Carnivale!
Ok, so here's my first attempt to participate in one of the Carnivales of the Couture. This time, the Fashionable Kiffen asks:What item/style/look do you wish would become a trend? Or what trend from the past would you like to resurrect?I puzzled over the second part of this question because I think designers are already trying their best (and worst) to bring back just about any trend of the past, from the psychedelic and the boho to the leggings and the shoulder pads.
However, there is one field in which they absolutely refuse to look at the past: men's fashion. I was just watching a rerun of The Sting and I realized that I would really, really like to see revived the time in which men paid attention to their attire and wore perfectly tailored suits and fedoras with aplomb, also pulling off the other important accessories in a man's wardrobe that today only belong in the all-important business meetings, the very formal affairs, or some conservative pundit shows: the tie, the cravat, the handkerchief gracefully poking out of the chest pocket, the elegant wallets and shoes, the vests.
Ok, so maybe we shouldn't see the revival of all of the above, all at once, but at the very least, I would like to see a revival of the art of dressing the man, which has been preserved only by a precious few. Personally, I'd like to reverse the proportion of men who wear flip-flops, mandals, poorly-crafted shoes, or sneakers, paired with shorts or scruffy khakis and T-shirts or polos, in favor of men who understand the value of a bespoke jacket and of well-made accessories.
As about women's fasion: what I would first and foremost like to see is a revival of real femininity - of real women - in the way fashion is presented. I'm a beating up a dead horse, I know. Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has started something, but it has as many detractors as defenders, and let's face it, patriarchy wants us to look more like Pam Anderson and Claudia Schiffer than like...well, ourselves.
Still, I would really like the fashion industry to try to shake the 6" tall, size 0 stereotype of beauty off its back. The stick figures that populate the runways are not representative of how women like you and me look. I would like to see a trend in which models look more like real, healthy, women of all shapes and sizes (anything above a size 4, or below 5' 10", please!).
I would like the fashion industry to celebrate the glory and beauty inherent in women, rather than the fake glamour achieved through their dimensions. I would like them to teach how each of us can be beautiful in our own way, rather than by trying to fit the mold they present as acceptable. I would like to see a culture which strives to eradicate rather than encourage self-image and self-esteem problems in young women, which can lead to so many dangerous behaviors, disorders, and psychological scars. I would like to see high fashion get down to earth for a little while: it might not be as bad as they think!
To me, that would be the most glorious revolution that the fashion industry could accomplish for women everywhere.
posted by Cristina Hanganu-Bresch @ 8:10 AM
4 Comments:
Amen!
I see there is a yearning for the well-dressed man among women of taste. (I blush). I hope men get the message.
Indeed! I'm pleasantly surprised! I think we're on to something...
Wow! *::stands and applauds::* Encore, encore! I yearn for the well-dressed man and for a fashion industry filled with healthier looking models too. I did hear the well-dressed man is starting to make a comeback, mostly with older men though.
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