Yes, That’s Her Underwear--Get Over It
When sheer, filmy dresses first floated down the world’s runways, announcing themselves as this summer’s defining style, observers wondered how many women would be willing to appear nearly nude in public.
Oh, they’d be dressed, ostensibly, but transparent fabrics, even decorated with pale blossoms, don’t offer much camouflage for body parts usually considered private.
Joan Kaner, fashion director of Neiman Marcus, was unfazed. “Customers are very smart,” she said. “They don’t panic easily, and they find their own answers. Remember a few years ago when there were lots of bare slip dresses around? Women started wearing them over T-shirts. It was a great solution, and it just seemed to come from nowhere.”
True to Kaner’s prediction, while stores stocked up on dull, flesh-colored bodysuits and slips designed to give the illusion of nudity coupled with a measure of modesty, women turned to pretty underwear, fully intending to let it be visible under their see-through clothes.
The practicality of this notion--that underwear needn’t be kept undercover--is stunning in its simplicity. Women were drawn to the feminine, sheer and bare clothes, but weren’t interested in elaborate, expensive and often uncomfortable subterfuge. Strapless bras inevitably bind or slip, and wearing no bra at all when one is clearly needed is even worse. So let the lingerie show!
The audience of Gwen Stefani wannabes at the recent No Doubt concert in Anaheim made their suntanned shoulders a safe zone for multiple straps, some belonging to bras, others to tank tops or camisoles. The unspoken message was, “So it’s my bra strap. Shoot me.”
Current issues of fashion magazines feature a full-page ad of Kate Moss wearing Calvin Klein jeans with a black bra peeking out from under a sheer white camisole. As my mother used to say: “It’s a look.”
Fashion continually changes, and our eyes adjust to new ways of wearing things we’ve all seen a zillion times. Designers help nudge those readjustments in our perceptions, sometimes by going past accepted boundaries.
For the past few seasons, Dolce & Gabbana have made corsets and bras obvious parts of dresses, or let bustiers stand alone as tops for skirts or trousers.
They even expose the functional (and not very aesthetic) elastic bra fastenings. The more you see what was once forbidden, the more routine it becomes. Dark roots on blonds used to be taboo. Now, it’s a look, and another one that has its pragmatic aspect.
Frustrated with the hunt for a bra cut low enough to wear with a deeply plunging neckline, I bought the prettiest black lace bra I could find, and concluded that letting it deliberately show was a funny idea, my Dolce & Gabbana moment.
But just as I was enjoying the absence of coyness and propriety a navy bra under a gauzy white linen shirt represents, a controversy was raging in Dear Abby’s column on underwear worn as outerwear. Readers had noticed all those bra straps in the summer sunshine too, and they were incensed. ‘Don’t those teenage girls know any better?’ one wrote. ‘For some reason they think it is sexy or attractive for everyone to know what color or how lacy their bras are. It shows a complete disregard for the fact that underwear is supposed to stay under the clothing.’ Oh really? Says who? Fashion rules are made to be broken, and may it always be so.
Come to think of it, wouldn’t it be nice if we could accept the Band-Aids that wearing new slides or sandals necessitate? Instead of suffering with blisters or lamely trying to hide those lifesaving adhesive strips, let’s declare them fashionable. Platform sandals and Band-Aids. It’s a look.
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Questions Remain: The most frequently asked questions about Gianni Versace, murdered in Miami on July 15, are, will there be a run on his clothing, and what will happen to his empire?
Any designer of Versace’s stature functions as the head of a corporation with a staff of experienced business and creative types. They can continue to do their jobs, which include designing, as long as there is a leader providing inspiration and direction.
That design head will likely be Versace’s sister Donatella, who already fulfilled that role when he was battling cancer two years ago. She has been responsible for the younger Versus line since its inception. If additional designers must be hired, they will be. There is ample precedent for an established brand to live on, even after the death of its namesake. Coco Chanel’s name survives her, as does Anne Klein’s. There is no Christian Dior, but the company prospers with John Galliano as head designer.
No matter how great the demand for Versace clothing is in the next few months, it is unlikely prices will increase. Since the clothes are sold in Versace boutiques as well as in department stores, all the merchants would have to agree on price hikes. A dress that’s $1,200 at Saks or Neiman Marcus can’t sell for $1,600 at the boutique.
Although it’s understandable that some people might want to own a piece of fashion history created by an acknowledged artist, it’s doubtful that Versace’s clothes would appeal to many people who didn’t already own them before his death.
They are bold, bright, and not easy to wear. Stars love to wear Versace, because it’s beautiful and flashy, but most of the designs are too expensive and unforgiving to suddenly attract a massive new following. Perfect for the sun-drenched good life on South Beach, Versace was always meant for a limited audience.
Tragedy and a certain curiosity that seems a bit ghoulish won’t change that.
