carrie found herself surrounded by men, and well-dressed men at that. She learned that her male colleagues all had their suits custom made, and given the lack of well-fitting contemporary work wear available to her, she decided to give their tailor a visit and have some dresses made for herself. The tailor informed her that they did not do women’s clothes and in fact, no one did. So she sought out smaller, independent tailors and started designing her own pieces. After turning more than a few heads in her custom ensembles, she decided she could meet the need for custom contemporary work wear for all women. And Carrie Hammer (the label) was born.
When it came time to look for models for her debut show in February 2014, she was less than thrilled. She couldn’t stand the thought of hiring underage models to show off her designs. “Usually people watch fashion week and they’re reminded of how they need to go on a cleanse. It’s crazy,” she said. It just didn’t seem right. After all, the clients that she made clothes for were role models. And then it hit her– she would use role models, not runway models in her show. She reached out to friends and clients that she thought would be perfect. Model casting? Done.
Her debut show was groundbreaking. The designs were beautiful, but they were outshone by the breathtaking models. The most talked about model of that first show was Dr. Danielle Sheypuk, a psychologist, activist, beauty queen, and first ever Fashion Week model who happens to be in a wheel chair.
Seeing Dr. Sheypuk on the runway inspired Karen Crespo to accept her own body in a new way. The 30 year old nurse had contracted bacterial meningitis a few years prior. She lived through two heart attacks, a 15 day coma, and the amputation of all of her limbs. After the surgery that saved her life but took her arms and legs, Crespo was in a dark place. She had unanswered questions and was having trouble accepting her new self as beautiful. But after seeing Dr. Sheypuk on the runway, she turned a corner. She reached out to Carrie Hammer, telling the designer her story and expressing her gratitude for Hammer’s inclusion of Sheypuk in her show. Hammer was impressed with Crespo and her story, the two bonded, and it wasn’t long before Crespo herself was working the runway at Hammer’s September show.
“I want people to know we can still be beautiful regardless of whether we’re an amputee or in a wheelchair,” Crespo said. “We can still rock the runway.”
Continue reading “Beauty is…celebrating role models”
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Beauty is…believing that you can do it.
She believed she could. So she did. And that is beautiful.
Meet Heather: blogger, entrepreneur/fan of alliterations, mother of four. And all around rock star.
She recently embarked on a journey to get healthy. Since starting her journey nearly 3 months ago, she has lost nearly 40 pounds and a whopping 70 inches! And she is only half way to her goal!
Now, obviously, she is looking great. But that is not the point.
Heather’s youngest kiddo is a toddler. In the not-so-distant past, he took off running down the street. And she. Couldn’t. Catch. Him.
Obviously, that was unacceptable to her. The thought that her son could be hurt because she physically couldn’t get to him was just not ok. So, she got to work. She made her health a priority. And it isn’t just her body that has changed, her whole outlook has shifted. Were as before, a trip to Disneyland might have seemed like more work than it was worth, she now looks forward to such trips. “I just started being more up for doing everything we like to do. Like going to the beach, Disney, whatever. It doens’t feel like such a schlep everywhere. I’m boosted with energy. The nutrition is amazing.”
Oh, and her little one? He can’t get away so easily anymore.
She believed she could. So she did. And that is beautiful.
Run and tell that
Happy Thought Thursday
A man found an eagle egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.
All his life, the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. He would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air.
Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in a cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.
The eagle looked up in awe. “Who’s that?” he asked. “That’s the eagle, king of the birds,” said his neighbor. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth– we’re chickens.”
So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that’s what he thought he was.
(Taken from Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality by Anthony DeMello and J. Francis Stroud)
Run and tell that
8 Things Women Should Actually Be Doing
And although we sometimes have to do things we don’t love, you should never feel like you HAVE to do some particular thing because you were born with a vagina.
Not too long ago, I happened upon this article floating around Facebook. I knew– I KNEW– I would not love it. But I clicked on it any way. It did not take long for the article to get me heated.
8 Things Women Just Don’t Do Anymore (that they should!)
Let’s start at the start, shall we? The title is, “8 Things Women Just Don’t Do Anymore (but should!)” Immediately I sensed this could potentially set us back decades. My mind was swimming with images of that article from the 1950s about how to be a “good” housewife. You know the one…
In the intro to her article, author Tara Carr seems to praise the ladies depicted in the movie Mona Lisa Smile, who went to college not for a degree but to find a man, “get married as soon as possible and put those Home Ec skills to good use!” She mentions that now it is ok to have a career and your own mind and “what not,” but encourages women to do at least some things the “old fashioned” way.
To delve into the “meat and potatoes of the article, lets play a little game of “she says, we say.”
Are you ready?
Continue reading “8 Things Women Should Actually Be Doing”
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Beauty is…in their eyes
Being a mom isn’t always glamorous.
(If you are a mom, chances are you literally just laughed out loud because being a mom is pretty much NEVER glamorous)
But that’s not to say that a mom doesn’t FEEL glamorous from time to time.
Meet Liam and Zak. These little cuties are aspiring actors. And this picture, taken during a recent photoshoot, makes their mom feel especially beautiful.
You see that light in their eyes? That’s what happens when they look at her.
Run and tell that
Beauty is…unapologetic
There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being apologetically herself
Run and tell that
Beauty is…walking away alive
Melissa has said that she wants her story to be heard, so that she might “make a difference in someone else’s life.”
(Trigger warning)
Melissa Schuster was unloading groceries from her car one Saturday afternoon when a blue Altima backed into her driveway. Londale Madison got out of the car and asked Melissa for money. After she told him she didn’t have any money to give him, she went into her house and locked her door. But Londale was persistent. He knocked on the door, again asking her for money. And again, Melissa refused. That is when he pushed the door open and attacked her. He hit her, forced her into the shower, raped her, and stabbed her 17 times. He then took her purse and her cell phone and left her for dead.
Melissa thought her last moments would be spent in that shower. Alone and scared, she remembers thinking, “This is it. I’m not going to make it. I’m gonna to die.”
“But then I told myself, ‘No, I’m not going to let this person overcome me.’” Melissa said.
“I was terrified, but I was not going to give up.”
She ran out of her house and made it to her neighbor’s door. “She was covered head to toe with blood,” the neighbor said. “My husband put a blanket around her and ran outside to see if he could find who had done this to her.”
Londale was found, arrested, and charged with one count of attempted first degree murder, one count of aggravated criminal sexual assault, one count of home invasion and one count of armed robbery–all are felony charges. If he is found guilty on all counts, he will be facing a maximum of 120 years in prison.
“I want to see him put away for a very long time,” Melissa said. And it is quite likely she will, as he has plead guilty to the crimes.
Though many media outlets typically do not release the names sexual assault victims, Melissa has said that she wants her story to be heard, so that she might “make a difference in someone else’s life.” When she was released from the hospital a week after the attack, she spoke with press, saying that the hope of helping others is part of her healing process.
Melissa said that the first time she looked in the mirror after the attack was heartbreaking, but then she “realized it’s just the beginning.”
“Talking about what happened is a relief, part of my recovery,” she said. “I have been talking about it since day one.”
She is strong.
She is inspiring.
She is hopeful.
She is beautiful.
And she won.
“I defeated him,” said Melissa. “He tried to take everything away from me but I won in the end. I did not give up.”
Run and tell that
Beauty is…the wisdom and time you give away
We are all struggling souls. And, for the most part, we are all doing the best we can with what we’ve got.
What we love most about this quote is the reminder that we are all “struggling souls.”
I’m not sure why judging each other– and ourselves– comes so easy to us. Were we born that way? Did we learn it? Did the dreaded monster “media” teach us? Whatever the reason it seems to be almost second nature. We often have to remind ourselves NOT to do it.
So here is another friendly reminder, from us to you. We are all struggling souls. And, for the most part, we are all doing the best we can with what we’ve got.
How will you share your wisdom and time today?
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Have Courage and Be Kind
Every day I am learning to be a little selfish. I think it is a trait a lot of good woman need. If for no other reason than to teach our daughters that their desires have worth and validity.
My girls and I watched the new Cinderella the other night. In the movie, Cinderella’s mother’s last words to her were, “Have courage, and be kind.”
Cinderella starts with the ‘be kind’ part. She is too kind. You know the story– she lets the step sisters and step mother walk all over her in the name of being kind. How often have you found yourself being taken advantage of, all the while thinking you were just being kind? Kind to the other person, sure. But not very kind to yourself.
That is where the ‘have courage’ part comes in. Courage comes in lots of forms. In it’s most obvious form, it is courage that allows us to stand up to someone that is hurting us, even if it is just to say, “Ouch. That hurts.”
Less obvious is the courage it takes to be kind to ourselves. To take time to do what you want to do for no other reason than you want to do it. Maybe this is more true for women than for men, but I can’t help but feel a little guilty when I put energy and effort into something that no one else will directly benefit from. I will be the only one gleaning pleasure. I will be the only one profiting. Women are often told that such actions are selfish. And perhaps they are.
Every day I am learning to be a little selfish. I think it is a trait a lot of good woman need. If for no other reason than to teach our daughters that their desires have worth and validity. They can say, “My desire to (fill in the blank) is enough to justify me doing (fill in the blank).” Nobody is allowed to call me ‘less than’ for doing what I desire. I can let the dishes sit in the sink while I write because I can let the dishes sit in the sink while I write. I don’t want to do the dishes right now. I want to write. My desire is more important than the dishes. (Sounds a bit silly when we put it that way, doesn’t it?)
The obvious limit here is when doing what you desire brings harm. But then we come back to kindness.
Ladies, do what you gotta do. Whatever that looks like. Take care of your responsibilities. But also, take care of you. Because you are beautiful and worthy and your desires are valid because they belong to you.
OperationalizeBeauty 