Truthful Thursdays: My style is just that - Mine!

Alas, Truthful Thursdays have returned! My hubby thought that my last segment (expressing my opinions on natural hair) came off a tad ‘strong’. Since then I’ve shied away from speaking my peace. Until now…
I’m a private person by nature (who just so happens to blog) and I often struggle with how much of the authentic “me” I’d like to reveal for public scrutiny. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the reasons that I started blogging was because I personally didn’t feel that there were enough style/fashion images of women who looked like me (those whom I could readily identify with) when seeking style inspiration on various social media platforms. In my opinion, the present up and coming generation of women need to see images of regular/ordinary women, yes of my color, yes of my size, and yes of my taste/style. Today’s society promotes an unattainable idea, one of physical perfection- an ideal that every woman should seek to “attain”. This notion is utterly ridiculous in my opinion; I promote body positivity and have made the personal choice to love every inch of my physically imperfect plus-sized body. Ah, I digressed…

Moving on to today’s topic: This week I was featured on FashionBombDaily.com as Bombshell of the Day! I was extremely excited to be featured!!! Yet, along with any recognition also comes additional exposure to negativity and unsolicited/backhanded suggestions allegedly given in a complimentary manner.

I am so appreciative for the many positive comments received and I sincerely thank those contributors!

However, I want to take a few minutes to address several comments that appeared derogatory and purposed to shame me by making references to one of my all time favorite movies, The Color Purple.

First off, the movies The Color Purple and The Help (also referenced) represent a part of my cultural history and heritage. I am an African American woman. I am not ashamed to be told that some of my style choices bring those movies to someone’s mind. If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you know that vintage pieces truly resonate with me, and that some of my pieces could very well be from the same eras that both aforementioned films represent.

Secondly, there were a few comments about my selection of shoe choices in the looks that were featured in the write-up, over at FashionBombDaily.com. Not that it’s anyone’s business, but I actually suffered from a broken toe not too long ago (which is still sensitive BTW) and my shoe choices were based not only on what matched what I was wearing, but also on which would provide comfort and stability for my broken toe. In any event, I wear the types of shoes that I want to wear, and that are practical for my lifestyle. 

For the record: “My style is just that- Mine!” I wear and style items in the manner that I personally choose, not according to the preference and or satisfaction of “the public” or even others who may be in the blogging community. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am more than happy to inspire women in any way that I possibly can. Yet, I recognize that some women may not be “inspired”, or may not appreciate every single one of my style choices. The thing is, despite possessing strong opinions, when I’m not particularly fond of someone’s style choices, I never see or feel a need nor desire to publicly share specious feedback on social media about how they should change a look to suit MY personal preferences.  I guess I truly am an old soul, I was raised with the concept: If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all =)

I do not value unsolicited negative feedback, and I tend to doubt the sincerity of anyone who makes the conscious decision to publicly present suggestions on how I could and or should re-style a look according to their personal preference. I often benefit from constructive criticism, however I do not allow room for insincere feedback laced with negativity.

Basically, just like anyone else,  I wear what I WANT to wear. I am not in the market for field suggestions on how I can change my personal style to suit anyone else’s preference(s). 

Thanks for stopping by today Beauties! Please do share: 
How do you feel when someone offers negative feedback on how and why you should change an outfit that you’ve styled?

Until next time!
XO