Ready? I'm about to tell you about posture.
Posture is something that our generation is not that interested in. We're really into posing, and with the campaigns in full tilt boogie, there is a large amount of posture-ing going on, but our nation's fascination with slouchy, celebrity cool and the long hours logged at computer/in chair have undone years of human evolution and natural spinal alignment. Standing up straight is one of the childhood fundamentals that we learn along with "be nice" and "share", but I don't know any grown up other than Nicole Kidman who really does it well these days.
Even after years of ballet, yoga, voice lessons - I still struggle with the "tall girl slump". But no longer, I finally get it. And guess who explained it to me? Mr. "Make It Work" himself, Tim Gunn. ( Project Runway, Guide to Style ) I can't believe it. I was given a copy of his recent book and found myself skimming through it last evening when I came upon a passage about posture. The light is on now, and here it is:
"The first, absolutely ironclad rule may seem strange, but here it is: Forget about putting your shoulders back. Instead, you must do the following: Focus on pulling the shoulders away from the ears. Imagine drawing the shoulder blades down the back and allowing the collarbone to be as open as possible without thrusting the breast forward. At no time should the shoulder blades be pinned together. This position makes keeping the head perfectly balanced on the neck far easier."
and then, to bring it all home, Mr.Gunn went on to describe this:
"In order to bring the pelvis into proper alignment, one should imagine slipping between two tables at a crowded restaurant. Instinctively, one tucks one's bottom under and draws the navel into the spine. This is the proper position for one's pelvis. Since French bistros are usually packed and their tables are only inches apart, one can think of proper pelvic alignment as the "bistro position".
Thank you Tim. Shoulders down and the bistro position. I get it.
For the full guide to style, you can find Mr. Gunn's book here. aha!
I love it. God bless Tim Gunn. I will think of this post when i'm out tonight in my heels, which put me at a nice 6'4"! After all, as you witnessed firsthand in December, I have grown, and I'm PROUD of it. Rock on, tall friend. :)
Posted by: Christy | February 05, 2008 at 10:47