The ‘season’ is upon us.
In Ireland that means regular horse racing, a rare polo match, the odd ‘celebrity’ wedding and one day in five when it does not rain… heavily.
It is time for a style statement. The trouble is in many will insist on wearing an entire ‘book’ .
Easy elegance is drowned under a mayhem of logos, patterns and shapes in the name of fashion that those with an eye for understatement will decry…. ‘in the name of God !’
”in the name of fashion… be careful not to frighten the horses!”
Waists are cinched beyond the natural lines of human anatomy. Busts are fortified to battle strength and legs elongated by towering stilettoes unsuitable for anything but lying down.
Heads are crowned by structures that defy both good design and common sense, calling concepts of architecture and torture to mind in the same moment. The wearers strut awkwardly and top heavy like dolls in a Punch & Judy show.
In the belief that ‘more is more’, parts of many ensembles are chosen independently and incoherently. The effect is quite the opposite.
Millinery often breaches the planning laws while make up and fake tan camouflages ethnic origin.
The ratatouille of logos and labels, patterns and shapes ensures that the whole is never greater than the sum of the parts. It often simulates a collision between a laundry basket and a truck load of prefabricated steel.
While style still whispers, its measurements and those of ‘new money’ grow strangely dissimilar. Fashion it seems is now a pastime that suffers from excess, extravagance….and a lack of full length mirrors.
We really must be careful not to frighten the horses!