Practicing Pretty
Beauty has more than one dimension.
Explore personal style, character, relationships, choices and self-expression. Discover what matters to you. Have a little fun with it.
Welcome
Pretty is more than a look. It’s a way of becoming.
Welcome to the Pretty Is a Practice Initiative (PIAPI™), a joyful personal growth and enrichment initiative for girls and women at all stages of becoming.
We believe in big ideas, beautiful things, unexpected adventures, good company and the joy of surprising yourself with what you can do.
Explore free resources and experiences designed to spark curiosity, encourage growth and make room for a little fun along the way.
Pretty is a practice™.
And growing is gorgeous™.
Our Philosophy
What does it mean to be PIAPI Pretty?
Pretty is more than how we look.
It’s also how we live.
There’s beauty in fashion, hair, makeup, personal style and self-expression.
There’s beauty in kindness, courage, curiosity, competence, creativity and compassion.
One does not diminish the other.
Being PIAPI Pretty means celebrating who you are while making intentional choices about who you want to become.
Self-Awareness
Discovering who you are, what you value and what brings you joy.
Intentionality
Making choices about the qualities, abilities, relationships and experiences you want to cultivate.
Practice
Putting those choices into action, learning along the way and allowing yourself to evolve.
You don’t have to know exactly who you’ll become. The beauty is in having a say—and enjoying the journey.
That’s PIAPI Pretty.
And pretty is a practice.
The Six Cs
Six qualities. Endless possibilities.
The Six Cs offer ways to put PIAPI’s philosophy into practice. Explore them at your own pace. See where they take you.
CuriosityAsk questions, explore unfamiliar experiences and remain open to discovery.
ConfidenceTrust yourself, recognize your strengths and believe in your ability to learn, grow and handle challenges.
CourageTake action when something matters, even when you’re uncertain or afraid.
CompassionPractice kindness, empathy, generosity and care for yourself and others.
CompetenceBuild practical skills, exercise sound judgment, develop resourcefulness and gain independence through experience.
CreativityExpress your individuality, imagine possibilities, solve problems and find joy in making and experiencing beautiful things.
These aren’t boxes to check or standards of perfection. They’re qualities we can practice, strengthen and express in our own ways throughout our lives.
And there’s always room to grow.
Explore Our Resources
A little inspiration. A lot of possibility.
We believe the best way to explore an idea is to do something with it.
Try something new. Make something beautiful. Ask an interesting question. Have a conversation that takes an unexpected turn.
PIAPI offers free, thoughtfully designed resources that make everyday experiences a little more interesting, meaningful and fun.
Growing Together
Good things are even better when shared.
Bring your friends, family or favorite people from another generation. Make room for conversation, laughter, discovery and connection.
Nobody has to be the expert. Everyone brings something to the experience.
Explore Growing Together
Enrichment Adventures
A little curiosity can take you somewhere wonderful.
Try something new. Explore somewhere unexpected. Develop a skill or follow an interest just because it sounds fun.
Some adventures stretch your comfort zone. Others simply make your day.
Both count.
Explore Enrichment AdventuresAll PIAPI resources are free to download. No membership, subscription or prescribed path is required.
Made for Becoming
There’s no single way to grow.
PIAPI welcomes girls and women at every stage of life.
Explore independently. Invite a friend. Gather your people. Share an experience across generations.
Our resources can be enjoyed by individuals, families, educators, mentors and community groups.
Activities involving minors require guidance and supervision appropriate to participants’ ages, abilities and the experience.
Growing is personal.
Becoming can be shared.
Pretty is a practice for every stage of life.
Meet the Founder
Who says you have to choose?
Meet K.B. Keene. She has a few thoughts about that.
K.B. Keene has never been particularly interested in fitting neatly into anyone else’s categories.
A former speech-language pathologist and special educator, she’s also a writer, dancer, choreographer, creative director and lifelong lover of beautiful things and big ideas. Her work moves between education, artistic expression, creative storytelling and the design of experiences that help people discover what they’re capable of.
She believes in intellectual rigor and fabulous shoes. Thoughtful conversations and uncontrollable laughter. Artistic excellence and unapologetic playfulness. The pleasure of looking spectacular and the satisfaction of knowing exactly what you’re talking about.
And she has never understood why anyone should have to choose.
That conviction is part of what inspired her to create the Pretty Is a Practice Initiative.
K.B. rejects the notion that beauty and intellect are competing interests, that seriousness requires solemnity or that enjoying fashion, glamour and personal style somehow diminishes a woman’s substance.
She also believes that becoming doesn’t end when girlhood does. Women deserve opportunities to explore, experiment, discover, play and grow throughout their lives—not simply when they’re young or working toward some prescribed milestone.
Her approach is informed by years of working with children, designing educational experiences, creating art and exploring the relationships between learning, identity, creativity and human connection.
But PIAPI is also deeply personal.
It’s a celebration of the freedom to be many things at once.
To take your values seriously without taking yourself seriously every minute of the day.
To appreciate beauty without being defined by appearance.
To pursue excellence without sacrificing delight.
And to keep becoming, because there’s always something wonderful left to discover.
K.B. didn’t create PIAPI to tell girls and women who they should be. She created it to celebrate how much they can be.
There’s so much beauty in becoming.
You don’t have to have everything figured out.
There’s always something new to learn, somewhere interesting to go or a side of yourself you haven’t discovered yet.
You can celebrate who you are while making room for who you’re becoming.
Find something that sparks your curiosity.
Try something that surprises you.
Share something wonderful.
Pretty is a practice.
