Kate Upton: the Less is More Lesson

The only thing I have to say about Kate Upton is that less is more. Her headshot on the left - white tee, messy hair, very little make-up - is absolutely stunning. The shot on the right - tits out, make-up galore, sexy pout - sure, still a pretty girl, but she immediately looks less interesting. 
I'm not one to argue that a girl with make-up and a sexy dress looks slutty. I believe that a girl should be able to dress and look however she pleases and be free from judgment. However, to me, the girl on the right literally looks less nice and approachable than the girl on the left. The Left-Kate is someone I immediately respect and want to get to know. She looks confident, smart, and beautiful. The girl on the right is a girl I'd roll my eyes at. She looks somehow meaner, smuttier, more common, a girl I'd expect to get too drunk at a party and see stumbling around outside screeching loudly by the end of the night. 
This is not necessarily a sexist thing. For both men and women, first impressions are important. That's simply a reality of life: we process one's looks and immediately form an unconscious opinion or impression of them. Women complain that men use them for sex or only hire them for their looks. We complain that we aren't taken seriously. We complain that the media sexually objectifies us. Perhaps in idealizing women like Kate (a 19 year old, no less), we are objectifying ourselves.

Fashion is important because it forms our identities. It is how we choose to present ourselves to the world and in turn dictates how the world treats us. 


The series of images above are courtesy of The Sartorialist. To me, those women are just as sexy as Upton yet not one is baring cleavage or a skin-tight dress. These women look creative, interesting, capable and most importantly, they look like individuals. Not as sexy? Any man who prefers you with tits to your chin is more animal than man, anyway.


Our skin is beautiful and deserves to be shown off and displayed, yes. I'm not telling you that anything cut above the knee is unholy - however, there is a way to enhance your sexiness and there's a way to undermine it. 


Kate, you're a fox au naturale. Put your girls away for a while.