« Dances with irrelevance | Main | Wednesday wtf »
May 24, 2006
Ugly? Career-minded? That's unfortunate.
Uglo-phobia anyone?
Via Suitably Flip, we have this career advice, courtesy of the US News' Marty Nemko:
You're overweight. Of course, it would be helpful if you lost weight, but that's often easier said than done. So for now, avoid tight clothing and, on the other extreme, the muumuu look. Busy patterns also make you look fatter. Instead, consider monochromatic outfits in dark colors.You're balding. Here, I speak from personal experience. For a while, I tried combing my sparse hair forward or to the side. Forget it. Eventually, my friends told me that I wasn't fooling anyone. I then tried a hairpiece-for a few days. It looked good in the morning, but by day's end, unless I was willing to fuss with it every hour, its artifice started to show. Even one moment of detectability ruins months of perfect appearance. I rejected transplants because, except on a commercial, I've never seen one that looks good. I also decided not to shave my head-that is just another transparent attempt to hide thinning hair. Worse, it makes you look hard and unapproachable. Painful as it may be, it may be wisest to simply wear your hair fairly short and combed back.
You're getting (or feeling) old. Get at least seven hours of sleep a night–fatigue adds years to your face.
Walk purposefully, even quickly-that conveys youth and energy.
Stand straight. Legendary Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown once said, only half joking, "After 40, it all comes down to posture."
Age shows most in our eyes and hair color. So wear flattering glasses, and consider coloring your hair. Men, include your mustache or beard.
Your face is unattractive. Draw attention elsewhere. A great hairstyle or accessories such as jewelry, scarves, handbags, and shoes can refocus people's gaze.
If you're considering cosmetic surgery, here's one way to find a good doc: Call a cosmetic surgeon's office, then ask the receptionist to recommend a few plastic surgeons other than her boss. The names that come up multiple times are good bets.
Consider working alone or with the same people each day. If you've tried everything and still feel your appearance brings you down, you might be more successful in a job where you work alone or with the same group of people each day. That provides time for your personality and competence to override other negative impressions you're worried about.
What to say. Flip is aghast (then again, he's running for office) but acknowledges these may be "useful" tips. I feel a bit like a frosted mini-wheat - my compassionate half feels sorry for the ugly ducklings; my pragmatic, less sensitive half realizes good looks has its perks. (So does being tall, or so I hear.)
Anyway, let's look around this week and see if we spot any well-rested, fat-but-monochromatic, unabashedly bald people who haven't become house-bound agorophobes.
Posted by bill at May 24, 2006 12:27 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
