Editing Aaliyah (section)

==Public image==
Aaliyah focused on her public image while protecting her private life. She felt that it was "important&nbsp;... to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack".{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=52}} ''USA Today'' said, "Her slinky vocal style and eye-popping videos made her a crossover star, while her persistent protection of her privacy added an air of intrigue about her".<ref name=usatoday01/> According to Aaliyah, "I put a lot of pressure on myself to be true to myself and not let anything else influence me to do what someone else is doing. Being a little edgy and sexy is me. My image isn't a put-on. I'm happy to put over that dark edge in my videos, because it's always been there. I used to wear my sunglasses or have my hair over one eye a lot more when I was younger. [Now] I'm happy with all aspects of myself."<ref name=yahoo01/>

She often wore baggy clothes and sunglasses, stating that she wanted to be herself.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=51}} Aaliyah also wore black clothing, starting a trend for similar fashion among women in United States and Japan.<ref name="The Independent" />{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=53}} In 1998, she hired a personal trainer to keep in shape, and exercised five days a week and ate diet foods.{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=50}} As her career progressed, "she went through so many fashion revamps".<ref name=vice>{{cite web|first=Kathy|last=Landoll|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-i-learned-about-style-from-aaliyahs-we-need-a-resolution/|title=What I Learned About Style From Aaliyah's 'We Need A Resolution'|date=January 16, 2014|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Noisey Vice]]|access-date=June 20, 2022|archive-date=April 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411125825/https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/rgmamr/what-i-learned-about-style-from-aaliyahs-we-need-a-resolution|url-status=live}}</ref> For example, When she changed her hairstyle, Aaliyah took her mother's advice and covered her left eye, much like [[Veronica Lake]].{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=54}} The look has become known as her signature and been referred to as fusion of "unnerving emotional honesty" and "a sense of mystique".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/aug/25/aaliyahs-legacy|title=Aaliyah's true legacy is her rare gift for nuance| date= August 25, 2011|work=The Guardian|first=Alex|last=Macpherson|access-date=December 13, 2016|archive-date=January 8, 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140108055107/http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/aug/25/aaliyahs-legacy|url-status=live}}</ref> In regards to her fashion choices, writer Jeff Lorez described her as a "model of understatement".<ref name=yahoo01/> According to Lorez, "She's beautiful, but hardly in a high-gloss, supermodel way—more like a really good-looking girl next door. And rather than bling-blinging her ice in a ghetto-fabulous manner befitting her Trumped-up surroundings, she blings on the down-low: A subtle bracelet here, a winking pendant there, offset by her simple black jeans and matching sweater. Trés cool".<ref name= yahoo01/> Former TRL host Carson Daly said that she was "cutting edge, always one step ahead of the curve and that the TRL audience looks to her to figure out what's hot and what's new".<ref name= Vibe2001CoverStory />

Aaliyah was often praised for her "clean-cut image" and "moral values".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/26/death.aaliyah/ |title=U.S. investigators to probe Aaliyah crash |date=August 27, 2001 |publisher=CNN |access-date=May 21, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090421105249/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/26/death.aaliyah/ |archive-date=April 21, 2009 }}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' wrote of Aaliyah's artistry and image, "she was lithe and dulcet in a way that signified neither jailbait nor hottie—an [[Ingenue (stock character)|ingenue]] whose selling point was sincerity, not innocence and the obverse it implies."<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=March 25, 2003| url= http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-03-25/music/as-long-as-i-still-can/|title=As Long as I Still Can|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|access-date=October 7, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130614235412/http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-03-25/music/as-long-as-i-still-can/|archive-date=June 14, 2013}}</ref> [[Emil Wilbekin]], told [[CNN]]: "Aaliyah is an excellent role model because she started her career in the public eye at age 15 with a gold album,'' [[Age Ain't Nothing but a Number]]''. And then her second album, ''[[One in a Million (Aaliyah album)|One in a Million]]'' went double platinum. She had the leading role in ''[[Romeo Must Die]]'', which was a box office success. She's won numerous awards, several MTV music video awards, and aside from her professional successes, many of her lyrics are very inspirational and uplifting. She also carried herself in a very professional manner. She was well-spoken. She was beautiful, but she didn't use her beauty to sell her music. She used her talent. Many young hip-hop fans greatly admire her."<ref name=August2001CNN>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/27/welbekin.cnna/index.html|title=Vibe Magazine's Emil Wilbekin: Remembering Aaliyah|date=August 27, 2001|publisher=CNN|access-date=February 22, 2015|archive-date=November 4, 2015|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151104234229/http://edition.cnn.com/2001/COMMUNITY/08/27/welbekin.cnna/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

She was also seen by others as a [[sex symbol]] and did not have a problem with being considered one. "I know that people think I'm sexy and I am looked at as that, and it is cool with me," she stated. "It's wonderful to have sex appeal. If you embrace it, it can be a very beautiful thing. I am totally cool with that. Definitely. I see myself as sexy. If you are comfortable with it, it can be very classy and it can be very appealing."<ref name=sultry2001>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JrUDAAAAMBAJ&q=aaliyah+jet+magazine|title=Sultry Singer Aaliyah On Why It's Cool To Be So Hot|date=July 23, 2001 |magazine= Jet|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company}}</ref> Aaliyah also felt though her image was "risque and sexy", it was important to remain respectable because she wanted to make songs that everyone could relate to without it being vulgar.<ref name=Interviewjuly01/> When she participated in fashion designer [[Tommy Hilfiger]]'s All America Tour Tommy Jean ads, she wore boxer shorts, baggy jeans and a tube top. Hilfiger's brother, [[Andy Hilfiger|Andy]], called it "a whole new look" that was "classy but sexy".{{Sfn|Sutherland|2005|p=53}} The single "[[We Need a Resolution]]" was argued to have transformed "the once tomboy into a sexy grown woman".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://boom92houston.com/3918/artist-spotlight-aaliyah/|title=Artist Spotlight: Aaliyah|date=January 16, 2015|publisher=Boom 92|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119230626/http://boom92houston.com/3918/artist-spotlight-aaliyah/|archive-date=January 19, 2015}}</ref>