Before we dive in, I just want to put the disclaimer out there that I'm not saying you can't watch the show or even that you shouldn't watch it. I love the spectacle of the thing just as much as you do! Who doesn't want to see a $10 million bra paraded down the runway amidst a surely even-more expensive production?
What you aren't allowed to do is sit there and wallow in your own misfortune, wishing you could look like one of those women.
Why, you ask?
Well, first of all, if you've been following me for a while, you'll remember that in my last post about the VS Fashion Show, I explored a professional make-up artist's take on how to pull off the VS look. (If you haven't read that post or would like a little refresher, find it here: "Victoria's little secrets.") Spoiler alert: throw in some extensions, a fake tan and some HAC-ing and we could all look like a VS Angel.
Still not convinced? I have proof (a picture's worth a thousand words, after all). I give to you, for your viewing pleasure, the transformation of a VS Angel, from untouched to photo- or runway-ready:
I'm not the best at recognizing faces, but I'm being honest when I say that if I saw some of these women on the street in normal dress, I really don't think I'd recognize them as models. In no way am I trying to suggest they aren't beautiful, they're just normal women like you and me.
Feeling a bit better? Now remember that these beauties don't just go walking around looking like they just got off the runway every day; it takes hours (sometimes even days) of intensive beauty care by industry professionals to get these women looking their best, and that's after all of the months spent with personal trainers and nutritionists.
Adriana Lima (the brunette in the first picture) has spoken at length to the amount of work that goes into her preparation for the show, including "twice-daily workouts, drinking gallons of water (literally) every day, a high-protein diet" and a full-out, liquids-only diet leading up to the show. And that's before the hours of professional work. Doutzen Kroes, another Angel, further told the New York Post, "Sometimes it makes me feel guilty now that I am in this profession that makes... girls insecure. I always say, I don't look like [that]."
Just think about this for a second: looking fantastic come show-time is these women's lives. It's their job. They are paid millions of dollars a year to look the way they do at this show, and they don't do it on their own. If you had a personal trainer, a personal chef, and a dozen hair and make-up experts working on you day and night,, don't you think you'd look a lot closer to that ideal you're always aiming for?
But you know what? That's not your life and it's not your job and it's not your responsibility, no matter how much society would like you to think so.
I'm going to guess that you're a lot like me. You probably have two or three more commitments in the air than any sane woman would take on, on top of trying to balance school and a job and maybe even a relationship with a healthy lifestyle. Sound familiar? Right. So why in the name of that catrillion-dollar bra do you expect yourself to look like a model while you're doing it? Unless you're willing to spend 8+ hours a day making this your one and only goal, you shouldn't.
And you know what else? You are brilliant and amazing and wonderful at what YOU do, and that is plenty. So go, watch the show, but keep in mind that you are just as worthy and just as wonderful as those Angels, and as long as you're doing your best in your own life, that is more than enough.
Enjoy the slice,
Sonja
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