At a big birthday bash not so long ago I wore my crazy-psychedelic-Felicity Shagwell boots, thinking the occasion warranted their special guest appearance. After a barrage of judgements had erupted I admitted to the commentators that I have a bit of a boot fetish. The male with whom I was seated didn’t miss a beat, countering, “So do I now.”
At once my boots had gone from being a functional item of clothing to a conversation starter and potential man-magnet. This got me thinking about what we wear and why, and how this is reflected on our beloved Sydney Uni campus. Which I guess adds another element to the humble boots…. the ability to incite deep contemplation.
Coco Chanel has apparently been heard to say “adornment is never anything except a reflection of the heart.” Whether or not we take it as seriously as this, it is obvious that people spend a lot of time and effort in maintaining their appearance. And while Christian Dior claims "my dream is to save women from nature", it is clear that we frequently go well beyond functionality.
A university campus is one place where this is most obviously displayed. It’s a fascinating experience (particularly coming from a uniform-wearing school), to indulge in the past time of expressing your entire being through threads that are supposed to maintain your comfort and decency. Or just to watch as others fail to do the latter.
As winter hits and dressing for uni becomes more complicated than the shorts-thongs-T-shirt trio, I feel that I need to speak up about a most heinous crime that is increasing at an alarming rate. Of course I can only be talking about the return of the leggings. Some things carried on well from the 80s, and maintain a retro-cool status. But some things, like blue eye shadow up to your forehead teamed with big hair and bright pink lippy, just need to stay there.
The most commonly heard excuse for leggings is that they allow you to transition your wardrobe from summer into winter. This, at first, seems like a sensible argument. Though as Dylan Moran exclaimed on his recent tour “why do you even pretend to have seasons here?” He’s right, just a week till winter and I find myself happily bathing in the deep blue sea. Our fantastic, virtually year-round warm weather means that we convince ourselves the same items can be worn with minor adaptations, and thus rely on the humble (read: ugly) leggings to keep us warm.
This weather problematic can be seen in another fashion pet peeve: Ugg boots with mini skirts. I understand having lived in a country that actually has snow that these boots can be the most comforting things in the world. But if your feet really are cold enough to warrant wearing them here, for goodness sake put some clothes on too! This particular crime is only surpassed by those silly fluffy polo neck jumpers with no sleeves.
But enough of a rant about the impractical trends I hate. I’m definitely not the authority on fashion, particularly given that the majority of the clothing I wear comes from my Grandmothers' old wardrobes. (I will say in my defence that they were distinctly not the blue-rinse Grandma variety). However I do think some people ought to look in the mirror occasionally to see if what’s come off the runway transfers to the street. Whether you think its intentional or not, what you wear becomes a direct reflection of your beliefs, lifestyle and economic status. Uni gives you a rare opportunity to differentiate yourself, for once in the workforce those tied dyed pants are just not gonna fly. This differentiation can become quite political. Different groups on campus are immediately identifiable, largely due to the proliferation of T-shirts as advertisement for elections and clubs and societies. Recently a friend informed me that in the States it sometimes went much further than this, with students wearing fur rimmed jackets (real or just good fakes) being attacked with red paint by their classmates, as a result of the animal rights movement, and publicity of campaigns like “I’d rather go naked than wear fur”.
So whether its vogue, the weather (ha!), or your political beliefs that motivate your style, chances are people are going to make assumptions about you. I feel that the problem with this is only when we get to the point that fashion goes beyond a form of expression, or art, to an obsessive compulsion to keep up with trends and norms of society. Put more simply and philosophically by Michael Leunig:
“How may a man measure his own happiness?
He must first go to his cupboard and take out all his neckties.
Then he must lay them out on the ground
End to end.
Then he must measure the length of this line of neckties,
And that measurement,
That distance,
Is exactly the same as his distance from true happiness.”