paris fashion: Fight for Your Right to Be Fashionably Offensive and more...

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It's not fair, but it's the way it is. A man has so much more freedom when choosing funny t shirts to wear. While it isn't technically against the law for a woman to wear a t-shirt with a naughty joke or image on it, the laws of fashion and the lingering remnants of male-centric moral metrics dictate that women walk a fine line if they want to be radical yet remain fashionable.

You know the kind of shirts I'm talking about – the kind you see on Crazy Dog T Shirts, Snorgtees, BustedTees, and other shirt sites. You're probably thinking these shirts are for teenagers, but come on, you know you find a lot of them funny, because they are. Clever pop culture-infused screen-printed shirts are becoming a modern day art form, and there's no shame, other than the unfortunate aforementioned stigmas in wanting to wear one. But, at the end of the day you're practical, and while the thought of walking around the supermarket wearing a shirt showing the Lucky Charms leprechaun vomiting up his own cereal makes you giggle, it's probably more befitting for your 15-year-old kid.

Are we really going to accept this kind of socio-sexist imprisonment? Look, honestly nothing stops you from wearing whatever you want as a woman, and the idea that we're oppressed by-way of our closeted desire to wear vulgar shirts in a world that doesn't approve is a stretch, but new ground must be gained. The fact that a double-standard exists in some capacity is enough to want to negotiate new terms and make some kind of stand, even if it's just for the right to wear a funny shirt as an adult woman and not feel obliged to apologize for it. The simple truth is that for that to happen, you simply must abandon the urge to apologize, after all there's nothing to be sorry for.

There was a time when if anybody, male or female, wore a shirt with an image on it, they were considered rebellious good for nothings in need of a draft notice or a convent. I'm sure in your lifetime alone you can look back and see a definite evolution of acceptance in the fashion world. Times have changed, and times will continue to change. But the change comes only with the movements of the multitude. Yeah, it's just funny t-shirts, but freedom on any front is always worth fighting for.

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Beauty Affirmation Wednesday: Beauty Is In My Heart

This week's beauty affirmation reminds us that true beauty comes from the heart:

I love with an open heart and
watch that love reflect back to me.

You've probably noticed a theme around love these past couple weeks with these beauty affirmations. I've always believed that the most loving people are the most beautiful. I think of women like Mother Teresa and Elizabeth Taylor who were open and loving in different ways.

Spend some time today thinking about how you can be more compassionate and loving towards others. We often spend more time judging others rather than working on improving ourselves. When you project love out into the world, it comes right back to you and makes you even more beautiful!

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Thank You and Update For Email Subscribers

I just want to write a quick post to thank new subscribers to my blog and of course, a BIG thanks to all of you who have been reading this blog for awhile!

For those of you who have been receiving blog updates via email, I've made a small change to when you will receive these updates. Currently you receive an update once a day on the days that I do publish a post. However, going forward I've decided to send an update every Tuesday.

The reason I'm doing this is because I've decided to update this blog more often - maybe every other day or even every day, so I don't want to flood your email inbox with daily updates. I know that can be annoying especially if you subscribe to many blogs.

If you do want to stay updated on blog posts on a daily basis, I recommend subscribing via a feed reader by visiting:
http://www.wikio.com/subscribethis?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.beautyiswithin.net

Also, while you're at it, follow me on Twitter: @youarebeauty or "Like" on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beauty-Is-Within/82874954855

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Is There Such a Thing as "The Most Beautiful Person"?

Well, according to People magazine there is...and Jennifer Lopez is that person. There's no denying that J.Lo is a beautiful person, but THE Most Beautiful? I often wonder what the magazine's criteria is for their annual Top 100 list. I've never looked at the magazine's entire list, but apparently you have to be a celebrity to be on that list.

I certainly don't want to take anything away from Jennifer Lopez because she's done so much with her life. She's influenced and inspired so many people. However, I wouldn't go as far to say that she's the most beautiful person in the world. In fact, how can anybody be #1?

The reason I say that is because beauty is so subjective. What one person thinks is "the most beautiful" could be entirely different from another person's idea of beautiful.

Young girls and women read People magazine and think, "I have to look just like Jennifer Lopez to be beautiful!" I stopped reading many celebrity/fashion/beauty magazines because they have brainwashed so many women into thinking that you have to look like a certain celebrity to be considered beautiful. I know that when I was in my 20's I used to read these magazines and feel insecure about my own beauty or aspire to be famous just so I could be noticed.

So many women waste all this time wishing they could be beautiful, focusing on their physical flaws, and spending so much money to be beautiful on the outside that they never stop to reflect on their own self development. Choose to be grateful and happy for what you have and you will bring out your own beauty from within. Be loving towards yourself and other people and you will be beautiful on the outside too.