What Famous People Do That We Admire
Have you ever thought it would be fun to be famous?
When I was in school, my girlfriends and I imagined ourselves acting in plays in New York. Being famous was never really our goal, but living life to the fullest was. Being an actress in New York seemed the way to achieve that.
I don’t know that I want to be famous but something about this saying “Dress as if you are already famous” captures my imagination. The idea of “dressing as if you are already famous” sparks a deeper meaning for me than appears at first blush.
To be famous means to be renowned and celebrated. To be renowned and celebrated means you have to have done something notable and people appreciate you for it. Everyone wants to be acknowledged for the good work they do. We derive our self-respect from being inwardly proud of who we are and what we do in the world. Becoming “famous” goes deeper than that.
Freedom to Be Who You Are
We wear so many different “hats” in our lives. We are always contorting ourselves slightly to be who we need to be in the moment and in a certain role in our lives. As a wife, mother, professional at work, friend, consumer, philanthropist, student, mentor, home renovation manager, fundraiser, the number and variety of our roles is endless. In each role, we portray a small part of ourselves we’ve chosen to meet the needs of the particular situation.
How often do we feel free enough to be our unfiltered selves? People use alcohol for that. Being famous means you’ve already been brave enough to put your true, fabulous and most vulnerable self “out there” and you’ve been rewarded for it. Dressing as if you are already famous is a way to begin to reveal your true self in anticipation that your true self will be well-received.
Becoming Your Best Self
People who are famous have taken the leap of faith to nurture and develop a talent or gift they have to see what might come of it. Athletes, Nobel Prize Winners in every category, writers, chemists, actors, fashion designers, inventors and others have mined their gifts and talents to the fullest and come up with diamonds to share with others. They have stretched themselves to become their best selves. Rarely do successful people achieve such goals in an effort to be famous. They become famous because they have achieved great goals.
Glowing From Within
Perhaps you know the famous poem that begins “When I am old I shall wear purple . . .” It’s about the desire to be free to defy convention, wear whatever you like and do whatever you like. The underlying premise of this poem, written by Jenny Joseph at the age of 29, is that because of all the roles we must play in our lives we must subvert our wild true selves to convention and only when we are old will we possibly have the freedom to be ourselves.
Dressing as if you are already famous is about being your true self and the best version of yourself, unfiltered, and to be, not only accepted, but celebrated right now. The real value in dressing as if you are already famous lies in the fact that the only person we need to be “famous” for is ourselves. We don’t really need the accolades of fame or prestige. Honoring and appreciating our own true “self” is all we need to be happy and fulfilled. Using clothes to express ourselves is one way to honor ourselves.
You may not want to dress in all pink like the Pink Lady of Hollywood, but listen to her message. Uncompromisingly being and expressing who you are is the way to enjoy life to the fullest. (She just happens to be the Pink Lady of Hollywood.)
Dress as if you are already famous! Dress to become your unique and fabulous true self. Let your freak flag fly. We are all “freaks” (translation: wonderfully unique). Allow your freak-ness/uniqueness to shine, shimmer and sparkle. Your courage to be who you are will inspire others still hiding in their comfortable, convenient and often limiting life roles. We need more “famous” people in the world.
The Author
I LOVE this idea. This post really made me think. “Dressing as if you are already famous is about being your true self and the best version of yourself, unfiltered, and to be, not only accepted, but celebrated right now. ” That is a fantastic attitude. I definitely do not do this, but I am trying to look more put together. I just read several clothing pots here LOL! I dress for an event or a professional situation, but at home I know I look very frumpy! It may be time to change that!
My mum is a huge fan of the Red Hatters group – they are based on the “when I’m old I’ll wear purple, with a red hat” poem. I love that getting older means we can dress how we like, do our hair how we like, get a tattoo, or a piercing, or wear funky shoes and jewelry – so much choice and we only have to please ourselves. Great post – and I loved the Pink Lady.
Oh I would love to be the Pink Lady and her message is spot on, Linda. I have to admit I’ve become much more casual in my dress especially at home since I retired from the corporate world. However, if you dress as if you are famous who knows where we might end up!!! Thanks Linda for sharing with us at #BloggersPitStop and have a great weekend.
Our readers are loving your posts, Linda. For me, they are adding to the balance of the Linkup and we look forward to your future posts. We will be featuring your post this week.
Kathleen
Blogger’s Pit Stop
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Linda, though I’ve never wanted to be famous, I’m intrigued by the line “Dress as if you are already famous.” Lots to think about here!
Going out in public is my dressing as if I am famous. lol For years I was always fully made up just to go to the grocery store no more. Some may see this as lazy I see it as liberating.
[…] DRESS AS IF YOU ARE ALREADY FAMOUS by Linda […]
Very cool piece. I love her style although even though she says there is a lot of variety on it, I would like to mix in a few other colors sometimes too. I think her pink house is overwhelming, but her fashion, makeup, and life perspective is fascinating. She reminds me of a Miranda Lambert Song, “Pink Sunglasses.” Thanks for sharing
I think the pink lady of hollywood has the idea. Dress the way you want to, not to fit in. Loved this post