Fickle Fashion Yet Again
I made the mistake of looking at my daughter’s fashion magazines yet again. These things either make me laugh or make me mad. Sometimes they cause me to scratch my head. I always find amazing all the “new” rabbits Madison Avenue continues to pull out of its proverbial hat. Somehow designers, manufacturers, and retailers convince millions of women each season that this is in or that is out, that hair must be curly, straight, wavy, “piecey,” beachy, or whatever. (I’m supremely glad to have hair and am happy when it’s clean and neat).
I had to laugh. One particular rag was touting long jackets. “The line is so flattering,” the article read! Have I not been espousing this particular philosophy for years now? No jackets for me shorter than 27 inches, and preferably longer! A few short seasons ago, when cropped tops and short little blazers were all one could buy, I voted with my pocketbook. “Oh, so cute,” the magazines said. No thank you. “Adorable!” they claimed. Sure, if you’re about 12 years old, stand almost six feet tall, weigh less than 100 pounds, (or perhaps a bit more but with a toned, gym rat body like my daughter). I don’t fit into any of those categories.
My daughter informed me last weekend that purple nail polish is now IN. Not the lavender I bought LAST summer. Oh no, it had to be a variation so a different product could be sold. — Anything to part the public with its money. She didn’t specify blue-ish purple or reddish purple. When I spotted some on sale locally (great brand) I needed more details. “Not reddish”, she said, “but never mind”— because she GOOGLED “nail polish August 2010” and learned that bright fuchsia pink is suddenly the way to go. How did we ever live without Google? (The last time I wore that color, apparently ahead of my time and thinking it was delightfully cheery for spring, my fashionista daughter wasn’t too complimentary. “Too bright,” she pronounced. (I refrained from commenting on her very fashionable color, almost black).
Lesson learned. Fuchsia pink before it’s officially declared IN is not cool. Once declared, it’s highly acceptable. Once again, I proved right one of my favorite sayings, “Timing is everything”.) So what a quandary — purple or bright pink polish for August? Apparently, even the fashion magazines and powers that be couldn’t agree on this simple prediction. As my father was fond of saying, “Gather ten experts in a room, and you’ll have ten different opinions”.
Who can keep up with this fashion stuff? And it’s big, BIG business! — Sells millions of dollars of products every month. People are making tons of money off this nonsense. (Well, maybe not the companies that banked on, say PEACH color nail polish for summer 2010). Nail polish, billion-dollar-a-year biz. Go fig. Another of my father’s quotes; “If a woman awoke one morning to find her toenails bright green (or orange or red or purple or whatever), she’d dash right to the nearest ER!”
My biggest fashion news this season involved heels. I had given up on them after years of flip-flops, boots, sneakers and flats. Heels just HURT. (I remember my mother and my aunt complaining about the very same thing. For the life of me, I never understood it — until I, uh, “matured” a bit). Did you know that we actually lose some of the padding on the soles of our feet as we age? Now I ask you, is this FAIR??? We gain it where we don’t want it and lose it where we need it! I discovered Born sandals a couple of years ago when some of the styles stopped looking so hideously orthopedic. They have tons of padding. (Do I sound like a spokesperson for Born?) This season I tried a pair of their heels and SUCCESS! They may not be the height of fashion, but they’re good enough for me! If I appear taller, this could be why.
I was so excited when jumpsuits were back “in” last year. I bought one (very cheap) against the recommendation of my daughter (who is disgustingly and consistently RIGHT about such things). Even then, during the season this item was supposed to be wildly popular, it was on sale because that jumpsuit gamble didn’t pay off so well for the manufacturer. All of us who were thin and young in the 1970s or 1980s (when jump suits were last popular) would like to think that purchasing one now, thirty or so years later, would evoke the magic of that whole past reality. Would that it were so. It’s the same concept that keeps women with names like Bambi wearing the same hairdo at 70 that they wore at 16. People often get “stuck” in the era when they were happiest — like a guy with muttonchops or a mullet. (This stuff isn’t exclusive to females, you know).
So my jumpsuit hangs patiently in the closet (not far from the lavender nail enamel). Perhaps I’ll wear both for Halloween.
Gene Ellis, Ed.D is a Bosque County resident who returned to the family farm after years of living in New Orleans, New York, and Florida. She’s an artist who holds a doctoral degree from New York University and is writing a book about the minor catastrophes of life. Check out Genie’s blog at http://rusticramblings.wordpress.com/
