Glamour

Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.
-- Hedy Lamarr

Other people shroud themselves in glamour. An elite segment of society with the money to buy the latest styles moves about the cities we live in. And, of course, the stars of the silver screen, television, and music often lead the trends.

Some drugs are glamorized by fashion and film images. Consider the classic dame with a cigarette in the black and white elegance of film noir. The romantic picture of a beautiful couple having a drink in modern ads equates with satisfaction in love.

The illusion can become delusion, a cloud, a dream that we seek but can never achieve. If we sense the hollow underneath that vision, we may crash in reality. In fact, some women do that every day when they look in the mirror.

If she has internalized the fashionable images, a woman's work can become partly an attempt to recreate herself according to an image that she's received from cultural icons. And if she succeeds, she attracts people who are attracted to the illusion. Fear of being seen for who she is becomes an integral part of her sense of identity.

What is not obvious is that glamour is hard work. It seems to equal fun and excitement, but at what cost, what amount of effort?

We can own the power that we give to the "look" by trusting to our own standards. Some women reclaim that territory (or never give it up in the first place) by playing with the elements of style to create their own parade. One of these women may throw a boa around her neck, don an old-fashioned hat, put glitter on her eyelids -- for fun. Because she wants to decorate herself, not because she thinks she has to do it in order to be valuable.

More on Fashion and Glamour:

Fashion and Glamour
Fashion
Color Grid
Fashion Grid
Fashion Profiles

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