I'm going on a little Chinatown adventure tomorrow morning. It's…
On not being perfect
Clementine posted a must-read dissertation yesterday on the prevalence of “perfect” people on the blogosphere. You know the ones: the people with important careers, wonderfully decorated homes, tons of friends, fabulous clothes, ideal husbands, etc. The ones who make you feel maybe a little bit bad about yourself?
I just wanted to say – in case anyone thought it – that I’m not one of those perfect people. I like clothes and putting together outfits, but if you run into me in San Francisco the odds are pretty good that I might be dressed schlumpy. I like cooking, but I’ve made a some disastrous meals. I like entertaining, but I’ve hosted parties where no one’s showed up. I live in a fun city, but I spent a lot of time watching TV and eating mac ‘n cheese in my pajamas. I have an overbite and the figure of a praying mantis. I wore headgear in elementary school, for pete’s sake!
I may be a “fabulous little lady in a big city” but I’m still a real person. My goal here is never to make someone feel even a little bit bad about themself. If you ever feel that way, visualize the headgear. Just wanted to let you know!
Next Post: Things I Love Today: Fruit for Dessert
Previous Post: What to Wear: Shopping
I love this!
This is why I am loving your blog. I got from the beginning that you were -real-. Your style is real, the things you do are real – you don’t gloat or exude perfection at all! I think the way you write is absolutely adorable and am so happy I found your blog. Keep it up!
oh emily you are the best! my sister and i were talking about this very thing yesterday…lives on the internet look soooo much cooler than real lives. But most of us only post the fun stuff, no posts themselves sitting in front of the Tivo for four hours with yesterday’s dishes in the sink do they?
i love that you are so approachably inspiring!
I totally agree with miche_sf! But when I first showed your blog to my DH, he said that it couldn’t be done by just one person – there had to be a whole company behind it. He thought that no one has the time/money to dress in the clothes you show every day or to buy the jewelery or to decorate their house with those items. (I had to explain to him that these are things you “love” and not necessarily personally own.)
I think some think that a blog is a little bit of celebrity, and there really is a culture of perfect celebs and people aspiring to an unreachable ideal of owning perfect products and having perfect celebrity lives. But not every blog is about an image, sometimes it’s just things we want to share with the world. I really appreciate the things you share with us!
I don’t know any perfect people, but I think that you are lovely and gracious and that your blog is lots of fun with pretty stuff to look at. And, I loved that post where you helped with the goats.. that shows that you are a good sport and willing to try new things and don’t insist on looking perfect all the time. I went to help with the cows on my husbands family ranch when we were engaged, but when they started coming toward me I dove back in the car. They are rather large creatures if you get close. 🙂
I think all of us try to put our “best foot forward” when we blog and hopefully the rest of the time too. No one wants to read about someones mean boss or fight with their sister. Part of why I blog is to find people with great ideas that can make life more fun, meaningful and beautiful… that is why I read your blog Emily and why I recommend it to friends all the time. 🙂 That said, I love everything you wrote in this post. Good points and fun to read. 🙂
LOL – As much as I’d love it if someone thought I was perfect, I too am not. But I’d feel like it in one of your outfits! 😉
It’s good to know I am not alone in this not so perfect world!