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 15 July 2008

Rules are made to be broken

Here's a dress by McQueen. Well, you couln't wear it because it shows off the bingo wings etc. But hey, apparently by putting a top underneath it, you have made an edgy new look. Now personally, I would have thought that a top under a dress like that would look silly. But fashion says, no, it's okay now.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

The only way I can see that look working is is that top were made of black lace. This is just messy to me.

Linda Grant said...

Interesting you should say that. It still looks quite odd to me too, but I sppose if enough people do it, then it won't. Three summers ago everyone was wearing dresses below the knee over jeans. I thought that looked wrong too until you couldn't walk down the street without seeing five women dressed that way.

indigo16 said...

I have seen someone wearing this look and I think that if you
a) stick to blocks of colour rather than muddle it with pattern or texture and
b) have boobs that are neither too small or too large then you are good to go!

Miss Cavendish said...

I love this look but agree that one must have a modest bosom--and probably strong shoulders too--to pull it off successfully.

Susan B said...

I couldn't pull this off, but would say that the right person (well proportioned) and the right blouse underneath (snug fitting, no extra material) could probably make it work.

Anonymous said...

Yup, you COULD do it. But why, why, WHY?
Is it too early for a drink?

Anonymous said...

Well, from a purely structural point of view, a strapless dress needs some kind of support (usually sewn-in boning or a separate inner bustier called a corselet that the dress hangs from) to hold it up, and this one appears to have none. I think anyone wearing it would spend most of the day tugging it up.

Plus, unless the top was a bodysuit, it will bunch up under the arms with the slightest movement. Although if this was done as a faux strapless look, with the top actually part of the dress, it would be more wearable.

Anonymous said...

The long tight sleeves would do very little to dissimulate bingo wings - about the only thing that would would be some kind of open top or shawl. Yes, I know that can be mumsy if you don't choose the wing-dissimulator with great care, but it beats flappy arms in situations where one faces the modern scourge of constant photography, often either by amateurs who take unflattering photos because they don't know any better, or people armed with a camera and something against their victim.

Anonymous said...

Gruesome!

Gi said...

it is an interesting look. I will try it in the fall, too hot to dress like this in HK right now. Then again, I went to work today in an outfit that people either love or quirk eyebrows :p

Linda Grant said...

What's not to like?!

Anonymous said...

I wore something similiar (dress and turtleneck underneath) in my Cindy Lauper phase in the 80s.

I'm not really sure if I should add anything to that.

Anonymous said...

Personally, I love the look, and think it's v sexy.

Linda: Global Language Monitor's (GLM) top fashion cities 2008 list has been revealed today. Do you care to post your views? The top 10are: New York (5th year in a row), Rome, Paris, Milan, London, LA, Sydney, Las Vegas (shock!!), Berlin and Tokyo.

I have no bloody idea how GLM manages to rate itself as fashion critic extraordinaire.

Disneyrollergirl.net said...

well i like it!