the peacock flies at midnight ….
i have a shocking revelation for my loyal fans. this may come as somewhat of a surprise to you all, seeing how devil-may-care and deliciously witty i can be – but i have a problem.
i am vain as a peacock.
yes, that’s right. i am that girl that will change three times before leaving the house. i am that girl that will shower and change into something cheery when going grocery shopping on a blustery day. i am that girl that owns fifteen purses and 30 pairs of shoes.
i am that girl that cleans house in a dress, just to feel pretty. i am that girl that cannot watch an audrey hepburn movie without looking presentable. i am that girl who will reapply lip gloss and tossle my hair and pinch my cheeks pink before going into the coffee shop, as to look windswept and carefree.
and i am vain, i am oh so vain. i plan outfits for events months in advance. i make sure i have presentable underwear (preferably my pink lacy hipsters) on when i go out at night, even though there isn’t a monkey’s chance in hell that anyone will see them. i throw away pictures of myself that i find unpleasing. i have preferences on different mirrors in our house as to which is the most flattering. and for the record, there are four hung mirrors in our apartment, not counting the bathroom, which is my favorite.
this isn’t just unadulterated tell-all. this has a purpose. i’m unveiling a new initiative: it’s called Operation Free the Peacock.
while in discussion with the queen of wit, ms. sarah b., we have come up with a way to challenge our debilitating mirror-addictions: one day without looking in the mirror. at an as-yet-undetermined date next week, ms. sarah b. and i will go from morning to bedtime without once checking our reflection. this includes:
no mirrors
no window reflections
no car bumper reflections*
no subway glimpses
no staring intently into other people’s sunglasses
no staring intently into total strangers’ eyes
no staring intently at computer screens, toilet stall doors, or watches or any other shiny object.
*obviously, an exception should be made while sarah b. is driving – if it happens that she must catch her reflection in a rear-or-sideview mirror while safeguarding herself from harm, petit hiboux would like to assure everyone (including her betrothed) that she should look in a mirror rather than get in a car accident.
but what i really want to say is -
c’mon, sisters out there. shatter the beauty myth. throw the book at the obsessive perfection of beauty. don’t worry about coloring inside the lines – just don’t color at all. ignore your bangs. wear whatever you want to wear. practice a radiant smile instead of applying eyeshadow. think about the sass in your walk instead of your ass in those pants. show your true beauty without having to reaffirm it with a biased, 2-D representation. ignore the mirror – concentrate instead on your inner rock star. you’ll look how you feel – like a million bucks. without a mirror.
you can do this for a day too – want to join us?