When I was little, my mom used to say something like this: A rose has to suffer to be beautiful.
As a child, I didn't fully understand what she meant, but, as I grew in my own skin as woman, I began to understand what she really meant by that odd statement: women do suffer to look beautiful!

I mean... where should we start? We wax, we tweeze, we wear dangerous high heels, we go on crazy diets to fit that amazing pair of jeans, we wear make up everyday, we... well, we suffer to look beautiful. The standards are just impossible, let's face it, but we keep on trying to look as glamorous,  thin and as beautifully as the women who populate magazines, TV shows, movies and blogs. So why bother? Well, because it's worth it. It's worth it when you look yourself at the mirror and the fact that you are all waxed, make-up ready and wearing a glorious outfit inspired by someone you saw on a magazine makes you feel damn confident. Yes, it is a question of confidence!

Let me tell you a little secret... women don't dress for men, they dress for other women. Because a man, well most straight men, can't really appreciate your shoes or your new lipstick, whereas a woman will immediately notice them when she walks by.

It's strange how our confidence can be born of such trivial, even superficial things, but I'm the first to admit it: women are a strange species. I don't even think we can fully understand one another!
And, at the end of the day, I don't think all these things are that superficial anyhow...

Back to the confidence issue... Well, speaking from personal experience, I will tell you this: I am my most self when I am in full woman mode. I feel more comfortable in my own skin when I look at the mirror and see my carefully made-up face, when I hear the sound of my heels clicking away on the pavement, when I'm ready to face the world. Yes, I do love to stay in my pj's, no make-up on, just me and a blanket and some warm socks. But girls, when I look at the mirror in those days I don't really feel it. Do you?

We are not what we wear. We aren't. But what we wear and how we choose to look to others is a vital part of our existence, confidence (once again!) and personality. So we suffer, because it's worth it! Because all those little things makes us confident, powerful and amazing!