The Times tells us it's the end of the dress. Instead we have to wear short, highwaisted skirts, with tops tucked in and skyscraper heels.
Yeah, right.
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
Put out the black flags
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Because you can't have depths without surfaces.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
About me
Linda Grant is a novelist and journalist. She won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2000 and the Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage in 2006. She writes for the Guardian, Telegraph and Vogue. Her latest novel, The Clothes on Their Backs was shortlisted for the 2008 Man Booker Prize. For further information including upcoming literary festivals bookstore readings etc see her website at www.lindagrant.co.uk
My other blog
Buchmendel - some words from books
Books by Linda Grant
- The Thoughtful Dresser Non-Fiction 2009)
- For further information see www.linda.grant.co.uk
- The Clothes on Their Backs (Fiction 2008)
- The People on the Street (Winner of the Lettre Ulysses Prize for Literary Reportage 2006)
- Still Here (Fiction 2002)
- When I Lived in Modern Times (Winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction 2000)
- Remind Me Who I Am Again (Non-fiction 1998)
- The Cast Iron Shore (Fiction 1996)
- Sexing the Millenium (Non-Fiction 1993)
This blog believes
'A good handbag makes the outfit.'
'Only the rich can afford cheap shoes'
'The only thing worse than being skint is looking as if you're skint.'
'A new dress is a great help in all circumstances.' (Noel Streatfeild)
'The only true and lasting meaning of the struggle for life lies in the individual, in his modest peculiarities and his right to these peculiarities.' (Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate.)
'Only the rich can afford cheap shoes'
'The only thing worse than being skint is looking as if you're skint.'
'A new dress is a great help in all circumstances.' (Noel Streatfeild)
'The only true and lasting meaning of the struggle for life lies in the individual, in his modest peculiarities and his right to these peculiarities.' (Vasily Grossman, Life and Fate.)
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13 comments:
I thought we were past the era of being able to declare the end of anything. Chances of me wearing a short, highwaisted skirt with a top tucked in are much slimmer than I am ...
I don't care if I will horribly unfashionable, I'm not abandoning my dresses. No way.
Oops, missed out the word "be". I was a little tetchy at the thought that there'll be less dresses in the shops.
I'd rather be unfashionable than tuck my shirt in! Unless I can get my hands on the corsets Sophia Loren used to wear. Then, maybe.
Bwahahahah!
Another case of "fashion whiplash" - just when some of us were starting to feel comfy in wearing dresses again...whoops, it's back to separates. And two falls from now, they will be back with dresses or something else. I like dresses a lot; knit ones are especially neat and easy because I bike commute to work several days a week and I can just throw one of those in my backpack with appropriate shoes and hose and off I go. But I also like the creativity that comes with being able to put outfits together with separates; when I have time and the inclination, I do that too. As for "you must tuck in the top" -- well, if you have a slim enough waist, then go for it...and put a bright red 2" belt on it too (unless 2" belts are now "out" as well - stupid). Fashion should be fun and beautiful - not some sort of Rx that we have to hew the line on.
This kind of article is all about "fashion trends", not style. This site, and others it links to, are very refreshing antidotes.
Skirts can be nice too, but if one has a wee bit of a midriff bulge (a bane of middle age) a nice silk top or sweater, with some kind of jacket, can be a better choice than a tucked blouse... I do like a comfy gore skirt riding my bicycle - toby, I also cycle a lot.
Hmm, I wrote the above comment and my name didn't appear. I don't like leaving anonymous comments on any site.
anonymous - I have thought about riding in a skirt a lot(I have seen pictures of those lovely Danish girls biking in skirts and HEELS!!), but I am a wimp - I have "fear of undie-showing". So, I tend to ride in shorts, knickers, and heavy tights(during the winter).
I have more fear of people viewing my overly-ample (though toned) Mediterranean bum in trousers than of a flash of panty.
And was too much raised by old-fashioned Europeans to wear shorts "in town"...
And as it is frigid here much of the year, I wear horrid leggings, which Linda would decry, under the skirt while cycling. So do many Danish and Dutch cyclists. These come off at work, unless it is a boho work environment.
I go to Amsterdam about twice a year for work, and am indeed impressed by people cycling in office and other work garments. Nowadays in Paris there are far more cyclists than before, and I still remember a Parisienne cycling in the loveliest of summer frocks... (remember that many of those bicycles have enclosed chains, protecting skirts and trouser legs from danger and grease). The Sartorialist, a site this one links to, has some elegant people on bicycles.
But a very fond memory from my neighbourhood is the monks at a Buddhist temple cycling in their robes.
Oh dear, once again I've become anonymous.
No. No. nononononononono. I will never abandon dresses as long as I live. I'm just upset that since they're "out," they will be more difficult to find.
Oh, well. I suppose fashion writers can't really kill their own industry by saying "Everything you had last year is fine again now! No need to buy!"
There are still plenty of dresses new this spring around here, so I think either the word isn't hitting the U.S. or we're comfortably behind the curve around here. Hurrah!
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