Since every journey has a starting point, I figured I should try to assess where I am right now. How elegant am I now?
Of course, I need to know what exactly I'm asking, which begins by knowing what elegance is. When I look it up, this is what I find:
- a. Refinement, grace, and beauty in movement, appearance, or manners.
- b. Tasteful opulence in form, decoration, or presentation
- c. Restraint and grace of style.
- d. Scientific exactness and precision
- e. A refined quality of gracefulness and good taste
- f. beauty as resulting from choice qualities and the complete absence of what deforms or impresses unpleasantly
So... D doesn't really fit what I'm trying to do here, but the others pretty much highlight where this is going. As of right now, I think that I possess most of these characteristics to some extent. I try to make the best choices as far as things I do, say, wear, take interest in, etc., although admittedly there are times when I could care less about that. I try to stay graceful and restrained in most situations, but there are plenty of times when I am course, crass, and an all around horrid person. I'm seeking to change that. I'm not quite starting at square one, since I know some rules of decorum and how to behave as a proper woman should, but there are many improvements to be made.
And of course I have plenty of questions that have to be answered along the way, like
- Are the ideas and ideals of elegance universal?
- What does it mean to be an elegant black woman?
- is it possible to embrace the traditional ideas of elegance and without losing my own identity? (no Stepford wives here!)
Maybe someone somewhere will have some answers for me :)
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