A few random thoughts

About a week ago, I was at the gym doing my routine- using dumbbells to work on my arms and upper body. Well it just so happened that there were two other men, who, when they realized that they were using the same amount of weight as me, promptly switched to using twice the weight of dumbbells- which was about 20lbs. or more. Good for them- I think they should have been using more weight to challenge themselves anyhow. Never mind comparing themselves to 'lil ol me. It made me feel pretty good though that I was able to give them "a run for their money" so to speak.

Reflecting on my "adventures" as a single woman in New York since moving back in October, I realize that I have quite a bit of material that I could spin into some entertaining short stories about the men that I've met. They are just too good to blog about.

I was born with a passion for fashion. I had no choice in this matter. As soon as I was old enough to walk and talk I loved to accessorize. Flipping through early childhood photographs, it's easy to see that my standard accessory always seemed to be a purse, but I loved it all- jewelry, dresses, shoes. The women in my family have always had a certain sense of style. My mother in particular, studied fashion design and naturally she encouraged my sister and I to enjoy fashion, follow the trends, and that probably gave us the seeds of each of our personal, unique sense of style.

This week I have been completely obsessed by it all since it is New York Fashion Week- Fall 2008 and I have been fortunate enough to get into the actual tents at Bryant Park to see a few runway shows and I am hooked I tell you.

When I was a young girl in my teens, fashion was all about being the first to wear "it", being trendy and getting attention. There is a certain superficiality in putting all this attention on one's appearance, but that's what you do in your teens. You try out different things as you try to find yourself, express yourself and figure out who you are.

Fashion for a long time has been about how to be in the "in crowd", what to wear and what not to wear. Some women's fashion magazines feature candid photos of everyday people, snapped by "the fashion police" exposing people's embarrassing fashion no-no's, and then of course there's the analysis of what went wrong with a certain celebrity's look on the red carpet. Fashion has long been criticized with contributing to people's insecurities about their appearance.

But lately, I like what I see happening in the world of fashion- how fashion gurus and stylists are turning it all around. Shows like "How To Look Good Naked with Carson Kressley" (Carson of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" fame) and "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style" (Tim of "Projet Runway" fame) come to mind.

Fashion can be transformational. It can be used to bring out the best in yourself, to work with what you have, as long as you know how use it to accentuate your appearance. It can be an expression of how you present yourself to the world, or help you to cherish yourself as you take pride in your appearance and celebrate who you are.