{ladylike}

I don't know why the topic scares me so much, but it does. Which is unfortunate, since it's something that I'm passionate about. Maybe it's because I've been burned before by people who just don't understand why I am so concerned about presenting myself as classy, ladylike, and feminine. I consider myself a feminist, which may seem impossible to some since half the clothes of my closet are varying shades of pink. But these days, for some reason, the words feminist and feminine, are not only contradictory, but controversial. It's unfortunate, since women have apparently few choices as to how they present themselves today. At the risk of being, God forbid, regressive, we can choose to stay home with our children and wear dresses everyday. Or we can support women's equality by fighting our way to the top of the corporate ladder and giving our families second priority. Is there no middle ground?

But, I digress. This is not a essay on the complications of being a woman, and the struggle between feminism and femininity. It's more of an announcement, I suppose. Because I want to write about the things that make me, me. I want to write about how to be classy and ladylike, and how I'm personally working toward becoming these things. At the same time, however, I'm having trouble with the fact that a lot of my opinions will come off as expectations, and I don't want anyone to feel bad about themselves because they don't meet these standards. They are my own values, and if anyone applies them to themselves, whether positively or negatively, that's their perogative.

So that's it. That is my disclaimer for a new topic of posts that I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing. I've yet to find the perfect resource online for being ladylike and classy, so I'm creating my own.

{via}