The Elegant Sophisticated Woman

Who is the elegant sophisticated woman?

People often mistake sophistication for elegance. While it is possible to be both, you can be sophisticated without being elegant and elegant without being sophisticated.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amatamoda/ / CC BY 2.0

Elegance as we know is graciousness in action, and possessing a certain confident simplicity.

Sophistication proceeds from a great deal of worldly experience and knowledge of fashion and culture.

It comes from an in depth learning about your surroundings, having an refined understanding of different cultures and being comfortable with luxury.

Sometimes sophistication can be vulgar.

We've all seen it before.

Especially when there is an over-emphasis on materials and luxury goods. As well as the high life.

Women who dress up in too much bling, and overdoing the monogrammed designer goods.

Women who balk at flying economy class, pretending to hop off their private jet and being rude to service staff.

Pretentious women who attempt to be sophisticated by rattling off their knowledge of cuisine and restaurants, the magazines and books they've read that make them 'oh-so-literary and sophisticated.'

After all that, I decided to write about the elegant sophistication that I want and love.

A Sophisticated Confidence

The Elegant Sophisticated Woman has a sort of 'Sophisticated Confidence'.

That means you can be confident and comfortable in a sophisticated situation, say dining in a traditional Japanese restaurant with locals in Japan. Speaking about politics. Choosing wines from a winelist. Discussing Italian art history. (Your own list goes on).

While you may not know everything, nothing really surprises you nor intimidates you. You are open to venturing into the unknown tastebud and behaviour wise. You listen and are engaged in learning about someone else's culture. You are not self-conscious - thinking and fretting and sweating about yourself.

You'll also feel more beautiful when you train yourself for this sophisticated sense of confidence.

It has been said that confidence is next to beauty that causes a woman to be appealing.

Confidence means you know how to act in any situation, making you sure of what you are doing.

How do we get confident in _______ (fill in the blanks)? It could be...

1. Playing tennis
2. Being comfortable on a first date
3. Speaking French
4. Dressing up
5. Doing your Hair
6. Being financially free

Here is the Secret to
Elegant Sophisticated Confidence:

Then you do it automatically and you don't have to think about it anymore -- that's confidence.

Whatever you want to achieve, practice, practice, practice. Keep at it no matter how frustrated you are.

CC BY 2.0

The Elegant Sophisticated Woman:
Start By Looking Confident

While you are practicing and establishing your sophisticated confidence, you might as well work on 'looking confident'.

No matter what they tell you about inner beauty, your first impression communicates who you are to the world. If you don't create a confident impression, people will never know whether you have inner beauty or not, if they don't feel compelled to know you better.

1. Practice Your Perfect Posture
2. Pay Attention To Your Grooming
3. Practice Eye Contact

Your posture tells the world how to treat you from sight alone. You can either look like winner or a loser. Posture is the single most important body language there is. Erectness is confident-looking. People will believe what your posture tells them about you.

For instance, if you tell a little boy to "act like a King", instantly you'll see him straighten his back and his neck as though he were wearing a crown. You wonder who teaches them these things!

Your posture communicates more than you know.

Psychologists say that the first indications that a person's morale is dropping when her daily grooming habits slip.

Haven't we all seen girlfriends who have had their hearts broken not bothering with make up anymore, letting themselves put on weight and the such? We've all watched television shows which depict people in real life who have been told they've lost all their money? The most educated groomed men starts to resemble the beggar on the street.

Eye contact is another indicator of confidence. Practice looking people directly in the eye as it will help you establish a position of confidence in the minds of others.

Do not stare at their eyes or gaze into them. Look at their eyes when speaking, but be natural. If you are opening your eyes more than normal, you are gazing!

The Elegant Sophisticated Woman
How To Be Sophisticatedly Interesting

flapessoa / CC BY 2.0

Do not worry about being interesting or TRY to be interesting.

Tastefully engage in conversation with others, learn about someone else's culture.

Have an avid social life. Take part in charities, serve in church, throw dinner parties. Get involved in the life outside your own.

Take an interest in your gifts and talents. Seek personal growth, refine your knowledge and pursue your passion.

Embrace change. Learn about things that increases your sophistication levels. Here are some suggestions:

1. Art - drawing, painting, museums
2. Literature/History
3. Languages and Culture
4. Theatre, Plays, Musicals
5. Dance - the
6. Ballet, Waltz etc
7. Music - Symphonies, Musicals
8. Sports - Skiing, Tennis, Golf
9. Water sports - Sailing, Speedboating
10. Travel

A lot of these topics are covered if you embark on obtaining a classical education. And you can get one from home. Click here to read more about a Classical Education.

Continue to the next page of the Elegant Sophisticated Woman.

1. The Art Of Elegant Living

2. Elegant Entertaining: How To Throw Elegant Coffees, Dinner Parties

3. Elegant Sophisticated Selection - Choose Your Way Into Elegance

4. How to be Classy

What is your elegant goal?

Do you have something that you're working towards to?

It could be to have better posture, a refined manner of eating, or to be more meticulous in your grooming?

Perhaps you wish to be more gracious to your friends etc. Commit to it by sharing it here. Connect with others who are the same. Encourage others, help and be helped!

Read more about The Elegantwoman.org Project and join us!

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