Fashion And The Art Of Accepting Imperfection
Jul 26, 2010
This is one of those “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” situations. As I was putting my outfit together the other day I zoned in on the perfect accessory in my closet. It was my hot pink Chanel belt. So, this particular belt, I had had my eye on it for a while. As luck would have it, the belt eventually went on sale for the still absolutely ridiculous price of $500. Oh, also I bought it while I was pregnant and can only now finally wear the thing. I had worn it once before this incident. So, I grab the belt off this bar thing in my closet. I hang all my belts there and sometimes I shove a few purses on the end of this bar. When I pull off the belt I notice a huge black stain on the belt, not the buckle, but on the belt itself.
My heart sank. This gorgeous thing that I spent a heafty amount of cash money for and had only worn once was ruined! I ran and got the Magic Sponge. Nothing. The leather bag that was resting on top of it had permanently damaged my most beautiful perfect hot pink belt. For a moment I was devastated. Then all of a sudden, I realized that there was nothing I could do about it and it turned into a life lesson. I looked at the belt and said to myself Oh well, it’s flawed now, well so am I. It made me think that the quest for perfection is unatainable so sometimes we need to accept, and live with, things not being perfect.
I make endless lists of things I want to do, goals I want to accomplish. Sometimes I put so much pressure on myself I don’t get anything done because it all seems so overwhelming. At that moment of accepting the imperfection in this silly accessory I accepted the imperfection in myself and I let go a little bit. And I’m telling you since that moment, nearly a week ago, I’ve gotten more done. By just doing what I can, I end up doing more. I know this sounds strange but fashion works in mysterious ways.
Yes, love, it is important to accept your imperfections. To paraphrase Zen philosopher OSHO, God made you exactly as he wanted you, and if he wanted more Jesuses and Buddhas, he would’ve made more Jesuses and Buddhas!!!
Lol no offense but this sounds like insight from the movie Clueless or something…but I totally understand the feeling of things being stored improperly and by your not even using them damaging them..it kindof makes me think the older I get the less I need $500 belts and purses…I am equally as happy with cute stuff that is uber cheap that I don’t mind damaging. More than half of my designer shit sits unused anyway for fear of destruction..and whats the point of that?
@randi You’re totally right. It sounds utterly ridiculous but it’s honestly how I felt. Typically I would’ve have sulked over it for a while but I just let it go and in return it made me feel like maybe imperfections aren’t such a big deal. It just got me thinking is all.
you can at least rest knowing that nail polish is the perfect green.
That sucks! That’s happened to me before. For some reason, the things I spend the most money on- rip and tear and get damaged. The things I buy for cheap end up lasting longer and when they do finally go- it doesn’t bother me as much (which is a good feeling) I love when I can get my money’s worth that way. That belt is so fucking cute. I can see why you got upset!
I know how you feel tho, I once spilled bleach on my favorite Polo knit, and I actually cried.
i love this outlook - it seems the things we spend so much time obsessing over, and money on end up being unused at fear of breaking them
Aw this is a really sweet. You look adorable with it on, and besides it has more character now.
i think the insight you gained from a seemingly superficial situation is AWESOME. very “zen” of you to take the high road in the matter, and look at all the difference it made in your general outlook. cute outfit, btw
One of my closest friends is a 52 year old woman that I work with. The thing that I love the most about her is that she has experienced every possible mishap and catastraphe you can imagine, and she takes it in stride. She laughs about losing a cell phone in travel, she shrugs when she has to ride her bike home in the rain- I think raising children and caring for an elderly mother has had this effect on her. Her outlook on everything is “You can’t change it, so just deal with it”. It sounds cold at first. But it’s not- it’s the best honest to god advice anyones ever given me. She says it a lot, and the effect it has on me is freeing. The past few months have presented me with monkey wrench after monkey wrench, I have broken up, packed my things, moved, lost 3 family members and a friend to untimely death and this saying has given me sanity. “You can’t change it. So just deal with it”.
Can you share and post your lists and goals… I have NOTEBOOKS full of goals, dreams & desires as well. I <3 your belt, btw…