Pocztówka znad Tamizy 11/2006
Socks with sandals are apparently in. So, no matter how often your mum, sister or girlfriend were telling you off for this – you can now safely indulge your atavism. Saving a bit on a pedicure.
Flat shoes – completely flat, that is. There was marked return to the little-raised, Eighties-style, feminine things last year (though with a bit more pointed noses to mark the difference between mums and dauhgters); now you can see half of the females in the street in smart, minimalistic flats. The other half wears – in broad daylight at least – flip-flops, crazily popular for four or five seasons, and tirelessly re-styled for both casual and formal(ish) occasions. Not for career, as yet. Cork platforms and heels are deservedly in demand, so are platformed espadrilles, and, to be honest, all sorts of platforms. You can still see lots of those five-inch-high pointies in front of posher restaurants. Red carpets of all sorts – that’s what they were invented for.
Last year there was a return of skin-tight jeans. Kate Moss was one of the first to wear them, and Mrs Beckham followed suit. This year, Posh being even thinner than before, tight trousers are ubiquitous at trendy places (any time of the day). So, ladies, if you are ready – take those old ‘carrots’ from remotest nooks of your wardrobes! But remember – the genuine thing is ‘a classic with a twist’: the waist line tends to be rather low, in sync with the trends of recent years.
Big boobs and all air-bag enhancing jobs are being done (sometimes overdone) and much talked about. Apart from ye olde and expensive silicone thingy, you can stuff your bra (a flesh- or nude-coloured one is a must this or any summer) with practical gel pads. For an average man it is supposed to make no difference. Up to a point, of course. Consequently, plunging necklines have been much in.
Btw, there has been some talk as to whether Princess Beatrice’s sartorial decisions are of the right sort. The Princess was snapped wearing a very revealing dress (she is not yet eighteen,with the birthday in August). What – if anything – her Grandma said about the dress and the following publicity is a mystery, but it is Her Majesty who pays for ‘her favourite graddaughter’s’ birthday bash. The inviting party being divorced parents: Duke and Dutchess of York The venue – Windsor Castle, of course. Party theme – Victorian times.
Big glasses – a craze for three years – are still much in view (and demand). All the WAGs were markedly wearing those big numbers in Baden-Baden (England squad’s German HQ), and Mrs Beckham is rumored to have a pair of such for each day of a year). But the cutting edge are already looking around for something more distinctive. New trend is predicted as narrow rectangular(ish) and small, a bit heavier-rimmed at outer edges – all in all, immaculately lined. Such are at least the designer prototypes, now heavilly advertised by some optician chains. They do look promising, just wait and see what the high street version is going to boil down to.
Pronunciation and original versions of some proper names are surprisingly in. So you don’t say Bombay but Mumbay, not Peking but Beijing. Even if you are proud to have mastered the sweetest, softest pronunciation of ‘Budapest – Polish, harsh ‘Budapeszt’ (with a bit exaggerated ‘sz’) is the thing! Some call it new political correctness. As yet, this does not comprise Warszawa, but I hear that Kraków’ municipal authorities have nothing better to do but ‘to promote the city’s original name’. Good luck!
Phrases. That’s a pit! Although I tend to read the papers all year round, whenever I come here, I am stunned with so many new and re-heated words and phrases (some are called soundbites, you know). This summer, virtually every second hour you can spot ‘thinspiration’. As in: Victoria Beckham is a thinspiration for many girls fighting obesity’. Or: ‘Celebrity-anorectics’ so-called thinspiration role-modelling has become a real problem for parents and doctors alike’.
‘Fake bake’ – both as a result of a sun bed and tanning lotion.
‘Holy mackerel!’ – when something impresses us, perhaps too much or with unnecessary effort. It was with us, but somebody must have done something to bring it back to the main stream. It resurfaced nicely, only to disappear after weeks of over-use.
Abbreviations. ‘GWOT’ (global war on terror) – no paper bothers to explain it from time to time (in case someone is back from Mars). ‘Go AWOL’ is much older, so is ‘PAYE’ (pay as you earn), and similar. WAGs are still very much with us, and there spring numerous modifications (‘SWAGs’ – St Petersburg’s summit WAGs; ‘waggery’, ‘waglash’, and so forth).
Each day lifestyle sections, fashion columns, pals’ pressure or your own street observations tell you… well – what exactly? Basically, only one thing: there are more fashionable (or cool) ways of dressing, behaving or living than you could imagine. And that even before you take into account the ethnic component of a typical high street.
So is there anything thoroughly passe? Except for the second-last (and tackiest) items of the ‘in’, there seems to be no such thing. London being so cosmopolitan and laid back, especially in summer, you can wear virtually anything and it will do. Along with big smile and a witty, confident look. As for a really smart occasion – the safest option is to go for the self-conscious understatement. And for quality stuff if you can afford it. Do remember that your attire must match the occasion, do not wear too much jewellery (unless you are a Liz Taylor) and do bear in mind that cultural centres are in fact not half as obsessed with newest trends as are some provincial nations with deep-seated inferiority complexes. As a certain Polish aristocrat noticed and wittily commented on (a couple of centuries ago): in Paris only rich merchants’ wifes dress trendily; aristos choose simplicity and quality of fabrics. In Poland everybody looks up to Paris, pays enormous money to Parisian taylors and – even worse – to its’ cheaper and more vulgar imitators… Or at least wants to hear what the newest fashions are.
So here we are, ladies! (And gentlemen!) – If one does have one’s style, they do not need to worry about newest fashions. Above all, don,t try too hard.
©BM 12July06
