Ever since The Hunger Games franchise pulled Jennifer Lawrence into the A-list spotlight, America’s pop culture media and those who follow America’s pop culture media have been charmed and confused by her. She wants french fries while wearing Dior? But who could conceive of such a thing? Its so refreshing that she’s so real.
Jennifer Lawrence now holds the hearts of America’s teenage girls, “twenty-something” women, and most men, in her Frito-loving fingers. She likes to hang out with the guys, she has brothers who make fart jokes with her, she eats pizza a lot, and when she trips everyone smiles because, well, how charming to see a celebrity be a human.
I respect J-Law’s real-girl attitude as much as anyone else. I also like pizza and sometimes I trip over my own feet. However, the Zooey Deschanel in me who secretly wishes she were a mermaid, and wore a ball gown to school when she was younger, feels a little stupid and old-fashioned seeing Jennifer Lawrence so comfortable making ugly faces at the camera. I was never okay with appearing ugly. I am mortified at the idea of fart jokes. Does this make me shallow, or fake?
The most beautiful part of fashion is that style is personal. The wearer represents his or herself in what they put on in the morning, whether it be a pair of track pants or a winter white Valentino blazer. There is no such thing as the real woman who hates walking in heels, because some women love a pair of six-inch black satin platform pumps and maybe used to steal their mother’s to play in.
The “real woman”, or “real girl”, has become a brand, and what is supposedly real continues to be fabricated by the media when discussing Jennifer Lawrence.
Take the no-makeup selfie trend as another example. How great is it that women are showing off clean skin and naturally bright eyes. But what happens when self-consciousness takes over and we find ourselves putting on the slightest bit of eyeliner, barely visible to others. This tendency is just as natural because we’re all scared of being judged. Fear of being unattractive is real, so we should embrace the fear. Embrace heels, mascara, sweatpants, and greasy pizza at 2 am, because everyone’s personal style is real in a world where individuality matters.