Far OUT in Fashion

Thanks to lovely friend Nancy I found this photo on my Facebook feed. I love it! I hate it! I want to look like that! I'm afraid to look like that!

Because it's obviously a bit of a goof, I don't feel bad addressing (pun intended) the issue of mature women turned out as if they are going to a come as you are party— "Come as you are after you raid your closet blindfolded". These are women often photographed by Ari Seth Cohen for his "Advanced Age" projects. Many of them New Yorkers, they make a concerted effort to dress for display. They are out-and-about, often in gangs, knowing they will be looked at and dressing the part. While I admire the nerve, I don't call it fashion, I call it self-promotion.

I don't mean Iris Apfel. She may look way-far-out, but she has something to say, and she says it well. No one can imitate her; I would never try, but her being does sometimes give me license to add that extra necklace. 

Empress Iris

Then there is Trinny Woodall, who has never met a sequin she didn't love or a "trainer" she didn't covet. Nevertheless she dresses for this world. She's not afraid of color or sparkle, and a 20 minute video of her flying through a Zara is sometimes just the jolt I need to feel fashion-revived.

Trinny Woodall

So a minute in, I looked at that top photo and knew what I would do: ditch the electric hairstyle—my own white pixie is fine—keep the coat and bag, turn the skirt into trousers and the shoes into flats, in this case remove a necklace or two...and stand up straight.