Don’t you sometimes wish they existed? 😉
Nog and I were out shopping earlier today and, being a Saturday morning, there were lots of weddings going on. This caused a few comments from my own inner fashion policewoman upon seeing what many of these people were wearing – especially as a lot of time, money and effort had obviously been spent on some of these ghastly ensembles. Later on we stopped for a cold beer outside on a terrace near a small church where we were treated to a fashion victim show as wedding guests paraded past us.
I honestly did not see one woman who looked genuinely stylish and attractive in her outfit. Mostly it was a sad array of unfortunate hats (prompting Nog to wonder aloud if there was actually a silly hat contest going on), unflattering dresses with mis-matched shoes and gawd-awful accessories, all of which raised the obvious question . . . why???
The general public fared slightly better, though one man wearing raspberry coloured trousers really should not have been allowed out of the house, likewise another guy we saw in a mauve shirt and pale pink trousers … gaaa! Nog commented that at least I was luckier than him as I was wearing sunglasses and said being colour blind (as he is) was sometimes a blessing. But even Mr Pink & Mauve made him wince.
So . . . why??? Why do so many people dress so badly?
casa azahar 
Good question Az. Because they are color blind? Because they don’t care? Perhaps it is because they really like the effect of pink and mauve together? Perhaps mr pink and mauve had seen a particular sunset that really tripped his trigger and wanted to personify it. Who knows.
But this brings to mind a question. do we need a fashion police? Who decides what looks good, anyway? One person’s favorite outfit is another person’s fashion faux pas. I personally tend to abhor those straight black skirts that seem to be de riguer for the business suit. This dates back to my younger days when they were all the fashion rage and I would regularly walk through the kick pleats of them since I could not seem to modulate my long leggy tomboy stride to accommodate their hobble. And yet, a woman in a business suit with a straight skirt is considered quite elegant.
I watched a show one time where these people would grab a person who had been set up by their friends and make them over. When they took away her sensible and comfortable Birkenstocks ($99 shoes, by the way), and threw them in the trash and forbade her to wear such ugly things, replacing them with high heels guaranteed to ruin her knees and hips and lower back, I turned the stupid show off and I have never watched it again.
Then there is the spectacle of Joan Rivers,with her mask like visage courtesy too many face lifts, having the gall to criticize the way other women in hollywood look.
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Crikey, you’ve whetted my appetite. Why on earth didn’t you have a video camera to record this ghastly and amusing event? It might be quite funny to upload such a film onto YouTube.
Out of interest, how were you and Nog dressed? 😉
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It’s a kind of cultural thing too: I passed by a Travellers’ wedding (Irish Gypsies) some months ago, and everyone: including the bride and bridesmaids and including some quite elderly female guests, were showing their bare midriffs, each containing a bellybutton-piercing jewel thingy.
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Well, first of all I did place a 😉 at the top of this post (calm down hmh!) to show I wasn’t being entirely serious.
How were Nog and I dressed?
Nog was wearing a long-sleeved cotton t-shirt, walking shorts (both tan coloured) and sandals (it’s 29º here today).
I was wearing a long black light cotton dress with spaghetti straps and a light natural-white linen shirt over top. And black Mephisto sandals.
I quite agree with you, hmh, that those ‘makeover shows’ seem quite ridiculous (I’ve never seen one, have only heard about them).
“Who decides what looks good, anyway?”
Well, of course I do when I’m people watching whilst enjoying a beer on an outdoor terrace. And trust me, if Mr Pink & Mauve was trying to recreate a sunset he fell rather short of his objective.
Really, it was the apparently meticulously put-together wedding ensembles that got the best laughs. Women teetering on four-inch heels with a faux Philip Treacy hat scupture thingy on their heads (that man has a lot to answer for in my humble opinion!). And they didn’t so much walk as lurch down the street, making them look particularly inelegant (that was Nog’s opinion).
Frankly, if people are going to go out in public looking like that they are fair game. Nobody made them do it! So tough beans for them if a couple of casually and comfortably dressed bystanders found them quite amusing.
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“It’s a kind of cultural thing too”
Well, quite, Woodpigeon. I don’t think I would have found the Traveller’s wedding you described an example of fashion victim nonsense. Gypsy women here have a way of dressing that is totally their own and they always seem quite proud of how they look.
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“Then there is the spectacle of Joan Rivers,with her mask like visage courtesy too many face lifts, having the gall to criticize the way other women in hollywood look.”
Joan is definitely scary looking. But I think she is maybe the perfect person to criticize other Hollywood stars who dress badly. Totally pot & kettle stuff to be sure, but it’s funny to see nonetheless. I mean, c’mon, if you can’t wear that Givenchy dress properly then you probably shouldn’t have. 😉
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I probably over-reacted to your post, Az. Most likely because I am now in day 5 of a virus that has really got me whacked and my sense of humor is lost under the bed somewhere.
there is truly some amazing stuff out there. My feeling is that much of what is paraded down the runways of the fashion house Big Shows lands right in the middle of what I consider ridiculous and unwearable.
Plus (at the risk of taking a light subject and making it too serious), I find the contrast between the $10,000 Givenchy dress being worn by a woman who is struggling to be thin enough to carry it off and the naked starving Sudanese child to be painful in the extreme.
Well, I probably need to go take a nap now.
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Okay, so I didn’t go take a nap. I had never even heard of Philip Treacy so I googled him and visited his haute couture site with hats and all I can say is is is….. do people actually wear those things? How much do they pay to be worn by that hat? I’m stunned. I had no idea. Egads.
So I’m imagining hats like that teetering on top of women wearing 4″ heels and I wish I could have been there in my “uniform” of comfortable black slacks w/ comfortable cotton top and birkenstocks to laugh with you.
People in clothes can not replicate sunsets. Unelss they have a Treacy hat, possibly.
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Treacy made a fortune convincing women to spend $3,000 or more to wear a few twigs and feathers on their heads.
Okay, a bit unfair. I actually admire some of his more spectacular headgear, but it’s the Treacy spin-offs that end up looking, well, just stupid. Especially when they don’t even match the outfit or the shoes, etc.
My question today was just that. These women obviously spend a huge wad o’ cash on their ensembles. So why didn’t the shoes match? Why did the purple faux-Treacy twig thingy clash with the purple in the dress? Why on earth would anyone wear an orangy-red headband (flapper-style) and dark blue-red shoes? (the visual equivalent of fingernails screeching down a blackboard). And why don’t they practice walking in their four-inch heels before leaving home? Also, why do they think wearing something two sizes too small might make them look thinner?
The mind reels . . .
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Questions for the ages.
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Who cares? As long as they were comnfortable with their ensembles what does it matter what a couple of fashionistas like Nog & Az think? 🙂 I suppose it is because Az is ‘in the business’ now 😛
I have brought up my children to hate the iron and wear whatever falls out of their cupboards first and not give a damn. My eldest girl (now 18) recently scandalised several of my female friends by speaking the following heresy:
“I think a woman can have too many shoes. I have four pairs and that includes my wellies and a pair of flip-flops, and that is plenty”. There again she is at Uni studying Philsophy and is a staunch existentialist.
A lesson for all women I think…
Running for cover,
Matholwch .
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We have been created consumers by the fashion and advertsing industries. Used to be, people could make do with one pair of shoes and two sets of clothing: One to wash and one to wear, and if they were really wealthy, a set for Sunday go to meeting.
Part of the reason that Americans are being crushed by debt is they have been brainwashed into believing that they need lots of shoes, lots of clothes, a car for every person in the family, a bathroom for every person in the family, a bedroom for everyperson in the family including the dog, the food they make themselves takes too long and doesn’t taste nearly as good as Taco Bell or McDonalds or Capn D’s. Etc ad nauseum.
Bravo for your your daughter Matholwch. May she live long and prosper.
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Nog & I fashionistas??? 😯
It is to laugh, as Della would say.
Math, you’ve obviously not visited our online clothing shop . . . nuthin but natural and comfortable stuff there. And not a shoe in sight!
I actually agree with your daughter’s clothing philosophy. My attempt at lighthearted razzing here was aimed at those who end up looking worse for having made a special effort and especially those who blindly follow what Fashion™ dictates, whether it actually suits them or not.
Though perhaps I shouldn’t complain as they certainly add a dash of humour to people watching. 😉
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Ah, she never misses an opportunity for a shameless plug 😛
Compared to most of us here you are fashionistas. I, myself, am a fashiondisasta, and proud of it.
Unfortunately my younger girl is a fashion princess and wants a walk-in cupboard just for her shoes. If its on telly it must be good in her opinion – oi vey!
My son just wants clothes that don’t rip or tear easily, but hey he’s seven.
Blessings,
Matholwch .
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There is a long-standing and revered custom in this country that bridesmaid’s dresses are…er, unique and made to only be worn the one time.
My friend Tina won $100 on a radio contest for the ugliest bridesmaid’s dress just by *describing* it on air! She did have to bring it when she collected her prize, though. Can’t remember all the details, but think dark apricot (orange) with a tiered skirt and lace ruffles on the bodice placed somewhat…injudiciously.
There’s a famous fountain in a neighborhood not far from me that’s famous for weddings in the little park attached. I’ve seen a black wedding dress, with long train and hoop skirt. All the bridesmaids appeared to be gowned as an act of revenge on the bride’s part, in extremely ruffled black satin and wide hoops, which unfortunately were not long enough to cover their ankles, ending a good 4-6″ short (depending on the height of the bridesmaid).
Sometimes, there are several wedding parties waiting their turn; I treasure those times. 😉
You can always tell which attendents go with which bride, though — no matter what color scheme.
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One does wonder why brides often force their bridesmaids to dress so hideously. Perhaps to make them look better? 😉
Ah, yer a fashion cynic after me own heart, SC. 🙂
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I have often wondered that myself.
Jim and I were fascinated observers of a wedding that was doomed to one disaster after another. We happened to be ensconced in a bar (why do we all see these things when we are at bars?) that overlooked the Atrium of a hotel we were staying at. The wedding was in the Atrium. The bridesmaids were indeed hideously dressed, and when the 2 ton bride finally appeared, it became evident why. And why a woman who was so grossly overweight would choose a dress that was so bouffant I will never know. She looked like a tulle wrapped snowman. I guess it proves that personality does matter. Or money. The bride’s parents obviously were loaded , judging by the number of attendants (6), and quantity of flowers, etc etc.
The whole ceremony was fraught with disaster.
The candle lighters could not light the candles on the altar candelabra because the tapers that were inserted into the sheaths were too short. The music designated for this operation by the dj ran out and was replayed several times while the two pre-adolescent girls, who were wearing gold dresses that were clearly too long for them and shoes they had not practiced walking in, struggled to achieve lit candledom. Eventually their mothers, their fathers, and two groomsmen were also involved. Eventually, they all retired, defeated by the recalcitrant decoration, which ultimately had only 30% of its candles burning.
Then we were treated to the spectacle of a shy ringbearer, who could not force himself to walk down the aisle in front of all those people staring at him. His mother crouched at the altar end of the obstacle, cooing and encouraging. Finally she went to get him, which meant chasing him down because he somehow got the idea that he was in trouble and started to run away, and carried him down the aisle to the altar. The ringbearer music also ran out, and I truly wished the dj had some good Keystone Kop chase music to insert there.
Next we had the flower girl, who marched determinedly down the aisle, bearing her basket of petals. Her mother was exhorting her to “Throw the petals, dear” over and over again as she trudged altar-wards. When she finally managed to hear this despairing stage direction, she stopped at the end of the aisle and up ended her basket, dumping the whole pile of petals right there, then ran to her mommy, stuck her head in the woman’s lap and did not emerge.
The music for the attendants also was not long enough. They were all wearing hot pink short strapless prom-type dresses.
At long last, the bride appeared. We had to watch her progress down the hall of the balcony above the atrium, and then down the long staircase, all along the side of the audience, and finally down the aisle, for far too long. Her music, Jesu joy of mans desiring, was also not long enough.
After all this, the vows took about 3 minutes, and the preacher’s homily was limited to a reading of Paul.
The unity candle did not want to light. The mother’s candles had fallen prey to an errant breeze, who knows where it came from in an enclosed hotel, so they had to be relit before the struggle to light the unity candle began.
Perhaps it was the margaritas we had consumed, but Jim and I found this wedding to be the most amusing we had ever attended, and we weren’t even invited. I sincerely hope the marriage is going better that the rite.
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Ha – and there you were criticizing me and Nog for having a laugh at the expense of a few badly dressed wedding guests, hmh.
I think it’s a basic rule of thumb… the harder you try to look ‘cool and fashionable’ the worser you’ll fail at it. 😉
Though I admit that criticizing wedding parties is a bit like shooting fish in a barrel.
Anyhow, STYLE usually doesn’t have much to do with what one is wearing – it is more to do with how it is being worn.
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Now that is the truth. Far too many people do not understand that basic truth and believe that if they only put on the right thing, they will then have style.
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