Friday, July 13, 2012

7. great expectations

"We spent as much money as we could, and got as little for it as people could make up their minds to give us. We were always more or less miserable, and most of our acquaintance were in the same condition. There was a gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did."
- Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
I have a confession. I only present the prettiest parts of my life on this blog. Nothing seen here is reality, not in its truest form, at least. And I think this bit of honesty rings true for every single blogger out there.

As creatures of the 21st century, we are highly stylized voyeurs. Obsessively observing the lives of others has been inculcated to a point where we no longer recognize it as a form of abnormal behavior. What began with invasive paparazzi photos of our favorite celebrities has evolved into a culture of self-absorption and narcissism. Anyone who says that their blog isn't a form of vanity is a liar.

I suppose I'm writing this as part PSA, part musing. Nothing is ever as good as it seems. If you scratch beneath the surface, you'll realize that the roses smell like poo.

alexanderwang-ss08-prada-celinemicroluggage-1
alexanderwang-ss08-prada-celinemicroluggage-2

SS08 Alexander Wang* shift dress
Zara blazer
Prada suede bow sandals
Celine micro luggage tote

*I've been revisiting this dress a lot lately, as well as some of the other pieces I have from his SS08/FW08 collections. I never realized how much these two collections resonated with me until I saw the runway photos again. I'm beginning to realize that for the past four years, I've been attempting to build these two shows in my closet. So many questions answered.


5 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you, and that definitely applies to my blog. In fact, I hardly tell anyone that I know in "real life" about my blog, because I feel almost embarassed for blogging because it's such a narcisstic thing to do?

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  2. Your blog is one of my favorites because of insights like these. No-one else seems quite as aware of the bizarre state of things in fashion/life in general today...it's just accepted. Thanks for sharing :)

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  3. I've always thought this about blogs, which is why I'm very choosy about the ones I "follow". It especially bugs me when I look at all the "mommy-blogs" out there who look like they have picture perfect lives balancing work + children + marriage, when I KNOW that they're probably just as sleep-deprived, overworked, stressed as I am. They just choose to omit those moments from their public lives.

    The question I have is... how are all their children going to turn out, having lived in the public eye since birth (some of them) and having all their important moments put on display for the world to see (and judge)? Just something I wonder...

    ~F

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  4. I'm gonna say it...... I love what you wrote more than the outfit. Not like I don't like your outfit (*braces for insults*) but I think that it rings true for most bloggers. I was just talking about it with some girls today that blogs have become another glossy with a self ego attached to it. Personally my life isn't perfect but I feel like the other part of it is because no one will be interested in the personal details of my life or the things I do want to talk about. That or I try to see it from a potential client reader perspective: do I want that potential client to hear about my problems? Probably not. It sounds a bit superficial but I think it helps to maintain a healthy boundary from your blog and your personal life which I'd rather share with people face to face than spilling my guts for the internet audience to see. That's just my opinion

    Sam
    http://www.samishome.com

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