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Renee CK

writer, editor, tweetable http://twitter.com/chicskirt

I'm a fun girl who's on a quest to figure it all out. I'm cynical but living the dream- I'm not sure how that happened exactly. Follow along in my blog for fun, mayhem, and merriment. There's never a dull day! (Or, go download my book!)...

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Elle Woods- Feminist

with great accessories

As always happens, I was flipping through the channels on a weekend night and got sucked in by one of my favorites- this time, Legally Blonde.  Reese Witherspoon has played many a fine role, but I think even her Oscar run as June Carter Cash wasn’t as sublime as the work she did as Elle Woods- heartbroken law student.

I watched the movie with full attention to detail having seen it 147 times. (Maybe not quite that many, but it’s been a lot.)  When Elle handed her scented pink-papered resumé to her professor, it hit me that I am Elle Woods.

She and I share a style that is uniquely our own, but definitely girlie.  She picks her ruffles and scarves from the current runway while I pluck my see-through brown dress with pink polka dots from a discount rack and my cloche hat from an antique mall.  The effect is quite the same.  Overstated girlieness.

Things like penchant for pink, perfect parchment choices, and pleasure in being treated like a lady make our feminist sisters roll their eyes and swear our cause has been rolled back 15 years. 

The reason everyone loves Elle (and me, I think) is because despite the nearly unbelievable appearance and friendships that ooze selflessness, she is, at the core, her very own woman.  Sadly, sometimes in embracing her femininity, she doesn’t even realize that she’s projecting an image of something she’s not.  Surely Callahan expected that someone who was well-versed in fashion and pop culture was looking to use those skills to snag a man.  He, however, would be dead wrong.  I would offer that it is Callahan and his backward thinking that is causing the rolling back of time in the feminism clock.  Elle (and I) have the option to embrace whatever we want to in order to feel best about ourselves. Any ideas about what that means other than we like ruffles and smelling good are projections from the viewer.

Now, this isn’t to say there aren’t some wolves in Dolce & Gabbana clothes.  Clearly Elle’s friends who made a supportive appearance at Brook’s trial in the first Legally Blonde were just clueless.  You don’t show up in court, make an entrance, and then wave hi to the judge.  But, Elle and I know better.  There is a delicate balance to pulling off overstated girlieness.  However, automatically assuming that someone who has fake, well, anything (mine happens to be Dolce & Gabbana) is one of the clueless ones is insulting.  Give us a chance to show you which we truly are.  When you learn, then you can decide if it’s worth meeting us at, say, oh Starbucks to listen to how truly fabulous they are or at a rally for social injustice perhaps a tad overdressed but in a way that completely works for us. 

Elle and I are cut from the same cloth.  She got the better body, damn her, but we both will surprise you if you leave your preconceived ideas at the door and give us a chance.  Don’t let the blonde fool you.  There’s a lot more than air inside our hat displays otherwise known as heads.

Enjoy!

Renée