A Victorian beauty manual, Kabuki makeup brush, Revlon red lipstick, a brooch and a vintage copy of the Girl Scouts handbook surround a vintage-inspired frame.
This is my portrait of thrifted femininity.
The topic of what it means to be feminine has always been a bit contradictory for me. While I’m always educating myself on issues of gendered equality and resisting the advertising machine for body type and beauty expectations, I do admittedly spend a considerable amount of money on keeping up appearances, so to speak.
Sure, I find thrifted and bargain clothes and accessories that I love immensely. But when it comes to skin care and cosmetics, I find myself blissfully wandering the aisles of Sephora with glassy, wide eyes in amazement of all the pretty, pretty things.
And what’s so wrong with that, really?
Perhaps the money I spend on looking like a celebrity with a team of professional stylists is partially funded by the incredible savings on all of the awesome, kitsch, vintage oddities I have affordably bought secondhand.
Am I right?
