Thursday 2 July 2015

Next Top Model


So I just finished watching the season finale of Australia's Next Top Model - because I'm into reality TV shows and materialistic stuff like that - and Brittany won.  To be honest, I was rooting for Lucy but I mean, Brittany's pretty cool as well.  I couldn't really get into it tonight because my dad was being irritating, but good on Brittany!  I'm not really here to talk about this anyway.

First of all, let's address the important point when it comes to modelling, which is bodies and body image.  Obviously all the girls on the show had the stick thin figures with abs and legs for days and all that.  There were guest judges who were Victoria's Secret Models.  Even the host, Jennifer Hawkins is freaking gorgeous.  They have the bodies we all envy.

It's not the first time I've somewhat wished for that glamorous lifestyle, to be a beautiful person to be looked up to, to be that famous for my physical features, making other girls envy what I have.  That's what a model is after all.  They're effectively there for marketing, to make other girls want to be exactly like them.

It's the cookie cutter image.  That figure's the kind they make the best clothes for.  It's the one everyone wants when it really shouldn't be.  When we were in Sydney I saw these beautiful home-branded dresses; a blue and white polkadot picnic style button up, a black and white bird design; all with a pinching waist and loose-fitting top and skirt.  It didn't look right on me.
Girls buying their formal dresses look at the catalogue models online, with the dresses reaching their mid-thighs.  Barely anyone has the height.  The dress hems reach the knees, sometimes lower.  They use such unrealistically tall girls as models.

I'm not saying the models they have now are sending a bad message or are negative in any way.  I mean, clothes really do look amazing on them.  Height really does make the show go on.  It's just that in reality not all of us can look like that.  It's our job to filter out any negative messages we can think of and just appreciate the beauty of pop culture.

We can all get the body we want if we work for it.  Our bone structures and our heights may not be changeable, but we certainly can get abs, and we certainly can trim down our thighs if we want to.  It's all about fighting for what you want and it may be harder for some, but I reckon we can all get the best body within our potential.  Either way, we're all beautiful, because what's outside isn't everything.

One important theme that's been coming up over and over again throughout this season was the idea of confidence.  In theory you'd think it would be pretty easy to take a great photo given the right lighting and makeup and having that perfect body.  It's so much more than that though.  Camera shy or people shy; it's all relative.  It's the more confident models, the more personality they have, they're the ones that make it in the end.

Part of selling themselves is confidence and the way they carry themselves, the way they speak.  The show wasn't just catwalks and photoshoots; it was about clients and creating a personality as well.  They had to be able to present themselves as exactly what they wanted to be, and I think that's a skill we all need to have.  Just like we can get the body we want, we can become the person we want to be.

The top two, Brittany and Lucy, both have different angles to play by, according to Tyra Banks - and we all need to have some great respect for Tyra Banks.  It's just her attitude, the way she can turn a situation into something funny, something sassy.  She can be the life of the party.  She has that uber confidence.  She has made herself into some kind of attitude queen and I wish I could do that.

Anyway, back to the angles: Lucy is sweet and sociable and light; Brittany is cool and rebellious and has that don't-mess-with-me demeanour.  Both are enviable, and both should be played up.  Personally, I want to be that sociable light girl, able to have a conversation with anybody, to be completely likable.  But at the same time I want people to respect me.  I want to be that girl nobody will mess with, someone who doesn't care what others think that much because she's content with doing her own thing.  How do I make myself into this person?

One thing I've realised is that I need to open myself up to every experience possible, and I've succeeded, compared to just a few months ago anyway.  Now that I'm being put in all sorts of personally unprecedented situations, I want to do them right.  I want to enjoy them.  And to do that I need to be sure of myself.  I need to have that confidence, do what I think my dream person would do.  Or simply do what I'd do.  Because to have confidence, I need to be pleased with my intuition.  I can train myself to be more sociable, more respectable, more content within myself, but at the end of the day I need to be confident in the actions that happen in the moment, the words that come out in the moment, the thoughts.

Confidence is key.

Love,
M

15 comments:

  1. Sounds cool I have watched next top model is forever so cool that different countries are having it too


    CANDICE | BEAUTY CANDY LOVES

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    1. I watched the ad for the American one though, and it looks freaking amazing - more fun if you ask me.

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  2. I've never watched that show, I may have to now! You're so right though-I wish I had the confidence of those girls...
    xoxo
    Grace Anne
    http://totallygraced.blogspot.com

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    1. Wouldn't we all like to be a model in some way - the perfect specimen for our personalities or our body. It really is all about confidence isn't it...

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  3. I love this. very well written and very insightful. thank you for sharing!:)

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    1. Thanks so much Faith! My pleasure x

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  4. I actually haven't ever watch the show, but this article it's very well written. You need to be confident in yourself, & like they say do not worry of how others might see you, if not how you feel in your own skin.

    Mafer, Concientizando x

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    1. Exactly! I've found lately that there's a big difference in what you want people to think of you and what you want. Just because they think you've got everything down, doesn't mean you feel like you do. I guess the goal is to please yourself and not them.

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  5. Very thoughtful post. Confidence does wonders for one's appearance. :)

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    1. Confident girls are beautiful girls x

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  6. This is my first time on your blog, and this article blew me away. It is such an interesting and thoughtful post. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Lexie (11)
    - www.whatlexieloves.blogspot.com

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    1. Awh thanks Lexie. You're too sweet.

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  7. I am 1,75m big. That might be what people call the perfect height. But I also have my problems with it. Most of my friends are smaller than me, I'm always the big one, I can look down on my mum (which is frustrating for both of us). I can't even remember how many height jokes I have heard. And I also have big feet, so I can't share shoes with friends. It's difficult. But I am still gratefull for everything I have. Because I was born this way, and some things I can't change, so I work with them. But you are right, some things you can change, and I do my best to be the best version of myself. Just don't put too much pressure on yourself. Everyone is beautiful.
    Wow, that was a ramble. I hope that made sense and didn't sound like I was an ungratefull, big...umm...person. Haha, love,
    www.booksballetphotos.blogspot.com

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    1. And, in my country "The Next Topmodel" is not thaaat great. In my opinion, Australia's topmodels are a lot prettier.

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    2. Haha I would love to be 1.75m tall! It's just a bit taller than average and I don't think I'll ever get there :( But I see where you're coming from as well. I need to stop that nagging philosophy that the grass is greener on the other side. I love your ramble x And the models may or may not be prettier here, but in America they sure do have more drama - meaning a TV show that's more entertaining ;)

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