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n my book, everyone who is anyone watched the royal wedding in April; seldom has there been such an occasion that competes when it comes to sartorial scrutiny, and the guests prepared their Gaga-inspired millinery accordingly. Of course the bride, Kate Middleton, looked fairytale radiant. Her dress hit a fashion home run, accessorised to perfection with self-applied make-up and a beautiful head bridesmaid. However, there was one question troubling me; long after the oh-so-cute Aston Martin carriage whisked the sweethearts away. What, did Princess Beatrice have on her head? Commentators later compared the pink silk Philip Treacy creation to antlers, a toilet seat and, my favourite, a pretzel… the 22-yearold had made a fashion faux pas of monumental proportion and the furor that ensued was reminiscent, albeit royally, of Elizabeth Hurley wearing that slashed-to-the-waist, chili-hot red Versace (complete with leopard print knickers) to a ‘friend’s’ wedding in 1998. Conscious act or not, Princess Beatrice was branded a thunder stealer, finding herself in a situation that begs the question
"5 5 & / 5 * 0 / 1-&"4& FASHION CAN BE A FUNNY OLD GAME… OF HIDE AND SEEK, MOSTLY, THINKS ELLE TIMMS
of ‘how do I strike a balance between looking fashion-forward, without making people hate me?’ I found a similar sentiment echoed recently, when I stumbled across a genuinely funny fashion blog, www.manrepeller.com. Born from a conversation that went a little like this: Girl 1: “What are you wearing tonight?” Girl 2: “My sweet lime green dropcrotch utility pants.” Girl 1: “Oh, so we’re man repelling. Cool.” The site’s young New Yorker author, Leandra Medine, notices that when it comes to directional fashion, what women love, men generally hate. FYI, this season the wedge heel in all forms and Chanel’s sunshine yellow Mimosa polish should repel to a tee. Sunglasses and shoes are, of course, the key to complicating your outfit the simple way. Try Alexander Wang’s extreme
angular frames, Dhs1,100 at www. net-a-porter.com – utterly festival fabulous. I could go on for hours when it comes to shoes. I’m sold again on the second season of Iris van Herpen’s United Nude collaboration – www.unitednude. com – and on the high street, Julian Louie’s A/W11 drop at Aldo looks to be Balenciaga-inspired… dramatic, statement shoes at their finest, and total ‘man-repellers’. There are two things to remember here. First of all, know your audience – especially when it comes to royal weddings. Secondly, understand that sculpting genuine ‘look-at-me’ style takes time, and usually fame. The fabulousness of Daphne Guinness and eccentric genius of Lady Gaga are art forms to reconstruct with extreme care. By all means, take elements of McQueen’s groundbreaking
silhouettes or Thierry Mugler’s razor-sharp tailoring and work them into your own style… I’m just saying think before you take a dip into blue hair and stilt heels territory if we’re going to get all Fashion Police about it. The answer is easy, really – small doses, ladies. Yes, it’s important to include elements of your personality within your visual expression to the world – this is the fundamental reason why fashion exists. But do it with caution, as nobody loves a tryhard wacko. Exercise statement flair with an innovative ‘extra touch’, just not to Princess B’s pretzel proportions. ■
AUGUST 2011
EMIRATES WOMAN
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