A woman I know once told me that when she acquires a pocketbook, no matter how expensive or luxurious it is, she doesn’t particularly go out of her way to keep it pristine. Why? Because when pristine, the pocketbook will continue to look like all the others still sitting on store shelves or rolling off assembly lines. It’s those scuffs and fingerprints and stains that come from ownership that will finally make the item personally and uniquely hers. Wouldn’t we all be better off if we could approach our physical imperfections in the same way?

In “Real Woman, Real Beauty: Why Our Flaws Are Beautiful,” Fitness magazine has put together a slide show of six gorgeous women who do just that:

**Padma Lakshmi, the model, cook-book author and host of Bravo’s Top Chef, says of the terrible scarring on her right arm, the result of a serious car accident when she was a young girl, “Guys seem to love it. It makes me seem fleshy and rugged and human to them… And women respond to it too: It shows that not everything is perfect.”

**Michelle Taylor says about her two front teeth, “Thanks to gap-toothed Madonna, I decided to embrace my imperfection. Now, people on the street often stop me to compliment my smile.”

**Dawn Denise says, “I realize that my butt has a gravitational force all its own: It stops guys in their tracks, who have nothing but admiring things to say about it.”

**Macon McDavid says, “I know a lot of my wrinkles are frown lines, but I also know that even more are from laughing. I have earned each wrinkle, and I’m happy to have every single one.”

**Lyndsey Kane says, “I realized that regardless of my diet or exercise habits, this size-14 body wasn’t going anywhere, so I stopped hating it. I learned that my body doesn’t stop me from doing what I want or wearing what I want. I’m beautiful; I have curves that my skinny friends don’t—and can fill out a few tops that they can’t, to boot!”

**And Beauty and the Breast gives an extra-loud bravo to Assia Winfield! She says, “I’m in good shape, but I’ve always been insecure about my AA breasts. People have actually said to me, ‘Your body would be perfect if you only had breasts.’ But you know, I’m lucky to have a healthy body. I even got a tattoo next to my right breast. It’s like saying to the world, ‘Hey, this is it!’”

Wonderful! Thank you, Pam, for finding this and suggesting we share it on the blog. In fact, I think this would be a great opportunity for us all to share the less-than-perfect things about ourselves that used to bother us but we now accept.

I’ve come to understand and love things that used to cause me such angst. I erase the list—wrinkles, yo-yo weight, graying hair, age spots and scars in all the places I’ve had surgery—with one word: PATINA. As in fine gold and silver, it takes time to develop the warm patina that makes something more beautiful and easier to love. Now that I’ve got it, I flaunt it. Viva Patina!

And how about you?

TAGS: Padma Lakshmi, Madonna