ESS has undergone a lot of different phases since its inception. It started as a way for me to privately keep track of things I found and liked, like the overflowing shoebox of magazine tears and mementos that I kept as a girl. As I started to add commentary and opinions, it became more like the scrapbook my best friend and I kept in junior high-- a spiral bound decoupage of our personal photos and fashion fantasies, with notes on our current crushes and plans for the future (crushes didn't last, but careers in fashion came true for both of us). When my friends first discovered what I was up to, I was embarrassed, but ESS momentarily became insanely popular. I never expected that my private collection of favorite things would have thousands of visitors from all over the world. Then came the all-consuming boyfriend, the all-consuming job, and life changes that called for extreme privacy. Now that I have been able to return a bit more to ESS, I realize what a precious (to me, anyway) collection I have amassed, like bookmarked pages of my inner life. It is interesting to look back over the years and re-read articles that made a difference to me, or re-examine a photo that struck me the first time I saw it. It was a poignant realization to discover that in spite of momentous personal growth and major life changes, one's core values and perceptions of beauty remain the same. With that in mind, I wanted to resurrect some "vintage posts" and links from over time. I hope you will find them as relevant as I did when I first discovered them, and are able to take something away from them. Enjoy!
(P.S. I no longer allow all-consuming boyfriends, it was a phase... just wanted to clear that up.)
VINTAGE POST:
The concept of beauty is one of endless fascination. What does it mean? How is it defined? Countless poets, philosophers, scientists, theologians, mathematicians, and artists have contemplated "beauty". Here is one provocative article I found which analyzes examples of beauty found in the Bible, one of the world's most ancient texts, and what it means in its various spiritual and cultural contexts: You Are Beauty.
Other ESS musings on beauty:
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