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Vice Blog

LONDON - LOOKIN' GOOD

Joeseph Merrick, aka the real-life Elephant Man, used to say if only he could meet a blind woman who didn't care about his fruity face, he might find love. He asked many times to be moved to a blind asylum, but it probably wouldn't have helped because looks do matter to blind people. And so, consequently, does fashion.

Although Ray Charles was blind he always had hot women close to him and fathered 12 hot children by 9 different hot women. He said he could tell a woman's beauty by holding her hand – always preferring a slim, elegant feel opposed to chunky steak hands. Ysabelle Vautour is a 25-year-old student and crisis center worker living in New Brunswick, Canada. She loves fashion and looking good, and appearances are very important to her. She runs a group called "I'm not a snob, I'm just blind, so don't wave. Call out my name"

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Vice: Hi Ysabelle, do you have any favorite fashion designers? 
Ysabelle Vautour: I don't have one, although I do watch Fashion TV.

How can you enjoy fashion TV if you can't see it?
OK. I see. In fact, most people who we would consider blind do have some vision. Only 10 per cent of blind people are totally blind. Blind means "legally blind" – a person who even with glasses only has 10 per cent or less of the vision of a sighted person.

What is it you appreciate about fashion?
The ideas, the inspiration, the way things are put together in a combination that had not occurred to me to do. And the accents of the designers are funny when they're doing an interview trying to explain something that is hard to describe; it's just amusing to see how they explain themselves. Fashion is ephemeral and fun, but we live in such a visual culture that even people who can't see can't escape the pressure to look right.

Especially for a woman?
Yeah. I think as women it is our job to look good, it gives you a certain power. I know I look good when other people give me compliments.

How do you decide what clothes you like?
Even though I can't see colors I still have a preference for the bright ones like red, lime green, yellow, pink, grey, black, white. Sometimes I can tell if something is a really, really bright red or yellow – even if that's just a guess. But otherwise everything looks like it does on a black and white TV set. I just have an association that bright colors are more interesting to look at and that they make people happy. Plus I'm told bright colors look good on me.

So being blind hasn't helped you escape the tyranny of looks at all then?
Once your looks fade you seem to be undervalued. In one of my classes the teacher asked what would be worst: living in daily pain, losing your hearing, or losing your sight? And everyone in the class (including another visually impaired student) said they would rather have daily pain then lose their sight. Yes, looks are very important.

But if you can't see all the youthful, idyllic imagery, then what is it that pressures you into looking good?
I don't blame the media. People have to buy into an ideal and I think we do that to conform. I try hard to make myself look as good as I can – because I want to attract my own trophy husband.

What are you looking for in a trophy husband? How will you decide if he's fashionable or not?
I want an attractive man, it's all in how he carries himself, how a person moves is important. Are his gestures graceful? Is he at ease? Is he considerate of others and does it seem authentic? He does not need to be fashionable to the point of being metrosexual. It's good that he does not look like a slob or foolish. ERICA CROMPTON