Because you can't have depths without surfaces.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
Pure Collection Ltd.
Net-a-porter UK

Tuesday 8 April 2008

Put out the black flags


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.

13 comments:

Tiffany said...

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 ...

Anonymous said...

I don't care if I will horribly unfashionable, I'm not abandoning my dresses. No way.

Anonymous said...

Oops, missed out the word "be". I was a little tetchy at the thought that there'll be less dresses in the shops.

Anonymous said...

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.

Anonymous said...

Bwahahahah!

Anonymous said...

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.

Anonymous said...

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.

Anonymous said...

Hmm, I wrote the above comment and my name didn't appear. I don't like leaving anonymous comments on any site.

Anonymous said...

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).

Anonymous said...

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.

Anonymous said...

Oh dear, once again I've become anonymous.

Kelly said...

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.

Anonymous said...

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!