In the Buff

Whose Nude?

Language, in these politically correct times, is fraught with danger when it comes to describing a certain shade of pale peachy pink. In 2010 there was an Internet furore over a reference to Michelle Obama’s dress as ‘nude’. The Associated Press referred to her dress as flesh coloured, and one news editor immediately (and fairly) retorted, ‘Whose flesh?’

This was and still is a common, though patently erroneous, description. There are a myriad shades of skin colour so that one person’s nude is certainly not another’s.

There are a myriad shades of skin colour so that one person’s nude is certainly not another’s.

Let us henceforth strike out ‘nude’ from the fashion lexicon (and so too the unappealing ‘flesh’, which was long a popular colour name with artist’s paint manufacturers).

Rawhide

There are quite a few possible replacement appellations: beige, champagne, pale peach, ballerina pink, blush pink … but my particular favourite is ‘buff’. I first read this descriptor about 20 years ago, on a bottle of Revlon nail polish named ‘Ballet Buff’. It was just the colour of common ballerina slippers. I love this colour and have since owned about six different shades with varying degrees between pinkness and beigeness. I also love it in clothing and accessories, particularly as a natural, undyed leather.

But, you may ask, does not ‘buff’ bear the same potentially racist connotations of ‘nude’?

I am pleased to inform you: No!

‘Buff’ was first used in 1686 to describe the colour of the lining of the red coat of English soldiers’ uniforms. This was the shade of undyed buffalo leather. Eureka! Buff has nothing to do with the colour of human skin, but cowhide! Wikipedia additionally quotes a solider from 1642: ‘he would neither put on armour or buff coat the day of battle’.

(Clockwise from top left) Belt by Erika Sorensen USA (2013); American Apparel tote (2013); from Fenton & Fenton, natural leather and teak chair (fentonandfenton.com.au); Moroccan natural leather square pouf (muima.bigcartel.com) There is uncertainty over which bovine ‘buffalo’ referred to in the seventeenth century, and it may have been any of the animals called buffalo today. Some sources describe this shade as pale yellowish-brown, but there are variations which are much pinker (very similar to a typical ballerina’s slipper). Pigskin is certainly much pinker than this – when I was at art school I owned a natural leather satchel made from pigskin that was a pinkish-brown.

Toiletry case by Noah Marion (noahmarion.com); slim billfold by Stronger Than All (strongerthanall.co.uk)

Naked Dress

Obviously, these particular shades of buff that I am wearing in these pictures are nude on me. Fortunately this laser-cut leather top is cut on the boxy side so that I hope I don’t actually look naked from a distance – I would never wear pants this colour! Once I did a double-take in the street when I saw a Caucasian woman walking along wearing tight buff trousers: she really did look naked. And let’s not forget that seminal moment in popular culture: Carrie Bradshaw in her ‘naked dress’ on the side of a bus.

Sex and the City's take on the naked dress: Carrie Bradshaw's dress is barely there

I am not a fan of the visible bra look that SJP made famous – it’s simply inelegant. I wear a lot of white and light-coloured tops, and in this case a bra the same colour as one’s skin is necessary, for a white bra under a white top becomes highly visible.

A while back I was looking for a strapless bra in my skin tone, and I searched high and low for one that was comfortable, practical and pretty (I eventually found one with 40s styling by Dita von Teese). However, I did note that pretty much all so-called ‘nude’ bras were a mid-brown, much too dark for me, and undoubtedly too light for others. Was this underwear manufacturers’ answer to our multi-ethnic society’s needs? A ‘one fits all’ mid-brown? It is a pretty poor effort, and very aggravating. At the very least they could produce three shades of brown on a sliding scale.

Fashion Notes

I am wearing a Raoul leather top bought on Ozsale; vintage 40s French gloves (never worn) purchased on Etsy; a wooden bead bangle by the label Elk, found and pounced upon at a Salvos op shop; and a pair of spiky studded leather heels by Wittner that I scored from the warehouse store for $10. These are always admired when I wear them; they are so fierce, but also injurious to my ankles if I cross my feet unwarily! The navy pants are by Esprit.

Photos: April 2016