*This is a non makeup related post. I must tell you first that this is purely my opinion and I don't mean to offend anyone.
How do I start this.... Well, from September to February, I wore glasses to school and alternated between business casual and just casual clothes (my school allows running shoes). I didn't like to wear contacts to school because my eyes would feel irritated early in the morning. I also just stuck to basic powder and blush.
From the start of March until now, I dress the same, except I wear my contacts and use a bit of makeup because I don't wear my glasses. I started to wear my contacts because I just felt like prettying myself instead of looking like a nerd all day.
Between both of these times, I've noticed different responses from my school.
Back in those months that I wore glasses, I always say hi to the teachers I pass in the hallways, yet half of them just give me a dirty look or the cold shoulder.
Since the start of March, when I say hi to the same teachers, I get a better response from them. For example, when I walk down the hallways, the teachers would actual acknowledge that I was saying hi to them and they would smile back. My students are even a bit nicer to me. So what gives??? Do looks really matter???
I'm not saying this about Korea specifically, but I'm just saying, I seem to notice that looks matter a lot. Whenever I go to the washrooms, I see a lot of women touching up their makeup and redoing their hair.
So before I continue babbling on about things that don't seem to make sense (I can't seem to put my words together right now), just read these Time Magazine articles here and here. You'll understand what I'm trying to say.
28 comments:
no i agree with u
whenever i do put effort into the way i dress
ppl treat me a lot better
but my friend thinks its because when we look better we also more confident in ourselves and we seem friendly?
hmm, I agree.
I'm not sure whether this is correct or not.. but in country such as Japan and Korea, makeup and wear nicer are ways to show your respect towards other. Even young girl in Japanese secondary school, they makeup to school, but off course, not that over type.
I will know this because there was once a Japanese student stayed at my cousin house because of students exchange programme, that's why I know... hehe
Wow, Yume-chan's point is so interesting.
I agree, when I put an effort into how I look, people treat me better.
I wear makeup because it gives me more self-confidence. I know I smile more and I'm sure that makes me look friendlier!
I totally agree.
I was a big nerd back in 7th grade,
people treated me differently, I can feel it.
Now, they treat me a lot better.. just simple basic everyday stuff really, esp the aussie guys - help me open the door, speak more friendly, and etcetera.. i cant explain it but i can feel it =/ huh...
looks does matter.. only a hypocrite says looks doesnt matter. thats why we girls r lucky we have make up =)
so true. people can be superficial like that, when they notice someone who looks more pleasing..but its reality. sometimes its easier for someone to notice someone who looks pretty, made up and everything..but when you're not wearing nice clothes and no makeup they barely notice you..its sad but true..sometimes it pisses me. i used to be really tanned, with short hair and i barely cared on how i looked physically..i even wore really baggy dark clothes..and it was the time when nobody cared and noticed me..
I'm a big nearsighted too. When I wear glasses,I feel very nerdy and don't want ppl notice me. But I heard 90% of nearsighted opthamologists wear glasses, so I wouldn't try lazor surgery.I think makeup skills can really cover up the imperfections. Plastic surgery costs a lot of money and risky.
I've lived in Japan, and it's really important to present your best "face" in public, and that means makeup, designer clothes, bags and shoes...ya gotta keep up with those OLs!
I also notice that Koreans in particular are obsessed with having double eyelids and sculpted cheekbones, much more so than other Asian countries! The bigger the eyes, the better, and I've never see so much eyelid surgery in my life than amongst Koreans!
I have nothing against good grooming and nice makeup (and designer bags, clothes and shoes!), but I still wear my glasses most days because I sit in front of a computer and my eyes get too dry!
Personally, I have been wearing glasses for three years. I invest in glasses, right now I have Seiko frames. I try to make them a part of my style (does that make sense?). I tend not to judge people by their physical traits, because... I'm pretty imperfect myself so how could I judge someone for what they are on the outside?
Don't let them bring you down. Just do whatever makes you feel comfortable. When I feel ok with how I look I am very confident and I smile a lot-even at strangers.
that was a long comment wasn't it?
teachers are just different like that i suppose - it's also stores, people act different to a person dressed up than a person in sweatpants though it's their wallet that really matters!
people need to be more open minded! then again here we are blogging about makeup :)
I find that this is especially true in Korea. I went back over the summer, and was pretty disconcerted by how looks orientated a lot of the people were. I guess that's why there's a plastic surgery clinic around every corner.
dressing up can lead to confidence.. but at the same time, you're more likely to acknowledge them. that's why magazines have pretty people in them.. so more people look!
this is a great post.. very thought invoking :)
Back in middle school, I was the biggest nerd. I had glasses, braces, acne, and was the smallest and thinnest girl ever. I was ignored and had one close knit group of friends. Before entering high school, I got contacts, my braces taken off, and began experimenting with make up. I've grown with curves, grew to be 5'6". And people treat me so differently now. I have tons of friends, but I never forget who I truly am. I'm President of our school's book club! Hahah, I'm still a nerd inside :] But it's sad that people get judged by how they look.
I totally understand what you mean. I'm twenty something, yet, if I don't dress my age I look like I'm 16. So this one time I went to a Sephora at the uptown mall and I wasn't really dressed up and they followed me like I was going to shoplift. It's awful how others can make you feel. So, I wanted to test it out and dressed up and had LV purse with me that day. They were so nice to me and didn't follow me or anything. It really pissed me off. I like to feel comfy when I'm shopping I don't want to have to dress a certain way or carry a certain handbag so they won't think I'm a shoplifter.
Definitely! Pretty people get a leg up everywhere! I do think it has something to do with confidence as well. If you look good, you'll feel good, and you'll carry yourself with confidence. I was pretty invisible in my highschool years. Going off to college changed things, especially after I had my braces removed and I started getting more active on campus.
Beauty shouldn't be everything. But it is reality. I feel it too. When I dress better, people treat me differently. I still wear glasses though =] I also think it's the confidence factor.
But in Korea, I think to them beauty is everything. My friend told me a story about her friend and how she couldn't get a job because she wasn't 'pretty' enough. She got cosmetic surgery, and easily found a job after. =S
this is a sad superficial world we live in! but i agree that when you feel you look cute, you naturally have more confidence ;p
i went the opposite route. i used to try to dress cute to work but i work in a construction based industry. lot's of construction workers...being one of the few women, the youngest by far, my motto has become, "dull it down" hahaha.
Looks aren't EVERYTHING but sadly they're quite important in the world we live in, esp in modern society. It's a harsh truth but it IS true! :/ Now whether it's a good or bad thing, that's another story.
hi, i'm a new readr, stumbled upon your site from another beauty blogger :)
anyway your topic caught my eye bcause i can relate; it's so completely true :'( i'm one of those people where it's like 'i can be as pretty as i am ugly with makeup on'. in other words, without makeup, i'm freaken disgusting, and with it on, i'm beautiful. (lol don't really mean to brag, but you get the idea, HEAPS better!!!) lol without makeup, i'm so ugly sometimes people will look away from my face and one time a lady even put up her hand over her face to cover what she was seeing - me! :O!!! and with makeup on, people are soooo much nicer to me, i get smiled at, and i even get hoots and hollers and whistle calls. it's not fair - it just goes to show that i HAVE to look my best before i go out in public, people are so superficial :'( the world would be a better place if we were blind, that's a fact.
p.s. sorry for the long comment but i just wanted to add to somthing that the other ladies have mentioned: while confidence CAN make you more approachable, its not necessarily true. i've acted the exact same way as i do without makeup on, and sometimes i'm the biggest, stuck up bitch on the street and i still get positive reactions from people. so there! lol
Awww
"Wear your confidence, don't let it wear YOU"
I think if you rocked your glasses, and rocked them with confidence, it commands sort of respect.
I know for me personally I wear glasses too, and had a complex about wearing them out in public, but it beats the heck out me squinting at people and signs like an old lady and looking even more foolish (in others eyes) -- so wear your glasses, and who cares... our society is so caught up i superficial and good face, that no wonder poor girls and young girls have such horrid and distorted complexes and issues growing up and into their skin.
Beauty is only skin deep, cliche but TRUE.
im sure you're adorable in glasses.
Ooh, this is a very good blog entry. (=
that is so true it happened to me before in my freshman year in high school i had really thick glasses and no one really noticed me and the next year i got contacts and all of these guys started to be nice to me and hit on me. it really sucks to know that people are so shallow. i now know that beauty isn't everything because it'll all go away one day. my boyfriend's a sweetheart he actually wants me in my super thick glasses and doesn't care whether i wear makeup or not so there is still hope. either way your beautiful
I think looks really do matter, which can be quite sad sometimes. But it's just part of reality unfortunately. The important thing is to not care and still be able to do what you want. Don't wear contacts just because others treat you better. I think it has to do with you look more awake, your eyes are more visible, making you more approachable and more personable.. at least imo.
But I do find it liberating when I'm made to feel beautiful even on my off (no makeup, grungy) days.
It sucks that looks matter so much. I know exactly what you're talking about. whenever i dress nice for work people react better towards me. Its so silly how such a small thing changes your image and who you are entirely to these people.
Hmmm.. I understand what you mean! Some people think that if you're pretty, then they should pay more attention to you. If you are pretty, maybe you are smart. Something like that & what they don't realize is theres more into that person than the physical thing they see.
I think you are pretty no matter what. maybe the glasses makes you look strict that is why students are distant.
I do the same job as you, and I think looks and presentation definitely make a difference in the way that one is treated in Korean schools. I've only been to school one time without make-up and nice hair, when i was feeling really ill and overslept and I felt like a ghost that day, drifting in and out of classes with no-one really acknowledging me. Luckily I wasn't teaching that day, I don't think I could have coped!
Personally I'm of the belief that in a professional setting you should make an effort with make-up, grooming and clothes. I wouldn't want to get my haircut by someone who looked sloppy and unkempt and I think most jobs are the same. How I look in my downtime is another matter....
yeshh thats true, evidently in my school too
if i do my hair and makeup people i dont talk to much actually ackowledge me more.. hmms..
so true
pretty and well dressed people are tend to be treated better...
it's how the society today does
It's true, I used to wear glasses until a lil over a year ago. People in real life who always saw me with glasses would then see my pics on MySpace or whatever and tell me I look so "different." Glasses = smart/nerdy/serious looking.
Although I am much happier with contacts, even when I carried myself with confidence while wearing glasses, I was still seen and treated as "the smart girl."
In general, it's true that the better looking people think you are, the better treatment you receive, regardless of confidence and friendliness level. (Two people could project equal amounts but the better looking person will be better received than the other person.)
Then again...let's just hope that it took the teachers and students some time to accept you and warm up to you, and it had nothing to do with you wearing glasses or contacts or makeup. =)
Personally...I prefer those with the total package, and I think personality qualities can enhance or take away from a person's physical appearance. Our looks don't last forever, people need to have some character and smarts to back it up! =)
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