Reality

Later on we looked at some videos on YouTube to show Flo how images are manipulated in the media, including this one:

This is what Flo said:

after watching the video made me realise that all of the super stars out there don't actually look how they look in magazines or all the other things.we looked at lots of pictures and my whole representation of popstars and how they looked shattered. (typed by Flo)

Flo is a fan of Taylor Swift so we looked at the Photoshop process behind one of her pictures:

I was really surprised because I've seen pictures of her on the front of my CD cover and she looks a lot different to how she looks in this picture to begin with. 

Although this is not about clothes, it goes some way to explaining how people can feel rubbish when they look in the mirror in comparison to the ideal. Flo is only 8 but she already receives these messages.

The Beginning

Yesterday Flo and I started a project to make ourselves feel better about the clothes we wear and the way we look. Both of us have a problem getting dressed in the mornings and we would like to change this.

Our first idea was to choose clothes for each other- things we think look really nice on the other person. Then we HAD to wear them, no matter how weird we thought we looked or how we felt.

This is the results:

Flo chose a blue and white stripy Joules dress for me and white trainers. My Mum bought me this dress and I haven't worn it for ages. It makes me feel a little frumpy and like my granny somehow. Here is a picture of what I looked like ( I look grumpy!):

Mummy chose some multi-coloured stripy leggings which I hadn't worn for a very very long time because I though they looked silly. She also chose a cream t-shirt with blobs on which made me feel uncomfortable and an orange cardigan which I thought didn't go with anything I was wearing. Here is a picture:

Flo got upset about her outfit and cried. After a little while we decided to go out of the house for lunch. We took more photos when we were out to see how we felt. After a while we got used to our clothes and even thought we looked nice. At points I thought I looked overweight but I was just starting my period so was a bit bloated (I look grumpy again! I wasn't really!):

We talked a lot about perception and mirrors etc. We also wondered what other people think of our clothes and even thought about asking some people. Maybe we could do this as the next part of our project? We also want to try out different mirrors and take pictures.

Thoughts about these outfits:

Flo

At first:

ugly. uncomfortable. unmatching. legs stick out. too much skin. hanging cardigan. old ladies

Later: 

comfortable. matched. still think legs stick out. too much skin. got used to it.

Would you wear again? Yes

Emma

At first:

granny. fat. granny arms. missing buttons. old material.

Later:

comfortable. sporty. old cardie. tissue-y. younger.

Would you wear again? Maybe with a different cardigan.