Great slideshow.
What do you do when there's nowhere to step but puddles and your shoes cost $400+?
How can clothing be perceived as beautiful if it ceases to function in the event of the most predictable and trivial misfortune? Or do you think impracticality makes some things more beautiful?
Remember when feminists critiqued fashion as intended to debilitate women? I do. They used to get mad at the evil designers, but now, it's just women themselves, knowingly taking the risks and frequently and comically caught in a jam.
September 28, 2008
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21 comments:
If I were wearing my Tux and my (very expensive) dress shoes I'd be just as uncomfortable and likely to try to salvage something from the disaster.
OTOH, being a man, I'd probably also have brought along my very cool carbon fiber storm proof golf umbrella.
Big enough for me and two regular sized women, or seven models.
-XC
That Bill Cunningham guy sure enjoys his job a hell of a lot more than I enjoy mine.
Rule No. 1, don't buy $400 shoes.
Rule No. 2, shoes should be comfortable, if they're not, don't buy them.
Guess I'm too practical, but I've never understood why people would buy shoes that hurt their feet just because "they look good."
Standing around for hours looking good while suppressing the pain inflicted by those shoes isn't a concept I find very appealing or rational.
I think the rain actually helps some of those horrible clothes.
The best dressed people in the slide show are the sailors.
It's funny that the reality we construct for ourselves is always humbled by the true reality. No matter how much we spend on clothes, the rain doesn't care. Useful exercise in humility here.
We all do this, not just pretty women wearing expensive clothes.
Bill Cunningham is great. He doesn't mention the problem rain presents for a photographer. Sartorialist mentions this. He said there's no point in letting bad weather affect photography, just carry on. But then, Cunningham and Schuman are prepared.
(accidentally posted up there ^^^ in the wrong thread)
I dunno...sexy shoes...rain...I'm diggin' it! Ladies, keep workin' the impracticality!
Clogs are very sensible.
Rules must be different for the Navy. At least in the Army, umbrellas aren't authorized for use while in uniform.
And, I don't see what's so ridiculous about the scenes caught in this slideshow. The women look beautiful. And they aren't rushing out of the rain all that much faster than a frumpy dumpy sweatsuited woman with tennis shoes would be. Who tromps through puddles in anything other than rain boots? Who tries to get soaking wet while dressed and out and about?
As far as comfort versus style goes, high quality shoes just aren't that uncomfortable. I am willing to admit to owning one pair of shoes that are wildly uncomfortable but so pretty that I wear them anyway. But, I can stalk about the office and up and down the stairs all day or go out dancing for hours in most of my quite high heels without enduring anything remotely resembling pain. A little discomfort at times...? Sure maybe. But, I'd likely be more uncomfortable wearing orthopedic shoes and toting a rain slicker at all times. I suppose that's not sensible. But, there should be beauty in everyday life. Why be a slave to practicality? Enjoy yourself.
It's worth noting that expensive shoes tend to be more comfortable and tend to hold up better if they get soaked. You may hate to get them wet because you paid so much for them, but I've had the experience of getting new, expensive suede shoes thoroughly soaked and muddy and had them come out looking perfectly fine.
Certainly, if you're going to wear high heels, they should be pretty expensive.
Functionality and beauty are two separate things. Consider this NYT article about the latest in camouflage, based on the study of what deer and other hunted animals see. Designing more effective camouflage is one thing, getting men to wear it is something else:
"Getting soldiers, at least the male ones, to switch to digital camouflage wasn’t easy, Dr. O’Neill says, because for many men camouflage is less about invisibility than fashion. Some soldiers hung on to the old-fashioned designs because of what Dr. O’Neill called the C.D.I. factor: Chicks Dig It."
Certainly, if you're going to wear high heels, they should be pretty expensive.
I could not agree more. Cheap shoes are impractical. They never fit quite right, they shred your skin with cheap materials and they reshape and resize themselves at the slightest hint of moisture.
"Getting soldiers, at least the male ones, to switch to digital camouflage wasn’t easy
According to my husband at least, that's because this is the only place the digital pattern the Army picked actually works.
Speaking of high fashion, did you see Givhan's aritcle today about Palin's lack of fashion?
Since we opened the store, we have been going to a lot of fashion shows and events including the tent shows and Bryant Park as well as the Magic, Moda, and Project shows in Vegas.
I can safely say, without fear of contradiction, that 90% of the people who actually work in fashion...are really...really...really...fucking ugly.
If a woman wears Manolo Blahniks to go out on a dinner date, does she carry a pair of slippers for those awkward few steps between car and restaurant, those sidewalk steps which could easily result in dog doody on the Blahniks? I'm asking seriously. Or do most women throw caution to the wind and brave the street crud?
The Navy guys actually fit right in. Those white uniforms are designed to debilitate. (And I don't know about the Army but we certainly were allowed umbrellas in the Air Force, way back when, if we were wearing some manner of dress uniform. They had to be black or navy.) Anyhow, the white uniforms are designed to debilitate. Starting back when Napoleon (or whomever) started sticking rows of buttons on the sleeves of jackets to force soldiers to use handkerchiefs for their snot... and going on from there... because there's just so much a guy can do without messing up his uniform, even when he's sure to bring a spare no matter where he goes, and so behavior is controlled even when someone isn't there standing over them.
All dress uniforms are pretty bad that way, but the white ones are special.
Wasn't there a Seinfeld episode where Jerry went nuts over getting a leather jacket (or was it suede?) wet.
I had never heard Bill Cunningham's voice before. It just ruined the illusion I had of him.
Damn internet technology advancements!
Givhan's article is hilarious. Palin if anything has struck me as the best dressed female politician I have seen. And the praise for Hillary's outfits is bizarre. Hillary dresses straight out of the JCPenney old lady retiree section. Her clothes including those 52 flavor pantsuits are disgusting.
I question the sailors authenticity. I am at work, and could not hear the audio, but the right hand is kept empty for saluting purposes.
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