4 Responses to “Ella’s Fashion Confessions”

Kinja Says:
April 19th, 2006 at 9:58 am

Ella,

I think it is interesting that you mention Cinderella in this post and in previous ones. Your opinion of her has obviously changed since your childhood. I think that many women do have the attitute that they will wait on a man to take care of all their needs and solve all their problems. I can understand not wanting to be like that. I think men at some point like to be needed in this way but eventually as they mature and prefer a more independent woman - at least somewhat independent. I see myself having done this. As for Cinderella herself - the character - when the story was derived Cinderella really had no recource to help herself - this was supposedly centuries ago and girls like her had few rights or means. Then it really was hard to be a single woman and it was realy important to find a man. I do not recall Cinderella wanting to meet a prince - she just wanted to be at the fancy dance like her step-sisters and wear nice clothes instead of her rags. She was glad to be found by the prince, but it does not appear that was her goal. I think that she was happy to have experienced the ball. Another lost element of the Cinderella story is that she had the smallest foot in the village. In theory if one had a smaller foot, her shoe would have fit someone else albeit loosely but would have been acceptable by the prince. It is only in recent decades that women cared less about having small feet. I read somewhere that the average women’s shoe sold a few years ago was a ‘7′ and is now an ‘8′. The article said it was because of women participating more in sports and also growing a little taller. Some men prefer large feet and some like small - of course there’s the ancient food-binding done in some of the Asian cultures. As for me, I really don’t care about size as much as appearance. A woman with a well proportioned and taken care of foot and a pretty feminine shoe will catch many a man’s eye - especially if she walks like a lady - regardless of the shoe size.

Bye,
Kinja

Designer Ella Says:
April 24th, 2006 at 5:15 pm

I think we also need to think about our youth, as they live in today and the future, and how they take the story. We really do see it in today’s terms, and obviously not literally (with magic and all).

It’s true that she just wanted a nicer life–and historically, if you take the original version’s time, she had no choice or power. But it is a timeless tale, and the story played out in a way that teaches us to wait for others. You see?

Yes, Cinderella had the smallest foot in her land, which means her shoe would be too snug on all the others, certainly fitting no one else.

It’s interesting to study Cinderella the way I have recently for a class, which was to rework it for different versions. It does need to be updated.

Kinja Says:
May 1st, 2006 at 8:43 am

Hi Ella,

No doubt, Cinderella is a timeless tale that knows no geography. there are versions in many countries and seemingly, many of them evolved independently. The Egyptian version where the bird carries off the girl’s sandal to the Pharoah (sp?) is an interesting version.

In today’s society there is certainly an application and that is why the story survives and thrives. There’s a part if the girl who thinks like Cinderella at times and a part of the boy who thinks like Prince Charming. However real life does not really fit into this mold very often. For the most part life is challenging and nothing comes easy.

Today’s Cinderella may take many forms - the girl who goes to a good and expensive college and joins the best sorority to marry the guy from a rich family, or on the other end of the spectrum the poor and uneducated girl who thinks that hooking up with the gang leader or the drug dealer is the way to go. There’s just about everything in between. Maybe a better example or role-model may be Ruth from the Bible who was left without a husband, father or brother and was humble and worked hard to glean the fields with her Mother-in-Law Naomi, and in doing so was noticed by Boaz, At the same time, when Ruth realized she had an opportunity for Boaz she did her part.

Bye,
Kinja

Designer Ella Says:
May 1st, 2006 at 3:19 pm

Thanks for all the information. Wow.