PINK… PINK… PINK… PINK…!
In Victoria Secret it’s everywhere!
You walk in to the store and the walls are pink, the floor is pink, the shelves are pink, the displays are pink, and everything says pink on it. Don’t get me wrong, pink is a lovely color. I know that they are trying to portray the feminine side of life and make you feel all girly and stuff.
My daughter loves to shop in Victoria Secret (much to the chagrin of her father). She goes all gaga about all the shirts, and the bras, and the panties, and the whatevers. She’ll go in the there for one bra and end up blowing her whole paycheck. I’m not keen about that but it is her money.
She loves that the girls that work there are knowledgeable and professional. They don’t make her feel awkward when they are measuring her for the right bra or they are trying to figure out why the one they recommended isn’t fitting right.
My daughter leaves the store quite a bit poorer but really happy and feeling great about herself. She says what she’s wearing under her clothes makes her feel better about herself. All that is great. I think that is wonderful.
But…..then there is me.
I’m not a girly girl. I wear mostly jeans because they are comfortable and very functional. I spend a lot of time chasing my Autistic son and often having to man handle him and I don’t want my clothes interfering with that. For me that is good plan.
I’m a bit of hippy. I love earthy colors and I look good in them. I don’t even own anything pink. I don’t wear make up. I don’t see the point of covering my face in chemicals all day just so I can wash it down the drain that night.
I never thought that this was a bad thing, until I spent time in Victoria Secret waiting for my daughter to finish trying on all of her odds and ends. Suddenly I was a hippo rag-a-muffin who should walk around with a bag on her head. I felt awkward and frumpy. It wasn’t that I was wearing something awful but I FELT like I was.
By the time I got home I had convinced myself that no one on this earth would think I was attractive and I should just give up and stay home. I would never look like a Victoria Secret woman. I would never be feminine. I would only ever be an ungainly mom. At this point I even told my husband that he could do better than me and should just get rid of me.
Dramatic, I know.
But… My husband, bless his heart, told me that there was no reason to worry because he loved me for who I am. He said that I may not wear pink but I was all woman and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He continued to say that there are all kinds of women in the world and that I didn’t need to fit into a preconceived notion of what femininity should be.
I love him.
I thought about this and it’s true. Even though I share a name with one of the Victoria Secret Angels I will never be one and I’m not sure that I want to. I don’t want to be forced into plastering my face with make up and wearing things because someone told me I had to. I would feel so fake. If I walked around wearing all that stuff that says PINK on it I would feel more self-conscious than if I were to walk around naked.
It’s just not me.
I have my own style of dresses and comfy functional clothes. I love wearing boots. I love hats and I make my own jewelry. There is nothing wrong with that!
So Victoria Secret, you may continue to make some women feel beautiful, but I will not be one of them. I won’t let you steel my Mojo. I am fine the way I am. I have no need to force myself into a square hole. This peg is a star and will shine however I want to!
adriana pridemore 