There are women who are just born chic. When they are young, they are fearless with fashion, and as they age, their wardrobe evolves with equal grace. They are exemplars of each year’s best in hair, makeup, and dress—without succumbing to the mistakes of hopeless trend junkies. Even decades later, you can sift through their old photographs and, without an ounce of deceit, say, “You look fabulous!”
Some women, however, are not so lucky. Maybe they are swamped with the relentless demands of their career or family life and have no time to think about clothes. Maybe they’ve never been exposed to good style and therefore have no idea how to wield it for themselves. Or maybe they belong to the lot who consider fashion a frivolous, worthless pastime—and simply pay it no mind.
Whatever the reason, what these women have in common is that they probably don’t look as put-together as they could—even if they don’t care about appearances.
But here’s the trouble with not caring. Whether or not we like to admit it, we live in a world where we are judged on how we look. When you’re hunting for a job, interviewers expect you to be dressed with polish and professionalism. When you’re meeting your man’s parents, your chances of making a good impression are increased with a classy outfit. Even when you’re going out for a meal or a drink, it pays to look presentable, as some bars, clubs, and restaurants enforce a strict dress code.
But beyond all that, I’ve always believed that dressing well is significant for a simpler, more personal reason: It makes you feel good about yourself. Every woman has her own beauty, no matter how she dresses—but with a flattering frock, a dab of lipstick, and few strategic snips off the coif, you can reveal all of that beauty, instead of having to make do with hazy hints of it. With that big reveal comes the big revelation: that you are a good-looking, go-getting gal—and no one can take that away from you.
I know change can be daunting for a lot of us. I’ll be the first to admit that I hate getting my hair cut. I’ll grow it as long as I possibly can, and when the split ends start to show, I’ll twist it all into a bun and pretend it never happened. But after a few months of blissful denial, I’ll catch myself in the mirror with my crop of crazy curls unraveled, and I’ll realize that I’m starting resemble Chewbacca. And it’s straight to the salon from there.
What I’m saying is that everyone needs a makeover from time to time. Makeovers, in fact, are the secret to how stylephiles keep abreast of fashion’s frequent mood swings. They’ll chop off their cascading locks in favor of this season’s pixie cuts, or trade last year’s tiny skirts for this year’s maxi lengths. During the -ber months, they’ll paint their lids gold and their lips deep plum—but when summer strikes, it’s back to the barely-there look.
At the end of the day, and any which way you look at it, all fashionistas ascribe to this truth: that change is good.
That’s why every chick flick factors in a major makeover sequence. The heroines are wonderful, endearing people who have all the makings of a success story—they just need a little tweaking to bring all that potential into fruition. Before our very eyes, a tacky teen or dowdy dame transforms into a class act, and we realize what is possible in our own lives—honest-to-goodness glamor.
Below are five of my favorite onscreen transformations. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I’m a sucker for a good makeover!
(Photo from Pretty Woman courtesy of Touchstone Pictures)
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