LA Sight Seeing

I went to the grocery store the other day and was talking to Al on the phone as I shopped. It's obnoxious, I know, but as a working mom, you take the moments to catch up with friends whenever you can get them.

As I was walking around the store, I caught sight of this one woman and could not help but start chuckling. Being in the Valley, you often run into people who are in the movie industry or rather, the other movie industry. Sometimes, like today, I wonder if it isn't a place for ladies from the latter to retire when they're 'past the working age.'

Anyhow, this woman was one of them. It was obvious by the state of her skin that she was of retirement age. Definitely in her 40's at least. However, it was her apparel (and what was under it) which caught my eye - and the eye of every other person in the place. Normally, women's t-shirts have a variety of different cuts. There's the classic crew-neck, boat-neck, scoop-neck, or v-neck. I found a new classification: v-boob. This woman was wearing a shirt under which most women would wear a tank. However, she opted out on that, and, as a result of the missing tank and her 'bodacious ta-ta's' (as dad would say), I was seeing far more of her cleavage than I even see of my own!

However, that was nothing new. You see that all the time around here. What cracked me up (sorry for the pun) was the rear-view. A couple of years back, the trend was for velor sweat-pants, some of which were sold ultra-low rise. This femme was wearing such low-rise low-rises that not only did her shirt sit above her waistline so she could show off her tramp stamp, but her pants showed a fair amount of coin slot - without her bending over! So she had cleavage coming and going!

I don't know why that particular sight amused me so much, but it did. I laughed and laughed to Al! I was so thankful that I should come across such a sight when I could share it with a friend who could appreciate it as much as I did!

But the kicker was after I hung up the phone and went to check out. The lady-in-question was in line in front of me. However, there was a cute young couple between us - husband and wife. He was doing the most amazing job of NOT looking at 'the lady in black' that I wanted to give him a high-five! Now, his wife was lovely; tall, thin, not an ounce of fat on her, shapely, blonde, etc. But upstairs, she was built like a surfboard next to this other woman. The guy came up with what I thought was a great way to keep from looking; he stood between the woman and his wife. This meant he had his back to the woman while he talked with his wife, which also meant his wife would be the one to get distracted and sneak peeks instead of him. Kudos!!

I do have to say that 'the lady in black' was obviously comfortable in her own skin. She'd made a considerable investment in her physique, and was comfortable and confident about showing it off. Good for her!

Beautiful from the inside out*

I wanted to take a little time to clarify the Glamour Pi motto: Beautiful from the inside out!*
*...which includes our underwear!

I realized that to some, that may sound completely superficial. In fact, it's meant to be just the opposite. What we're really focusing on is not just what people see - everything from our exterior to our personalities - but that which is not seen - from our underwear to the very core of our beings. That may sound like a tall order, but when we focus on improving our attitudes and perceptions about the world and our place in it, we can transform all of those negative (or ugly) nuggets into more positive (beautiful) thoughts and feelings.

An example of this is the television show "How to look good...Naked!" on Lifetime. It turns out that's the show I saw being taped when I went to the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica with my niece and sister last August. During that evening, I pointed out the guy Carson from "Queer Eye". Also, when I watched my first episode, I found out why we had seen a picture of a nearly-naked woman (without a head) being projected up onto the side of a building - it's part of the show!

Anyway, I don't know if you've already caught it or not (especially since I recently saw a promo for an episode of Oprah where she was having Carson as her guest), but I highly recommend it. In it, Carson takes a 'real woman' (meaning, someone who is definitely not model thin, but who also has body image issues) and spends 5 days to help them feel better about themselves. It has a wonderful message that I totally get behind. He starts the show by saying:

Hello Ladies! I'm here to begin a perception revolution! Join me if you think that beauty extends beyond a size zero. Come along with me if you don't want to be like four out of five women who hate their bodies. Unite if you're ready to turn body loathing into body loving. It's time to start shedding those layers, because I don't want you to just accept what you see in the mirror. I don't want you to just like what you see in the mirror. I want you to flaunt it... Naked!!

The central concept is simple: take women's negative perceptions of themselves, have them look at themselves realistically, and then help them feel comfortable in the skin that they're in. Being a stylist, of course he helps them with clothing choices, but he's not pushing diet, exercising or lifestyle choices. It's all about becoming comfortable, happy and confident with what you have. He spends a good deal of time getting the right foundation (bras & panties) for them, saying that it's important to feel confident in how you feel in your underwear, because everything that goes on top will look so much better because they've perfected her shape with the right foundation. (Not to mention that if you feel good in your underwear, not to mention your clothes, you exude confidence, which is sexy!) I've been trying to explain this concept for years, and it's the reason I say 'beautiful from the inside out' - not just in personality, but in clothing, too.

From the episodes I've seen, I think it's a great show with a fantastic message. And I definitely think it's a message we need to be communicating to our teen/tween daughters. Not everybody is going to look like the models in the magazines - including the models, thanks to airbrushing. But we're all beautiful.