#the beauty industry preys on people's insecurities

[allsadnshit]

I hate the plastic surgery industry and how it preys on insecure women and then gives them false solutions like modifying their bodies to fit beauty standards instead of helping people understand they are beautiful and unique as they are and I hate the currently popular narrative that it's ignorant to be against plastic surgery like fillers and Botox because it's actually "empowering" to do what you want with your body even if it's an obvious direct reflection of toxic beauty standards that are also often rooted in oppression and discrimination

It's not coincidence what types of noses or face changes are popular and there's nothing empowering about 18 year olds getting cosmetic surgeries to look like a made up perfect version of themselves instead of being helped to embrace their bodies as they are and the faces and features they have

If it's fucked up for me to say everyone looks better without veneers and butt implants and Botox then I will happily be fucked up - everyone can do what they want but I will not support it or treat it like a kindness that it's becoming normalized and celebrated

[yuri-for-businesswomen]

Your opinion on plastic surgery?

critical of it. the industry creates and profits from insecurities and preys on mentally ill and vulnerable people, especially women of all ages. its often a superficial fix for societal problems (impossible and harmful beauty ideals and the importance of physical attractiveness in general) and individual problems (body dysmorphia, gender dysphoria, low self-esteem, trauma, etc). its addicting, especially the injections. i know from my own experience that these things dont alleviate deep-rooted issues in the long run and once youre hooked its difficult to stop.

i dont judge anyone who gets plastic surgery (it would be hypocritical considering my own choices) but i do hate those #proudplastics (women who brag about having had plastic surgery done). and i do worry about its rise.

when i was young, it was rare to see anyone who had obvious procedures done, now its everywhere: social media, advertising, shows and movies, and even just on regular people. anytime i go outside i see several people - women in the very most cases - who have injections or (im good at spotting those) nosejobs, eyelid surgery, and i have even seen some bbls. while i understand that celebrities are under enormous pressure to adhere to beauty ideals and even set new standards, i do think that women like kim k and ariana who were already objectively gorgeous but still had so many procedures done are a part of the problem. i consider plastic surgery to be a social contagion.

i think before and after photos and videos should be banned from the web entirely and plastic surgeons should not be allowed to advertise on social media. the only good thing is that procedures done by a certified doctor are not a big health risk, but due to the popularity a lot of women go to sketchy doctors because they couldnt afford it otherwise, which has already cost lives. a lot of plastic surgeons should be shot because they operate on people who are clearly mentally unstable or it poses a huge health risk.

im not against it entirely but it should be a last resort and generally discouraged and thats the opposite of what we are witnessing at the moment. im super worried about the development of normalisation and how this is affecting already toxic beauty standards.

#ask #mine #anti beauty industry

[scottishgremlin]

Arc of a Scythe and Beauty Part 1: Age

i find it really interesting that even in the anti-dystopian world of scythe, there’s still a fixation on youth, despite everyone being immortal.

from a purely functional point of view, turning corners makes sense. your body will deteriorate as you age. but that begs the question, can nanites not aid with this? and they can - cirrus tells rowan he’ll need nanite infusions towards the end of their 107 year journey.

so is corner turning purely for vanity, like in scythe alighieri’s case? i believe a lot of aspects of the world of scythe are answers to things people want in our society, wether minor or major. splatting. nanites. the corner turning industry.

i also think at least some part of the whole corner turning thing is a commentary on today’s anti-aging industry. the anti-aging industry is valued at around 67.2Mil USD and is concerningly targeting younger and younger demographics, preying on their insecurities. the latter reminds me of the man from whom goddard seizes the mansion in scythe telling goddard they were working on technology to turn people back even younger, even the teens. rowan is right - who in their right mind would want to be a teenager more than once?

but these people clearly aren’t in their right mind. scythe alighieri has turned so many corners that his natural facial structure has eroded; citra describes him as grotesque-looking. this is reminiscent of celebrities with botched botox/cosmetic surgery. despite all his ‘work’ for beauty, scythe alighieri is ultimately not given the respect he thinks it warrants him. this is the same in the anti-aging industry. no matter how much surgery you get or treatments you use, you will age. it’s what you were build to do. you will never feel good enough or beautiful enough, not unless you take the time to work on yourself mentally.

scythe alighieri is vain but this is revealed to be hiding a great shame, the shame of never granting immunity after the newhope (i think) gleaning. his obsession over ‘beauty’ is a distraction from all of the guilt he feels. when not out of pressure to do so, i believe this is a major player in what drives people to get beauty treatments done. it’s so much easier to focus your energy and insecurity on something with visible markers, where ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ are so clearly labelled and encoded with moral connotations.

in the world of aoas, people turn corners, physically getting younger and younger, while their ‘real’ youth is wasted as they do not have any real motivation to strive for anything. in our world, youth is squandered over worries of aging and insecurity.

perhaps our worlds aren’t so different, because in both, we’re still human.

for a book on beauty standards and the beauty and wellness industry, you should read natural beauty by ling ling huang.

thanks for reading, feel free to rb/reply with any thoughts :)

#arc of a scythe #murder rambles #scythe analysis #beauty industry #anti aging industry

[ohshitthisbloghasothercolors]

"The cosmetics industry preys on people's insecurities" and "No one should be forced to or expected to wear makeup in order to gain/maintain employment" and "makeup can be an artistic medium for self expression" and "makeup can be worn in ways that subvert and challenge beauty standards" are all thoughts that can, do, and should coexist.

#makeup

[shecomeswithteeth]

Are you anti plastic surgery. As in every form to be specific

to preface we’re all just doing what we can to live happy lives in our society. i acknowledge people get plastic surgery for many reasons, be it for wanting to be seen as beautiful or because they were in some kind of freak accident and want a semblance of normalcy again, but i do not have to agree with some of those reasons. more under the cut because this is a long one!

i think there should not even be a system that encourages plastic surgery for vanity in the first place, yet there is. and people can make their choice at the end of the day, and learn from it if it affects them both positively or negatively. bella (gigi?) hadid herself has gone on record to say that she wishes she still had her old nose, which is so important for women and girls like me who grew up with a nose that wasnt considered traditionally feminine… it is a removal of diversity so that people can fit the cookie cutter mold of this western idea of beauty, and, dare i say, exaggerated gender stereotypes. and because of this i would argue that many forms of plastic surgery for vanity’s sake has white supremacist or at the very least colorist roots.

plastic surgery for this group of people serve as a solution to the problem of insecurity, but it isnt a very good one. what is good is the abolishment of systems that prey on existing insecurities of women and girls and even come up with new ones they can profit off of. women and girls need to know that they can be above all of this, and be happy, or at the very least content with how they look and that there is nothing wrong with it, lest they become *addicted* to plastic surgery (a very real phenomenon). i would go deeper into the dissociative separation of the mind and body that permits and justifies this type of plastic surgery, but i am not quite yet confidently versed in the ins and outs of that philosophy; or at least, not confident to talk about it with my full chest. but ultimately, we are all affected by the beauty industry whether we like it or not, and to progress and become better for yourself, we must feel uncomfortable and work through that discomfort. radical feminism has allowed me to finally be at peace in this regard.

i had a friend that had nose surgery because of breathing problems, and it completely changed the shape of her nose, and while she wanted it both for breathing problems and vanity, the health problems definitely trump anything else i would say. and even then, im not going to go up to people that have had minor work done and tell them i disagree with their actions. thats just not going to happen lol.

as for victims of accidents, i have much less to say about that because what happened to them was just that: an accident, the result of an outside force be it a force of nature or someone else. as someone who has had horrible burns before i sympathize with burn victims who go through specialized surgeries to recreate their faces as accurately as possible. such a jarring shift in ones life, god, i cannot imagine. same for acid attack victims, who are often attacked in the first place because they rejected a man, or who dared to commit the crime of simply being a woman.

my opinions on this have been formed by the values that i hold very dear to myself: self discipline, personal growth and development, and nonconformity. so i wont say anyone who disagrees with me is wrong, just that we have different experiences that have informed our views over time. i should also add that im an older sister, so i have a few little shits looking up to me for guidance and support. i have to be a good role model for them and, despite wanting plastic surgery when i was younger, show my deeply insecure sister that things can and will change for her. that she is not alone, that we’re all going through it… that no matter what, makeup and plastic surgery isnt necessary for her to be beautiful, and eventually beauty isnt necessary to be happy at all.

yes, some people’s quality of life improve because of plastic surgery but the entire concept, i think, is abysmal and dystopian. how cruel that we must cut ourselves up to be happy, when we could just be, or learn to be. but again, everyone genuinely considering plastic surgery are probably grown adults that can make their own decisions, im not going to manually approve or disprove every minute reason someone has for wanting to get surgery. so go crazy because i cant stop anyone from doing what they really want to, i can just post my opinions on my silly womanblog and hope it resonates with the few that read this.

#ask #radblr #terfblr #radical feminism #radfem #terf #terf safe #terfs please interact #plastic surgery #beauty industry #makeup #misogyny #long

[everything-is-crab]

Posts like this are why I don't engage with radblr anymore. Or basically any community dominated by white people.

Look at the notes. It's filled with mostly "sex based oppression is real" as if most misogynists and feminists in India don't already know this. But since some Western feminists or from other countries don't, it's important to them to tokenize our struggles so they gain a point in their political debates. I have said this a hundred times before but it's obvious how they see us as nothing but tokens. They call TRAs racist for preying on the insecurities of woc due to beauty standards imposed on us and for ignoring our oppression as women, but they do the same thing with us. They see some issue unique to a specific community of poc? They try to fit it in their arguments against the libfems. Unlike issues that they face as well, like domestic abuse, prostitution and porn. On which they write very well researched and elaborate posts. But they're completely lazy when it comes to woc especially the ones living in the global south. And that leads to their racist and classist behavior.

As for trans people- they always try to get back at radfems by saying "terfs will look at these women and say they're men" or whatever when they see a woc talk about her own issues or even when she's simply breathing, as if it doesn't cross their own mind how they say the same thing when they go "transphobia is racist" as if woc are some third gender and as if trans poc do not experience any other meaningful oppression that's distinguishable from racism 🙄

Second of all- it's obvious many of them are racist but don't explicitly express it but some on this post did-

It's so obvious that in the second screenshot what that person means by "cultures with such barbaric practices" is "brown savages". This is blatant racism. But when I pointed out on my other post how white radfems are incapable of forming any meaningful solidarity with woc if they only focus on misogyny and not racism (which most of them are guilty of) I received my first racist backlash on here. Even many woc themselves did this. But I already talked about how woc on here are like the kind of woc who take racism seriously but not sexism in order to gain validation by moc, except it's vice verse in this case. You guys can't comprehend and accept that everytime white women try to talk about issues exclusive to any race that's not white, even if it's from a "feminist" pov, then they very likely have a racist mindset behind their words, whether it's intentional or subconscious.

Anyways, nothing about this is "cultural". (And tbh even if it's cultural why do you act like culture is influenced by race itself and not many other economic, political and social factors that white people have and still influence?).

The men who are doing this are not some unique kind of misogynistic relative to white men. Do white men not stigmatize periods? They're doing this (and I clarify I am not ok with this or defending it but I am simply fighting back against the assumption that the cause of this thing is simply cultural) because the women working on those sugarcane fields have to do extremely intensive labor for hours straight. It affects their menstrual health severely. And this is a poor country in the global south affected by economic imperialism, and therefore mostly production based with less mechanization of the agricultural industry, not like the dominant service sector in most Western countries. It's not easy for people this poor to switch to some other job with equal or better pay and better working conditions. And this particular district is especially poor. How is anything about this "cultural" and why do you think we deserve to die out because of it?

Sorry we're not as developed as Spain or some other Western country where the women here could get menstrual leaves or something and it wouldn't affect production (which is already quite low for a population this large involved in agriculture).

Instead of adopting this as a talking point against TRAs or justifying racism why don't you try to criticize both imperialism and capitalism or at least talk about the poverty and lack of resources causing these issues, if you really care for "all" women so much as you claim to. But no, you will pretend the issue is solely intentional misogyny and not involving multiple factors in it.

And btw I don't want any white woman to come in my inbox like they did last time and demand that I apologize for being rude to white women when criticizing their racism. That's never gonna happen. Especially not when most white women and even many woc don't bother with this issue. Get rid of your superiority complex this isn't the colonial era anymore.

As for Indian radfems (most of whom I have come across being bootlickers of white women)- The global south has classes too. And yk this. Just because you're a woc too doesn't mean you don't have any other bias against any other women in this country. Amazing how some of you pretend you give a fuck about the growing nationalist movement just because you're socially liberal. But how nationalists promote imperialism and capitalism in the country doesn't matter to you.

#whitefem racism #india #desi feminism

[burningtheroots]

I honestly find it so disheartening that many liberal feminists know what we actually stand for but just brush it aside.

This isn’t even about the gender critical aspect.

We are critical of 'choice' feminism not because we want to take women‘s agency away, but because we want to analyze and fight the patriarchy which conditions MANY women to falsely believe that xy is what they really want. This isn’t an attack on women and what makes them happy whilst being stuck in their cage, it‘s about acknowledging that choices don’t exist in a vacuum and that the goal is to create a new system in which ALL choices are ACTUAL choices, not the result of patriarchal influences.

We are against prostitution and pornography because it turns women into a sex fantasy for the male gaze, leads to degradation and dehumanization, is built on female exploitation and sex trafficking and basically turns women into commodities. No man should EVER be in a position where he can "purchase" a woman or her consent. And yet we post about the numbers of victims and about the industry behind it and they still only think of that one woman who does it "willingly" (see above, and also it‘s still objectification and serving perverted men).

We are against surrogacy because, well, do I even need to explain this one? How in the whole world could it be ethical or tolerable to use a woman‘s body as an incubator and afterwards sell the baby to someone else. HOW???

We debunk the beauty myth. We aren’t telling you "Don‘t do xy", we are telling you "Question doing xy". We want to help all the women and girls who are stuck in a world that centers the male gaze and preys on their insecurities. We want women to be seen as naturally whole and beautiful human beings.

We hold the belief that all men are all women‘s oppressors, regardless of other aspects. No, not every man is "bad" per se, but every man belongs to the male sex class which oppresses the female sex class and hence directly and indirectly benefits from it. We want men to either acknowledge this and fight alongside us, or simply leave us alone. Misogyny and patriarchy are the oldest and deepest oppressions, and if you don’t believe it, try reading Andrea Dworkin.

To us, feminism is a movement by women for women. What‘s wrong with that?

PS: Yes, every movement has really insane and shitty people invading it. Not only ours. I‘m aware of it and calling it out. So sit back and think again.

#feminism #radfem #radfems do interact #radfems do touch #radical feminism #radfems please touch #women deserve better #womens rights #radblr #sex based oppression #sex based rights #women rights #female liberation #misogyny #sex not gender #female labor #liberal feminists please THINK about it #or generally women please LISTEN for a moment

[lowresolutioncryptid]

Idk there is a lot to be said about the pervasive predatory nature of the cosmetic surgery industry, don’t get me wrong… the way that powerful capitalist industries prey on the culturally ingrained insecurities and shame of marginalized groups of people, and especially women and people of color with “ethnic” features, and sells them “cures” for this imposed “shame” that is actually a societal problem rather than a true physical problem with their bodies.. it is really disturbing. I believe everyone should be able to appreciate their natural beauty. In a perfect world.. alas..

I feel as though there is some nuisance to be had while engaging with these ideas.

Cosmetic surgery helps disabled people or people with injuries gain back their sense of personal agency and identity, often the physical effects of some disabilities and illnesses or injuries cause people to experience a loss of self or even just a worse quality of life (not always but depending on the condition), which can be remedied by cosmetic surgery. Really truly I believe these are the people who cosmetic surgery is intended for, not the kardashians. However, capitalist industries are not pure in their intentions, even if the people who benefit most are disabled people, doctors and surgeons will still accept the money from abled people in order to sustain their business.

Another group of people who benefit from cosmetic surgeries are trans people, who are at a greater risk of violence at the hands of cis people, if they do not “pass” as their gender. I have my own feelings about the idea of “passing” and how it may be harmful to hold trans people to cis standards… BUT it’s not my place to tell others how to explore their gender, and it’s not my place to tell them it’s “vain” or whatever if they are avoiding transphobic violence by following these standards. And as well even if it just makes them happier to be in the body they envision for themselves! That’s their choice, their right, their freedom. And more power to them.

So I think we should stop doing low-ball emotional jabs directed at the individuals who get cosmetic or other surgeries, and instead address the institutional problems within the cosmetics industry itself. Becuz tbh I’ve been seeing a lot of self-stroking posts along the lines of “I don’t need surgery like those other girls I’m happy with my natural beauty” and idk…I get the sentiment but it comes across as lacking perspective on a very complicated issue…

#like thanks for the 2 cents Tiffany but that does nothing to help the situation #i get where the posts are coming from but like ur sounding like the privilege is rotting your brain #it’s more complex than outer appearance there’s levels to this shit

[redtail-lol]

Being against cosmetic surgery should mean "I am against the ways that the cosmetic surgery industry helps create unattainable beauty standards so they can create a market for 'correcting' your 'flaws' so you can conform to a standard that is unattainable. I also believe celebrities who are influential to beauty standards should disclose the surgeries they've undergone, because its important to make sure they don't mislead anyone when they literally set the standard on women's bodies." It should also be highly critical of body standards as a whole. It should not mean and never should mean "I am against people getting cosmetic surgery and look down on people who have gotten cosmetic surgery. They're fake and less than human."

Stop. Those are the victims. Often, cis people who undergo cosmetic surgeries are the victims of societal pressures. People, social media, movies, TV, and their own insecurities told them their nose was a bad shape, their lips were too small, or their face shape was ugly. They couldn't just change those features naturally, so they got cosmetic surgery. Now you're subjecting them to more bullying because they gave in. Basically, all you're doing is helping punish people who are not naturally conforming to beauty standards.

This is not how you fight the cosmetic surgery industry and toxic beauty standards. We can fully support the right to bodily autonomy and not hurt people who were likely already hurting, and still challenge the ways the industry hurts people by creating new things to make us insecure about and then preying upon those people, just for money.

[vicholas]

honestly, balding jokes are mean and unnecessary on their own, but it pains me how gendered they are. That the same people that go "trans women are women" over and over really think there's a biological way of aging that "only affects men" so is okay to joke about. It only makes me realize that all those posts about how cosmetic surgery is evil or the beauty industry preys on women's insecurities, they only have empathy for cis women in mind.

Yeah, I think it’s not unique to this case, I think it’s symptom of how often people pay lip service when they say they support trans women and dont really do anything to examine the way they think or act. I feel it also comes with how a lot of people think of trans women more as a concept or rhetorical device than as a real group of people, if that makes sense?

[y---control]

I went to NASA today with the 5th graders and the kids in the group I was chaperoning were telling me about all the money they spent at the gift shop. I told them I wasn't gonna spend $50 on a hoodie cause I had spent $90 on makeup the day before, then this little 11-year-old boy went on a mini-rant that I didn't need to wear makeup and that the beauty industry preys on people and their insecurities in order to make money and make women feel bad about themselves and I love him so much and hope every single good thing that can happen to someone happens to him

#i'm gonna miss all of them #i hugged them all when we got back and they were leaving

[m-art28]

What is beauty?

What is beauty to me?  Wikipedia describes beauty as a thing that is pleasing to the eye.

A lot of brands tend to shape what beauty means to try to make a profit. Clothing campaigns run a risk of making many customers’ feel insecure about themselves. When a person does not have the same body type or style as the models in the campaign self criticism and internal body shaming commences.  A recent example that has caught attention and shone a light on these harmful business practices is the company Victoria’s Secret.  The Victoria’s Secret bran features “skinny” girls with large breasts who have an hour glass figure in their ads and discount any other body style. So many women do not share the body type that Victoria’s Secret showcases as the “example” leading so many of us to negatively self talk ourselves and become depressed with our bodies.  The discussion that has been occurring around social media platforms is that it is not just women who now have a warped sense of what a woman should look like but also men realizing that they too have bought in to the ads thinking that a woman is “less than” if she does not compare to the example set forth by companies like Victoria’s secret.

Another example is the store Zara and how their sizes tend to fit very small.   The negative impact that Zara is sharing to their customer’s is that women that usually fit a smaller size in other stores are having to “size up” at Zara and most will not realize the sizing is off the norm.  Women will beat themselves up and put pressure on themselves to lose weight just so they can fit into the store’s idea of size number on the tag and to fit into their ideal of being thin and only slightly curvy. Feeling insecure about how our bodies don’t compare to the look in the ads can lead the consumer to take extreme measures to change themselves to fit the new “pretty” ideal; leading to depression and potential distorted eating patterns.

Makeup industries are another sector that prey upon people’s insecurities with their facial features.   You can easily see the manipulation by observing makeup stores. The layout of the popular cosmetics stores of Sephora uses a colour scheme of black and white so that your eye catches the contrasting colours of the “limited time” pallets with high price tags. The skin care can be found way further back and out of the way in the store.  It seems to be an afterthought for stores like Sephora.  Sell the makeup first to solve people’s “problems” instead of suggesting skin care which if a proper regime is found would cause an amazing base for the least costing cosmetics.  People buy more and more makeup looking for a solution to hiding bad skin instead of trying to help their skin build a healthy base.

Everyone views beauty differently but we seem to be all be racing to fit into the same little mold that the popular companies show us in the media.  There is a movement that is circulating primarily on social media about “Silver Sisters” which is women that are choosing to embrace their grey/white roots and stop dying their hair.  The comments that women will receive on video in places like Tik Tok will go from very supportive to downright mean.  Women have been reported to loose their jobs since society has been conditioned that they are now “old” and grandma like and have now lost their worth.  I think that women with their natural hair can look very stylish and elegant and I see more than just the colour.  Some women have beautiful curls or edgier style with their natural colour, I am glad that people are starting to recognize that there is nothing wrong with aging gracefully as it is a privilege that not everyone receives.

I personally work hard to embrace the idea that at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter what other people think of you and all that matters is if you like yourself and you feel pretty.  It would be much easier to embrace this self acceptance mind set if the various fashion brands started to promote a culture of self acceptance, I know it would spread to the entire population towards a positive shift overall.

There is a lot of different ways to slowly build your self confidence. Some ways to try to build self confidence is to try new things to enhance your natural beauty.

You can research your personal colour palette (colour draping) so that your skin tone is complimented in the colours you choose in your wardrobe. A fun way to experiment is coming up with inspiration for outfits online and looking to your current wardrobe and try experimenting with different types of outfit pairings.  You can look up different makeup tutorials to practise to bring out your amazing features. Switch up your every day routine with fun hair styles.  

   You could try to help silence the negative self talk by doing self care; skin care masks, at home pedicures, paint your nails, paint or read uplifting books.  I am being more mindful to implement healthier habits like more regular physical activity like walking or swimming and aiming to eat more nutrient rich foods most of the time.  When you are kind to your body and treat it like a friend with positive self talk and healthy food (like medicine) you can start to feel better about yourself as a result.  That is what beauty means to me

#beautymeanstome

[lamarckianenterprises]

Honestly considering how many automated algorithm touch up bs are in phone cameras these days I might invest in the most analog camera I can find to take selfies with from now on.

Saying this because my mother's new phone automatically applies makeup to her face whenever she takes a selfie now, and even before this we had phone cameras that advertised how good they were at taking super zoomed in and breathtaking pictures of the moon, but it's actually just generative AI filling in the blanks.

People are already obsessed enough with achieving unrealistic beauty standards without photoshop handsome being normalized. And it's kind of terrible that the tech continues to slide into being one of those industries that profit off of making people feel terrible about their bodies or otherwise preying on their insecurities.

I might be a little priveleged though I think I look good in a mirror.

#tech #technology #journaling

[zenruption]

Fashion for the Soul: Enhancing Your Mental Well-being Through a Thoughtful Wardrobe

Image Source: pexels

Fashion is more than just choosing the right outfit for an event—for instance, a golf tournament. And it's simply not about looking good, either. The clothing, accessories, hairstyles, and makeup used to style yourself are instruments to present yourself in the way that you want. Fashion allows people to express themselves without the need for words. 

Beyond all the aesthetics surrounding fashion, many people tend to overlook its impact on our mental health and overall well-being. It helps us connect to ourselves even better and discover some things we may not know before, which all leads to personal growth. Let's take a close look at how fashion impacts our mental well-being. 

How Fashion Affects Your Mental Well-Being

Mental well-being refers to a state of positive psychological, emotional, and social health. It also involves having the skills to socialize, effectively manage stress, and make tough decisions in life circumstances. And while often confused with mental health, mental well-being focuses on the positive side of things. It's concerned with how people can get better and live a meaningful life. 

Let's see how fashion affects the three elements that comprise mental well-being.

Psychological

Have you ever wondered why wearing your cap and gown feels fulfilling after all the years of learning and struggles in school? That's how clothes and fashion affect your psychological state.

A Northwestern study in 2012 actually proved this claim when they ran a series of tests on their subjects and found that their performance improved when they wore a lab coat. The theory was that clothes could hold a symbolic meaning—in that case, the lab coat was associated with success. Hence, the subjects became more competent when they wore it.

Another proof that the clothes we wear impacts our mental state is this survey. 96% of its respondents say what they wear affects their mood. And that's essentially true because we feel great every time we wear something we like and get anxious when wearing comfortable clothes.

Emotional

Fashion can affect emotional health positively or negatively. On the positive side, expressing yourself through clothes gives a sense of empowerment. When you wear something that suits you, you become confident to walk into a room with all eyes on you. It boosts your self-esteem, making you love yourself even more. 

Meanwhile, fashion may also have a negative impact—it can be a source of pressure and comparison. Capitalism in the fashion industry creates unrealistic beauty standards to build people's insecurities and prey on them. Unfortunately—it's effective. It pressures us to buy their products, hoping that we get to look as flawless as their models. We tend to follow the trend, hoping to fit in. And if we're not able to keep up, we lose confidence and self-esteem.

Social

People in this generation tend to care more about other people's validation than themselves. Hence, they try to put on a socially acceptable image to build relationships, especially in a place where people care about their social status, for instance, in school. People who dress differently are seen as weird or outcasts. This makes it difficult for them to make friends and even participate in school activities.

Tips to Make a Thoughtful Wardrobe

There are ways to build a wardrobe that will not just make you feel good but will also improve your mental well-being. Belo are a few:

Invest in High-Quality Clothing 

Fashion costs money—therefore, it's an investment. You have to look for clothes that will not only make you beautiful but will also last for a very long time. Invest in high-quality garments, timeless jewelry pieces, and other accessories that will make you feel better about yourself.

Learn the Basics in Building an Outfit 

If you find it hard to match clothes, look for inspiration online. Learn how to mix and match different dress colors and styles. That way, you can easily create a beautiful outfit that represents you.

Experiment 

It’s also a great idea to go above the standard. Once you learn about various colors and styles that complement, experiment! Try different outfit combinations—be creative and don't limit yourself to styling. You can break the norm if you want to.

Dress According to the Occasion

While it's crucial to be creative in your outfit, you must also consider dressing according to the occasion. Certain places have dress policies that you have to follow—schools and churches, for instance.

Dress to Impress (Yourself)

Others' opinions will only matter if you let them. Always keep in mind that what's most important in fashion is you, feeling good about yourself. Instead of focusing on how people will see you through your styling, focus on your standard, which should always be striving to be your best version. Learn how to take care of yourself and wear something you’re comfortable with and makes you feel good.

The Bottom Line

Fashion goes beyond what you see on the outside. It is deeply tied to a person’s innermost feelings and emotional well-being. Allowing fashion to be a reflection of your feelings can help you enjoy every moment of your life.

[littlemissidontcare]

i feel bad because i always see fans comparing themselves to ale or annabelle in terms of looks while there’s nothing natural about either of them. like without their money (or their families’ money, more accurately) no one would be giving them a second look. they both look totally different pre-surgery. no shame if people want to have work done - to each their own - but there is so much wrong with the beauty industry and how it preys on people’s insecurities is super messed up.

Agreed. Especially because some of us work hard as fuck for our bodies or to maintain ourselves and they just spend money to have someone else do it for them. It’s sick.

[surveycircle]

Tweeted

Participants needed for online survey! Topic: "Does the cosmetic industry prey on people's insecurities?" https://t.co/3Ur0U8htxI via @SurveyCircle #cosmetics #insecurities #BeautyIndustry #beauty #CosmeticIndustry #survey #surveycircle https://t.co/3apcl84GyN

— Daily Research @SurveyCircle (@daily_research) Apr 2, 2023

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