Everywhere I look, I’m reading about how “pale is in.” (Do we have Twilight to thank for this?!)
I know first hand how damaging tanning in the sun can be and I have been pleasantly surprised by the number of pale models used in advertising campaigns this summer.
Alice & Olivia
Kate Spade
But what about in the real world? I do not see pale girls. Ever. (Unless they’re tourists walking around the mall from Europe.) I don’t know if I’m not noticing pale girls, or if it’s because I’m in Florida… but I don’t see any!!!
Not only that, but I feel like most clothes are not made for pale girls. White eyelet dresses? I love them, but I look beyond washed out. Cute white shorts? Notsocute with ghostly legs. Little black dresses? Big no, no. Nude shoes? Can’t even SEE the shoes.
What’s a girl to do?
I’m definitely protecting my skin as best as I can. Lots of SPF, using bronzer instead of tanning, hats to protect my face, hiding under umbrellas at the beach, etc.
But, it’s still frustrating!
What’s your take?
xoxo
I'm a pale- well, I prefer fair- girl and I refuse to tan. More realistically, the universe refuses to let me tan. Even self tanners and bronzers look ridiculous on me. I think the trick to being a fair skinned girl is knowing what colors look best on your skin, learning what makeup colors flatter you and what clothing colors look best on you.
At the end of the day, I get more compliments on my skin than (almost) anything else. I'm embracing it and trying to love it.
I'm really pale as well and I rock it during the winter! In the summer i've now become obsessed with spray tanning-it's just for a change of pace and looks natural. I think either is beautiful though!
I'm extremely pale (think albino) and I get so tired of people being like oh you're so pale, dont you go outside? But as much as the comments annoy me, I know that I make a more lasting impression because I dont look like the norm. I also know when all these others are grown and there skin is wrinkled and blotchy from the sun I'll still have my pretty pale skin
I have porcelain skin & I embrace it. I love my LBDs and wear white, but pair it with a pop of color. My nude heels are one of my favorite pairs in the closet. My Mama has had several bouts of skin cancer, and I don't see any reward in increasing my chances of skin cancer. I know that my skin is beautiful and will make look much younger as I age than my tanned counterparts. My skin is healthy & I am proud of it!
If I was a crayon, I'd be translucent. Or perhaps "classic ivory" or "porcelain" as my foundation boasts. Being a northwestern born the jokes about being a vampire have become cliche, thanks Stephanie Myer. But, I've been in Florida visiting my grandmother for two weeks and I can't imagine what it must be like to live here year round. Within the first day I was glaringly red, my grandma doesn't understand the concept of SPF over 15, and it became like a walking "tourist" giveaway. Going to the beach, this time with sunburn faded to slight color making me look at least alive, everyone seemed to defy the laws of tan lines. They were virtually flawlessly tanned. But, think about it. When us pale girls become grandmothers to future gaggles of pale kids, we will be the jealousy of used to be tan girls. So short term bake – or long term youth?
i'm a pale girl from southern Italy…so here I'm surrounded by super tanned people xD i think that at least half of all my friends have a dark complexion… but know what? I just love my fair complexion 🙂
I pretty wear every kind of colours,from nudes to whites to bright neon colours…I also think that bright neon colours -my faves right now- look best on pale girls 😛
I don't go to sea so often…well,I could just say I NEVER go to the sea! I really don't wanna spend hours under a very strong sun being killed by the heat just for a slightly normal pink skin… (I don't get tanned,I get slightly coloured…my best tan looked like normal skin colour xD) it's not worth the effort!
I'm from south Florida so I was tan my entire life until I moved to Germany. It is cold and cloudy here about 7 months out of the year and I still got comments about how I'm so pale and I shouldn't be that way since I'm from Florida. Haha. I use jergens natural glow now, its the only self tanner that doesn't turn me orange and it's way better for skin than natural tanning.
But really! No matter what the magazines say, the viewpoint is not going to change that pale is "in". I couldn't tan if I lived at the equator, and I'm over it. So the magazines need to quit the teasing – pale ain't happening, and I've accepted it.
Well I am a little different than everyone else commenting. I guess I am pretty fair naturally, but I tan really easily. I can coat myself in sunscreen and I can assure you my skin will still turn a shade darker. Also, while a lot more people are embracing their natural skin color due to health reasons, I don't think it is going to become "in" for quite awhile. Even though I tan easily, I would love it if pale became in. I cringe sometimes when I see how fake bake tan someone is. I worry what is in store for a lot of our generation healthwise because of the tan craze!
Carly, I feel ya! I'm a redhead and about as pale as they come. I don't even have the capacity to tan. I am pretty sure that I blind people with how whiteI am on the beach. But with all that being said, I've embraced it. I can't change how dark my skin is. I take comfort in the fact that when we are all 40+, the non-tanners will be wrinkle-free and gorgeous.
Carly, I feel ya! I'm a redhead and about as pale as they come. I don't even have the capacity to tan. I am pretty sure that I blind people with how whiteI am on the beach. But with all that being said, I've embraced it. I can't change how dark my skin is. I take comfort in the fact that when we are all 40+, the non-tanners will be wrinkle-free and gorgeous.
I'm with you on not seeing any pale girls. Everywhere I look people are tan – so frustrating!
I'm a blonde and am really pale, but I still love my nude pumps and little black dresses. It wouldn't be fair to deny us of those wardrobe staples! It sucks, but hey, it's not my fault that I can't tan lol! I have a feeling tan people see me in my little black dress and think I look awful, pale people also think I look awful but I guess all that matters is how I feel in them, you know? Confidence is prettier than a tan…and especially wrinkles later in life! 🙂
i think it's because you're in florida.. there are still quite a bit of fake bakers in chicago but i have noticed LOTS more pale skin people (myself included) running around. in the end its better for you to take care of yourself and be healthy! xoxo jillian:: cornflake dreams
I have olive-toned skin, so I rarely burn, instead I'm a constant golden brown color due to the fact I am always outside riding/training horses. While in high school I did go through a phase where I wished I was pale, I quickly grew out of that, so I try to be as evenly tanned as possible all year round, which really isn't that huge of a deal since I live in south florida. Most of my friends agree as well so that's why for us SoFla girls, tan is always in!
I agree, it's so hard. I've been self-conscious about my fair skin ever since I got the nickname "pale face" in fifth grade! And my mom has always tried to stress how healthy and beautiful it is but sometimes I seriously think I just look sickly! But hey, at least we will still have beautiful and healthy young skin when we get older, huh? 🙂
I like a nice, healthy looking glow, but like you I'm pretty darn fair. I like to use a subtle bronzer in the summer (in place of my usual creme blush), but other than that I usually don't worry about it. If I'm really dying for a glow I'll use a self-tanner or one of those build-a-tan moisturizers on my legs, but fair is beautiful!
Pale girls unite! This girl is getting her first spray tan next week though 😉
I think there is always a disconnect between fashion models and real world fashion. Sometimes high fashion models don't look like humans! I do wish pale was in though.
I'm very pale in the winter but can get somewhat tan in the Summer. I see soo many fake-n-bakers and there is huge pressure to be tan. I'm getting an airbursh tan before I go to the beach.
I also prefer the word "fair" to "pale" 🙂
I think my attitude changed last October- I went to the dermatologist for my first ever full-body check. I wasn't suspicious of anything, but I knew that us fair people need to be checked a little earlier than our more olive-toned friends, and that I had had some very bad sunburns during junior high. Plus, I had a friend who told me that her sweet cousin actually died from melanoma at 24, so that propelled me a little more. Anyway, when I went, they actually did find a suspicious spot on my leg. Luckily it came back benign.
That really made me think more about protecting my skin better. I always wear sunscreen on my face, but rarely on my body. Of course, if I know I'm going to be in the sun I slather it all over, wear my hat, try to wear long-sleeves, etc, but I also know I am exposed to a lot of sun every day and that I needed to start protecting that. I use a body lotion that has SPF in it. I live in Dallas and the sun is definitely pretty strong here and most the girls I know are tan.
I'm also encouraged to protect my skin every time I go to the dermatologist. She always tells me how beautiful my skin is and that if I keep protecting it, it will stay beautiful my whole life. That definitely motivates me to wear my sunscreen!
I've started to get more compliments on my skin though which is nice. My tan sisters make fun of me sometimes, but nobody else does. I think being pale also makes us stand out a little bit. Most people aren't as adamant about skin care and most people have a little more color- it sets us apart from others. I don't notice it all the time, mostly just in pictures, and I've learned to love it. It would be nice to see some pale models in magazines or pale people in movies. Maybe one day!
I am the same way, and a lot of "summer colors" just don't work for me. And although it's possible for me to tan, I'm not very good at it. The last few years when I tried to tan, I ended up with horrible sunburns. I will not be making that mistake again…
I think that you will get the last laugh when you aren't covered with wrinkles when you're older! I have the same problem though, you would think it's December by the color of my skin. I embrace it, but when I get translucent during the winter, I spray tan! It actually looks really natural and does no harm 🙂
As a fellow pale girl, I agree. Pale seems to be "in" in theory but not reality! I'm still rocking the bronzer lotion, because most summer clothes look bad on white skin!
I think all you can do is fake the tan, protect your skin, and wait it out until pale girls really do rule 🙂 And then you'll be set, minus any sun damage!
I love those ads–so cute! Honestly, I have a beige skin tone (darker than fair, lighter than olive) and I really like it; I'm not pasty in winter, and I don't feel too dark ever. I like white clothing, though; I've always thought it makes me look tanner. I don't think there's anything wrong with using Jergen's, though.
As college students you and I both know that a day in the sun is a bit hard to come by; especially during the school year! Ha, Ha-it is funny to think that someones natural skin color is in!
I'm a pale girl with dark hair and eyes and it takes forever for me to get even a little tan. I am breaking down and getting a airbrush tan. We'll see how it goes.
Right there with you, girl. I was at the beach in Rhode Island this weekend and my best friend's family was referring to me as "the whitest girl on the beach." The sad part was I thought I was decently tan! I feel like white clothing makes me look tanner- the REAL white color of my shorts or skirts contrast with my skin tone in a nice way. Black, however, is another story.
I hate to steer you on the path to evil, but I don't think it's so bad to be tan. I think that you definitely could be tan if you wanted to judging by your sister. I can be white as a ghost in the winter and black as a berry in the summer. No one would assume I can be very very tan when I want to. You just haven't tried (which hasn't been your goal, I understand that). Personally, I don't mind the idea of being wrinkly when I get older. I will be married and happy with kids (hopefully), so who cares if my age shows! I'd rather have a happy life doing what I want to and actually looking my age. There's nothing wrong with laugh lines that show how much laughter your life has been filled with, or wrinkles around your eyes that reveal how often they've crinkled from happiness. Skin cancer is a small possibility, but as long as you don't skip checkups and make it a point to direct your doctor towards questionable skin issues, you should be able to have it removed with no problems.
I've been religiously applying sunscreen EVERYDAY since I was about 15 (now I'm much older….double that +some!). I have great skin, compared to other women my age.
I shudder at the thought of looking at these tanning-bed princesses in another 20 years. YIKES!
All leathery – gross! not to mention the spike in skin-cancer diagnoses!
I'm a Boo Radley-skinned redhaead, and I were white eyelet dresses, white shorts, little black dresses and nude heels. The fact that you can't see the shoes makes my legs look longer, white makes me look like I actually have some color, and LBDs are for everyone! It's all about embracing the porcelain.
I'm pale as a ghost too (and I think being from Florida makes it more obvious.) We'll have the last laugh when all of our tanned friends get freckles, wrinkles, and age spots.
I am extremely pale as well, and I usually don't let it bother me too much. However, now that it is summer I found that "Fake Bake" works great on my legs when I decide to wear sundresses or shorts.
M