On fashion, models, and girls' aspirations...

I remember an old Chinese (Cantonese) saying from my parents:

When you're 30, you would have established your life.
When you're 40, you have no doubts in the direction of your life.
When you're 50, you know what your fate is (aka. the plan from "heaven").
When you're 60, your life is a smooth sailing.
When you're 70, you get whatever you want in life.

I'm sure, in this internet day and age, telling the younger generations that they have to wait some 50 years to get what they want, will not do. Bear in mind, back in the ancient days, you get what you want when you get kids, and they grow up to take care of you. THAT is supposed to be the good life, the "you get whatever you want in life." Those things don't apply to modern day life anymore.

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Well, well, what does that supposed to have anything to do with the "fashion, models, and girls' aspirations", and the Hong Kong Fashion Week 2009 snapshots?

What came to my mind was actually the "when you're 40" part, in that one should have no doubts in the direction in your life. When I was younger, even though my life has been quite smooth sailing, and I strive and attain pretty much what I set out to do and achieve, I have always had some shadow of doubts about myself, or rather, hopes that I might be somebody else, or maybe even be a fashion model. (Imagine that!) Perhaps, to every young girl, dressing up and looking pretty are part of the DNA, and most every one of them, me included, would aspire to achieve that.

Considering that, back then I have the perfect measurement of a UK size 8 (a petite in US size), I even tried being a fitting models (putting on clothings for pictures etc in showroom), since I can never bring myself to walk on a runway.

But I must say, that (the dream, the experience) never felt real nor right to me. I remember distinctly that I still have doubts about myself (what should I wear, how do I look, etc) in my 20s.

All these self-doubt almost changed overnight after I have my marriage and eventual my first child. The first pregnancy was uneventful, but the childbirth was difficulty. I should have used epidural but was too late to have it administered when the pain hit. After 13-hour of hard labor, with intense pain for the last 4 hours (you know the drill - pain every 1 to 2-minute intervals), on an empty stomach, I was so utterly exhausted and dehydrated that I didn't even want to hold my newborn when he came out.

But the experience taught me a few things. It gave me perspective on what's important in life, set my priorities straight, and how much I can achieve (just imagine the amount of pain I can endure!) with a beautiful boy that follows.

After that, all those "pretty little things", the make-up, and all, seem so very trivial and unimportant. And I realize how much I actually dislike covering the natural beauty of girls and women by cosmetics and costumes (often ridiculous looking on runway too).

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I remember in one company Christmas party for one of my first jobs, there was this guy called Kenny. (Don't remember his last name anymore, but I think it's Kenny.) :) Most of the girls in the company fancied him, saying he's cute and all. I thought he's alright, but nothing stood out. In any case, Kenny brought an arm-candy girl-friend of his at the time. I remember some girls ooo'ing and ahh'ing privately about his gf, how tall she was, and that she's a model etc etc.

I'm not sure why the scenes from that Christmas party came back to me from time to time. Perhaps I always privately wonder how long a trophy gf or wife could last before the novelty wears out. It reminds me of that jerk Tom Brady who dumped Bridget Moynahan (pregnant with his child) for supermodel Gisele Bundchen.

I have no care of how hulky Brady is or how gorgeous Bundchen is supposed to be, that we should all be ooo'ing and ahh'ing about them, like those girls did in the Christmas party about Kenny and his arm-candy. That kind of guys would not have the slightest respect from me, nor silly girls like Bundchen who's still living the teenage girls' dream of basting in make-up and fancy dress. Afterall, she's 28 now. How long does it take for a woman like Bundchen to grow up and grow out of those fantasy, and realize that Brady would likely dump her when she's 35 for another 24-year-old with bigger boobs or longer legs? It's likely to be a sad truth that she probably won't wake up from that until she's dumped after she lost her looks.

Back in 2007, when Matt Damon was named Sexiest Man Alive, he demurred at the title, suggesting that perhaps the magazine should choose Tom Brady instead. It's ironic that people (even the guys themselves, like Damon) do not realize that abs and six-packs are not the only thing women see in men when they find them sexy. The attitude in life, and to other people, counts just as much.

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And so, I realize now why my parents have no interests in watching all those so-called news about entertainment, gossips and starlets. Those things, what they do, and who they are, are just so unimportant to other's life.

Now I'm 40. Now I know and understand.