Why I Shop at Aerie

Every year around Christmastime, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show airs.. And I don't watch. I've actually never watched it before, and it's not because of your typical feminist "I don't want to endorse that type of image" answer. I just have 0 interest in the Fashion Show. I always have until I came across some of Adriana Lima's statements about her diet as a Victoria's Secret Angel in a People Magazine article. 

She indulges in "no solids" for those nine days, and then, for 12 hours before the show, "No liquids at all so you dry out, sometimes you can lose up to eight pounds just from that."

Wow. Nine days of no food. Nine days of nasty protein shakes that give you much less than your body needs. Although she has tried to recant and say her regimen is not as drastic as it seems - I beg to differ. That is crazy. Millions of people across the globe tune in every December and applaud her for what she does to her body. I just can't. After knowing this about the "Angels," I can't seem to justify shopping there or condoning that type of treatment to the most important thing in this tangible world: my body.

These same ideals go along with the Barbie revelation that has been made recently about who she would be if she was made human.

  

Now of course, every 5 year old isn't going to pour over every dimension of a Barbie doll. But, it's the principle of the idea. I remember growing up thinking Barbie was who I wanted to be: smart and kind and beautiful! Instilling some of these ideas into our daughters at such a young age warps and changes our perception of what is acceptable. 

But all of that aside, I have fallen even more in love with Aerie and their response to these heightened expectations that have fallen into women's laps over the past decades. This past Friday, Aerie unveiled their 'Aerie Real' campaign in which all the women featured in their photographs are unaltered with no Photoshop and no airbrushing. 

 

It's refreshing and beautiful knowing I'm supporting a company that does not expect me to look like models in their ads. A company that believes in natural beauty. It's a breath of fresh air. I applaud Aerie for their new campaign and for their discontent with society's standards. 

Here's to beauty in a million different forms.

Xoxo, Ash.