Black Silk Retreat! How Chinese women can take back the initiative of their legs in the era of aesthetic awakening?
Last winter in the fitting room at Uniqlo, I saw a slightly chubby girl looking in the mirror in tight white pants - the flesh of her thighs strangled, the edges of her socks on her calves rolled up in pleats. She repeatedly tugged at her pant legs to try to hide the skin's undulations, her anxious eyes looking like they were weighed down by something heavy.
That scene stung me. There was a time when "skinny," "sexy," and "leggy" were the golden rules of dressing for women. Today, a key word that has quietly changed - "Showing off your legs without black silk." - has quietly risen to prominence on social media platforms, representing a courageous determination to swim against the tide.
A refusal of black silk: a fashion rebellion? Or is it an aesthetic awakening?
"My boss wants me to wear something 'cute', preferably with a little skirt and black silk. But I wouldn't! It took me ten years to get rid of the spell of 'pleasing others'." Xiao Ran, a 25-year-old white-collar worker, shared indignantly. During the first six months of her career, she wore black silk and a small suit almost every day, just to be recognized by her boss as "professional and fashionable". Until one day, standing in front of the full-length mirror in the lobby of the company, she saw an unfamiliar shadow: the carefully wrapped black silk does appear to be slim legs, but the person in the mirror looked tired and stiff, like carefully packaged goods.
She plucked up the courage to walk into the office in wide-legged pants and Louboutins - and in the face of her boss's questioning eyes replied matter-of-factly, "I think being comfortable is more important than other people's stares." From that day on, she stopped changing the rhythm of what she wore to please anyone.
Her rebellion is not the resonance of millions of ordinary girls. When the major platform bloggers are still marketing "black silk a second to enhance the gas field", vegetarian girls have been quietly overturned the old aesthetic rules: work pants with boots, suit pants reveal strong ankles, loose sweatpants wantonly walking ...... leg lines have never been so diverse to show! The following is a list of the most important things you need to know about the company's products. A platform's "Refuse Black Silk Challenge" has been played more than 100 million times, and those legs that were once wrapped up are finally breathing freely.
Second, the reversal of the diverse leg aesthetic: comfort and confidence is the real pop!
The myth of "white, skinny and thin" shaped by traditional aesthetics has finally come to an end. Last year, a popular fitness software recorded that nearly 42% of female users chose "tight and strong legs" as the ideal body type label, far more than the "thin and weak legs" option. Is this not a silent protest?
Vegetarian blogger Xiaoya initially only posted dancing videos, but later boldly shared photos of herself practicing dancing in gym shorts. Fan comments questioned, "You have such strong legs wearing shorts?" But she came back with a direct answer, "My legs can support me to dance for more than an hour without pain, why don't you dare to praise it?" The video unexpectedly went viral, and many people were impressed by her confident vigor.
Sister Da Jing, 38, even more so, represents the determination of middle-aged women to break the cocoon. She has visible varicose veins on her legs and has never dared to wear skirts that don't reach the knee. But she has recently started updating her OOTD on social media platforms, and a photo of her in the kitchen with her pant legs rolled up and stepping on a footstool has garnered tens of thousands of likes: "At this age, it's more important to be comfortable than to look good!" She wears comfortable and fluffy pants, and her healthy tone instead makes the whole person shine.
Third, behind the freedom of the legs: an aesthetic affirmative action revolution that goes to the bone!
This "Free Legs Movement" is deeply rooted in changes in women's economic status and the advancement of social values. According to data, as of last year, 45.3 percent of China's employed population were women, nearly twice as many as in the 1990s! Economic strength has given women the power to express their self-needs. They have the right to express their own definition of legs and face: "Who says only slenderness goes with sophistication?"
More importantly, the mainstream media is no longer silent. The "image of a beautiful woman in a skirt" that used to appear on a city subway poster all year round has been replaced by a group of professional women in various professions, such as nurses, teachers, couriers, etc. - with all kinds of legs under their uniforms: white pants, straight-legged pants, and even wearable pants in work clothes. The visual mainstream has recognized that women are not a "single symbol".
Conclusion: Freedom of the legs is freedom of the mind
When we're swimming on our yoga mats in leggings, running around a field in our work boots, and reading a book on the couch wrapped in fleece pants ...... Those moments of ease and casualness harbor our deepest goodwill toward our bodies.
Aesthetic freedom has never been the same: let your legs wear comfort and let your heart find candor.
The black silk on your legs may have an exit day, but the confident glow of life never dissipates.
