COLUMN: Pretty in Pink

As an ardent student of journalism, I say this statement with complete objectivity: Women can do no wrong.

I came to this realization the other day as I was discussing the perils of tights with my friends. For the life of us, we couldn’t understand how a cotton-spandex blend somehow equates to pants.

Or what about wearing sweatshirts that expose one shoulder — what are we trying to say? “If it gets too stuffy, I’ll have this corner of skin for ventilation?”

But as we continued our grilling session, I began to wonder if someone was saying the same thing about me.

I could just imagine how my plaid flannel shirt could be the butt of many lumberjack-gone-wrong quips, or that my earrings are so big and tacky that I probably nabbed the Showalter Fountain fish for an accessory.

I realized I’m pretty good at insulting myself too. 

Anyway, you split the spandex, it isn’t right to judge someone’s style just because it might, sometimes literally, not fit you. We are so quick to shut down the wrong outfit that we forget that our outlook is out of season.

Women have to learn how to look less at what we’re wearing and more at how we’re treating each other, especially as we celebrate 25 years of Breast Cancer awareness this month. This is a time for support, and if we can’t even take time off from dissing Ugg boots then we are truly missing the point.

I believe that women carry a confidence about them when they feel good about themselves, and its aura rubs off on others.

We have the ability to find time for class, clothes and carb consumption without lifting one texting finger off the T9.

We are the shoppers of malls, the carriers of big purses and the extremely desired guests at any party that is slowly turning into a house full of guys with a
stereo.

We’re halfway through this month, and my only advice is to incorporate pink into your outfit at least once to support survivors, women and ourselves. Let it be a simple reminder that we don’t have to compete or judge. We can do what we do best, and that’s being a woman.

I’ll close with the famous words of the inspirational, platform-laden, 1990s Brit-pop crossover group — the Spice Girls: Girl Power.

Oh, and “zig-a-zig ah”.