Sunday 5 October 2008

Georgyporgy's ideas about fashion

Living in a farmer's village, people who dress "à la mode", on top the current fashion don't abound. In fact, you could say we just cover us, we don't dress as long as we stay here in the country side.

Last weekend, our village club made an excursion to Brive-La-Gaillarde, a beautiful city 80 km (50 miles) from here, near the Dordogne valley.

Everybody was dressed up, did his/her best to show that we might be living behind the moon but not on excursion day. And in fact, looking around at the slick city people passing by and comparing them to us I must admit: there is absolutely no difference in the cover-up.

Nearly everybody clad in shades of gray, brown or black. The eternal November under blazing sunshine. Look for yourself, I am not kidding



That was our guide from the local Tourist Office. Good looking gal, very chirpy but dressed like the oldies from here.



Here she is again. Could be my best photo made on this trip. Could not resist showing it to humanity.




And here, look at the lady, half hidden, on the right side of the photo. She and her husbald are quite well off, big car and so. Have a look at those pants she is wearing. Shit brown and full of creases. To me she looked as if she got her outfit at the local outlet "Christians care for the needy", or the Kathrina Refugees Center. You pay 50 cents or even nothing and you get some clothes in case you were obliged to leave home in pajamas or in a nightshirt.

My wife told me this stuff must have have cost a pretty penny, latest fashion, boutique stuff.




This pic has been made in Samoëns, French Alps, during our last holidays. Look at the couple in front. He is having his symphony in grey and she is is trying to communicate with him color wise. And under her white shirt there hangs something slightly grey. And both are having those "high water pants", very good for fording rivers without getting wet.


I know that's today's fashion but I don't like it. Why should I? Colorless and miserably looking, as if everybody gets ready for for World's End.

I can't help thinking that fashion is for people who have no taste of their own.

Sometimes I wonder if there is meaning behind this. Why do we live in this colorless world? Our buildings are cheap, square and devoid of color, our cars are mostly in "elegant light grey", even the girls manage to have strands of grey 30 years before this happens naturally to them.

And that was not always like this. We have evolved, lately. But as I see it, we are on a downward slope.



That is the Changing Of The Guard in London. Two hundred years ago, all over Europe, those who could pay were colorfully dressed.




And that is a numerical reproduction showing how the Parthenon in Athens/Greece may have looked like around 450 BC when it was constructed.

So, in a nutshell, my message to the world at large. Dress at least colorful, throw the grey or shit brown stuff in the dustbin or any other bin available. Stop complaining. End of message.

14 comments:

  1. Georg,
    You make a very good argument, and shall you lead us from the front?
    I am willing to send you some very colorful hand made, hand dyed clothing, in yellows and burnt orange, to let you show them all how it's done!
    You can always find me in the crowd, I am the one in a rainbow of color, fitting the most humble of stereotypical artist types.
    bless my conservative soul..
    ~grin~

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  2. Terrific observations Georg. But I want to ask you: where are all those often fine clothes that pretty girls of Paris who strut around on the ramp wear, when not in the 'minimum' mode?

    Here in India, native dresses are often very colourful and loud. In the old days, even the simplest of huts used to colourfully painted. In the cities, however, we have also, at least the men, gravitated towards the greys and shit browns!

    As always, reading your post with humour cleverly woven into irony was a pleasure.

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  3. Thanks both of you for commenting
    in such a friendly way. I had some doubts about the reaction to this.

    To Sorrow: glad to hear that you keep the fire alive. But I am not astonished, your works on your blog show clearly that you like color and that you have a taste of your own.

    Send a photo of those garments in yellow or burnt orange. Or can they be seen somewhere on your blogs?

    To Vinod: to tell you the truth, I don't find those Parisian models very enticing. They are always skinny, kind of underfed. Generally, they are graced with bony thighs, you could fly an airplane between them when they have knees and ankles joined.

    As to India, you are absolutely right. Colorful saris and temples.
    All this is really a western problem.

    Georg

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  4. bonjour georg!!! looks like you have the same issues we do :) no kidding. i admit i dress like a frump- but at least i like blue :) most americans don't look fashionable because we are too fat. the fashionable slacks and blouses- are pencil thin- so you have ladies especially- attempting to squeeze ample bodies in 2 sizes too small. i prefer frumpy to that. :) that's the other fashion trend here too- looking like all of your clothes are too small and having bits of body parts hanging out. give me a nice wooley sweater with a turtle neck underneath and a pair of warm pants- and i am good to go for winter :) summertime finds me wearing pants much like your lady in the couple- because i am too chunky to wear shorts. no one wants to see fat flesh hanging out- but you wouldn't know that from what you see in bikinis at the beach :)

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  5. 4/5 in new york are dressed in greys,blacks. i was walking along the upper east on friday on the upper east side where there all the famouse brands from italy,france ( honestly i don't know from where else ) 90% of the shop sold clothes in black color.
    we saw people coming out of a party, all dressed in black/white or grey
    people are shopping all the time, only to be dressed in BLACK!

    i was the only person to be dressed in (purple,green stripes shirt) and a red coat.

    now it is winter. IT is going to be BLACK 100%

    what a shame. It is black everywhere. is it what is in our minds reflected in the clothes.. may be i am doing too much reading here..

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  6. For you , I will try and get a photo up!

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  7. For Betmo: you give a very good description of what is going on on your side of the Atlantic.

    And you are improving my English - had to find out what "frump" means. As to the pencil thin models, I often wonder who had that idea. I know no man who likes underfed, bony women.

    To Anrosh: you seem to be of Indian origin, I think. A country that still now revels in colour. Imagine a grey sari! I suppose for people like you it is easier to resist the black/white/brown onrush we have here in the West.

    Keep it so, color is life.

    Georg

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  8. hi Georg, very interesting post! i am not into fashion at all, but being a graphic designer, i am into color for sure!
    another anecdote for you: i was last year for Christmas in Bielefeld, Deutschland and i was wearing a deep red wool jacket, and my boyfriend an orange jacket he just got! we were the ONLY people in the whole Christmas market dressed with brighter colors, all the rest of the germans were dressed in black! to confess it was even a little embarrassing, since i am not the kind of girl who likes to call attention, then all of a sudden among the crowd i see this overweight man wearing a sweatshirt with printed light blue skies and beautiful mountains, and yep! it was an American boy and the sweatshirt read on big prints: Colorado State, was really funny!

    i am lucky when it comes to my clothing selection, i am mexican but living in San Diego, i still have access to the most wonderful pieces of traditional garment from Mexico, my closet is full of those, but then again, sometimes i cannot wear them to work except on Friday, since they look 'too casual', humans nowadays seem to look at black as a symbol of 'elegance' when i think is mostly a symbol of boredom, i am happy to see you share the passion for colorful outfits, and hey! i have always liked you blue sweater on your profile, since those shades of not-so dark blue are my favorites

    to betmo: i truly agree with his description of many women dressed here in the US as to hang body parts, it is just a little shameful, and also, i don't like my chubby legs so as you, i don't wear shorts, also 'cause i think they are ugly!! but i do much enjoy too the "wooley sweater with a turtle neck" ahhhh...

    and one thing i do like about American way of dressing, they put comfort before fashion!! and for me that's very important these days, if something is comfortable and suitable is OK, then if it's colorful even better!

    as usual a pleasure reading your bitting humor dear Georg and hey! wouldn't it be nice to have our own blogger-fashion show? ;) I would love to wear some of those cotton hand-made mexican dresses for sure!

    oh also great photos too

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  9. Buenos dias Berenice,

    Glad to hear from you in detail on this subject.

    As far as I know the native Indians (the red ones, I mean) like to wear powerful color. I have seen this at documentaries at the telly.

    The black/white brown stuff came to us with the French Revolution. And now, 200 years later we are fully immersed in the brown shit.

    As to those big woolen sweaters, I have some, too. Call them in German "Wohnpullover", difficult to translate, you can lodge in them like in an apartment. Well, well.

    Georg

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  10. Georg~
    I tried to respond to your questions, but It was sent back to me. I tried to send you the song that you liked.
    The name of the song by Snatam Kaur is " Long time sun" and is on the album Grace.
    I am glad that you enjoyed. i have a very eclectic taste in music.
    Thank you for the beer song! I enjoyed my Oktoberfests in Munich very much when i was a girl..perhaps I heard it there?
    Have a great day!

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  11. George I love "your message to the world". I love colors. Actually here in Canada People who live in Quebec dress up much better than English part (I don't know it's my general observation), their dress are more 'a la mode' and cheerful. I always thought it's because of their french background :)

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  12. I loved the post. A life sans color would be monotonous and painful. However donning color on ones person needs confidence because bold and vivacious colors call attention to themselves and some of us are wary of being scrutinized, even observed or glanced at. It wouldn't be wrong to say we are afraid of who we might be perceived to be so we seek safe haven in uniformity and that is perhaps why 'black' and 'grey' rule supreme in the garment world today.
    An enjoyable write up!

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  13. Bonjour Id it is,

    You are certainly right with your appreciation. My wife is frequently the only one who wears colorful clothes at work and she says her colleagues stare (but don't say anything).

    Georg

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  14. Hallo Georg,
    Ah! If you ever manage to visit San Diego, you really must make it a point to drop in at Seaport Village and at Horton Plaza in downtown area.

    There's a coolest little hat shop at Seaport Village that you'd really like and Horton Plaza is positively psychedelic to look at. ;o) I think I even got seasick just looking at that building the first time I arrived here.

    Cheerio,
    Smorgy ... is wearing my hideous little raccoon hat as I type. It's my Friday night ritual thingy. ;o)

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