Beauty

My mom and sister were thumbing through a recent issue of Shape magazine, and came across this lovely fashion spread of vintage-style clothing and accessories. Naturally they thought of me, and thus I inherited the glossy along with these graceful images.
My intention was to compose a post about dressing like a lady...or something along those lines...but my heart is on deeper things this Monday morning. You see, I have been witness to several tragic circumstances unfolding in lives of people I either know or know of recently, and my thoughts are with them this morning. And while it is true that good fashion is an adequate remedy for a mild case of the blues, or to take the edge off of a hard day at work, it is entirely insufficient for easing the pain of a sick child awaiting surgery, or a new mother who has just lost her baby.
And therein lies the harsh reality of living in this world--it is full of pain. Real, in-your-face pain. The kind that never graces the whimsical pages of glossy women's magazines.

But--and here is where I make use of these gorgeous photos--in the midst of pain there is also beauty. Not the commercialized beauty we normally see on tv and in tabloids. But real, inner beauty.
As women, I feel that we are uniquely commissioned to share this beauty with a world in pain. This sharing cannot and does not negate said pain, just like lipstick and pencil skirts will not make a grieving mother forget her sorrow, but it does bring a strong and noble contrast to it.
This noble contrast is the reason we have art museums and pretty parks and...yes...fashion. We fight wars to preserve beauty. We battle the drudgery of the daily mundane with lovely things. Beauty is a tool--a weapon even--to keep our spirits fresh and alive.
I would have preferred, I think, to have composed a lighter post this morning about cute heels and sharp wool dresses, but the truth is that sometimes these pursuits really do seem a bit shallow.

But true beauty, my friends, is never shallow when in the face of hardship and heartache. So here is to a Beautiful (if yet also painful) Monday...

--steph