Confidence. Sexiness.

When this picture of Tracee Ellis Ross popped up in my Pinterest timeline, it kinda left an impression on me.  I captioned it, “I wanna be this sexy when I grow up.”  Now every time someone likes or repins it, I get to thinking about it again.  Why did this picture stick with me, so?  I mean seriously, at any given moment, I can log onto Tumblr and see a million scantily clad a** shots.  It’s actually kinda disturbing considering that many of them are webcam self-portraits of 16 yr olds (that’s a whole different post for another day.)  Tracee’s dress is very form fitting…showing of those killer curves, but she is also very covered up.  I’d even venture to say that the fact that she’s left something to the imagination only adds to the sexiness of the photo, no?  Anyway, the point is there is no lack of sexy in today’s world, so what was it about this picture that gave me something to aspire for? and then it hit me.

CONFIDENCE.

That is what this photo projects to me….a quiet sexiness characterized by confidence.   It is the kind of  sexiness that does not require skimpy clothing (though skimpy clothing does have a time and a place.)

So, I guess what I really mean when I say “I wanna be this sexy when I grow up,” is “I wanna have the kind of confidence that allows me to exude this much sexiness one day.”

I’m sure it’s safe to say that Tracee has insecurities…things she doesn’t love about her physical appearance.  What woman doesn’t have these little things?  But when I look at Tracee, I see a woman who’s confidence is not shaken by such things.  The woman she presents to the word each day is a portrait of confidence, and THAT IS SEXY.

Now, I don’t mean to confuse confidence with pretense and vanity.  I mean to say that confidence and sexiness both go far beyond physical appearance.    In fact, confidence picks up where your perceived physical shortcomings leave off (key word = perceived.)

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On Confidence: Every once in a while, I feel compelled to share my thoughts beyond fashion with you guys.  Confidence is something I struggle with daily.  I know that seems a little conflicting when you consider the fact that I take pictures of myself on almost a daily basis, but it’s true.  Remember, confidence is not to be confused with vanity (not that I am vain…okay, well maybe a little narcissistic…just being honest.)  I was recently talking with Mattie and Cath about this very thing — CONFIDENCE.  When I attend events or blogger networking functions, I absolutely suck at selling myself.  I get so intimidated by all the other talented people in the room and I just shrink into myself.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not shy…and I don’t just sit in the corner…I just don’t sell myself or my blog.  I’d rather just engage in small talk and get to know people.  I am naturally very friendly, so this is easy for me.  Unfortunately, this might result in a lot of missed opportunities if I don’t leave the right impression on the right people.  Being remembered as “that nice girl” is great, but you also wanna be remembered as “that nice girl with the really awesome fashion and style blog…we could really use someone like her.”  I know this has nothing to do with being sexy. LOL! I just thought I’d share an area of my life that I know is affected by a lack of confidence sometimes.

Photo Source

Sexy. Confident. What do these words mean to you?

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