so i wanted to start off this entry by giving a huuuuge thank you to everyone whose purchased, viewed and subscribed to sugar dreams so far. your support means the absolute world to me and i couldn't be more grateful ! the last few months have been crazy for me with reopening, moving to a new place and as i type this out, there are 19 days left until i get married! CRAZY ! but super exciting ! but enough about me. lets get into the blog post !

 

i love adore 2000s movies. if you invited me over to your house to watch mean girls, aquamarine or legally blonde, i'd be there in a heart beat; hello kitty plushies, face masks and snacks in tow. most of this genre of movies have a 'makeover' scene, or if not, they feature characters transforming their look. i adore this type of scene, they're so fun, over the top, girly, and unfortunately, toxic.

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so don't get me wrong, talking down on hyper femininity is not what i'm here to do. but there is something to be said about the concept of appealing to the male gaze. many of these iconic movies have characters experience a makeover in order to land a guy or gain popularity. generally this happens by becoming a conventional type of beauty and attracting more men. it hasn't really aged well. but that doesn't necessarily make makeovers wrong. when i personally decided to start wearing makeup and dressing more alternatively, i felt like i was taking control over my life. and trust me when i say it's never been for a guy. if i wanted to appeal to the guys around me i'd have dressed a lot more conventionally. ironically now as an adult, i seem to get a lot more attention for this style but that's a totally different story. a makeover can be a fun way to say 'i'm in charge of the way i'm perceived.'

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some 2000s movies and shows that approach the makeover this way are gossip girl, wild child and ice princess, where characters express their inner feelings and dreams by allowing themselves to play with an appearance they didn't think could change or thought they needed to have. they might be a bit corny but they're worth watching !  spoiler alert: in gossip girl, jenny goes from preppy to gothic; originally believing she needed to look one way to fit in and later, expressing her true self when she no longer wanted to give up her integrity. in wild child, poppy goes from malibu princess, to a still girly, but more down to earth look, realizing she didn't need to put on a show to be loved. and in ice princess, casey goes from 'plain jane' to, well, an ice princess, when she decides to embrace her femininity and realizes there's nothing wrong with wanting to feel beautiful.  

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the makeover scene might be over used, and sometimes a little corny, perhaps even a bit of step backward at times, but really, they can be fun and even healthy. if you haven't already done it for yourself, maybe try it out one day. wear your feelings on your face or on your sleeve. take control of the way you're perceived ! after all, there is no specific way you have to look to be the best version of you.

            

xo sugar xo