Extremes of fashion
Melbourne is one Australian city that truly has four seasons. Sometimes all of them in one day. That is why many residents – and I count myself as one of them – are obsessed with the weather forecast. We know full well that on a hot day we can be surprised by a sudden change and plunge into winter. Usually this weather sense translates merely into bringing with us a light jacket and/or umbrella.
However, I have observed the manifestation of a disturbing trend amongst the younger generation in the past few years.
Most of us – while we keep a close and suspicious eye on the weather and meteorologists alike – dress according to the season: in summer (when it is hot) we wear light, flimsy clothing; in winter (when it is cold) we bundle up in warm layers. Spring and autumn can blend these two extremes. So far, this rule sounds quite sensible and easy to remember, does it not?
Many fashion magazines and other arbiters of style would agree that winter clothing is usually accompanied tastefully by matching accessories: wool felt hats, gloves, boots etc. Yet what do we see tramping gleefully through the puddles of inner Melbourne in the depths of winter? Girls parading in thongs; flip-flops; call them what-you-will. They usually have blue, chilblained toes too. “But they’re so comfy!” I’ve heard these girls protest. How comfortable are they with feet that are freezing, wet, and covered in the mud and pollution of a city street?
Most of us – while we keep a close and suspicious eye on the weather and meteorologists alike – dress according to the season…
This summer saw the reverse of this stylish ensemble. On a day of 39°C – and I do not exaggerate – I actually saw a girl with an enormous blanket… I mean scarf bundled around her neck. Behind my dark sunglasses I goggled at her. What had she been thinking that morning? “Oh lovely, 39°! The ideal day to wear my new scarf swaddled as tightly as possible around my neck. It matches perfectly with my spaghetti-strapped camisole! That will surely help me beat the heat!”
This is when ‘fashionable’ transmogrifies into ‘fashion victim’. I’m not an advocate of conservative, bourgeois dressing by any means, but why don’t we pay the elements the respect they deserve – and do ourselves a stylish favour at the same time? There’s nothing wrong with a seasonally appropriate light silk scarf, or a pair of patent leather boots. And you won’t look extremely silly in them either.