That’s a question Tim Gunn asked on a Project Runway show several years back. I thought about his question when I looked at photos of the Met Gala red carpet. Pretty? Maybe a few. Silly? Lots of them. Unflattering? Lots and lots of them. Downright ugly? Lots and lots and lots of them.
If you want to see the monstrosities, here’s the link: https://www.vogue.com/slideshow/met-gala-2021-red-carpet-live-celebrity-fashion?fbclid=IwAR1HJQiAWKTx182M6CEW3LIRM-B33T7S4CRcwzk_wdVI0B8H62r7D53WnEY
It’s not my age or my weight that makes me hate nearly all of the outfits. Most of these dresses would look ugly on anyone. Why would any woman want to wear a see-through outfit that showed off her breasts and pubic bone (I assume she shaved before dressing)? Why would any woman want to wear a dress designed to allow one or both breasts to fall out the front or sides in the event she sneezes? Why would any woman want to wear a dress that covered less than pasties and a g-string would cover? Why would any woman wear expensive attire that makes her look like a cheap hooker?
Not much was original. So many dresses by assorted designers featured a bra for a cropped top, a bare midriff, a skirt that plunged at the front of the waist. Yawn.
These dresses are supposed to be art. Some art, and my art especially, is dark or a kick in the gut. These dresses aren’t art. Making a woman look ugly isn’t art. Making a woman look like a cheap hooker isn’t art. Art can push the boundaries. Art can make us think. These dresses are sexist, misogynous crap.
I’m told that see-through outfits have been a “thing” on runways for a couple years. Time to get that “thing” off the runway and into the trash. Just because some designer sends a dress down the runway doesn’t make the dress art or pretty or flattering. We’ve let designers take over our clothes. We’ve let designers tell us what to wear. We’ve let designers get away with designing for anorexic models. We’ve let designers tell us that a size 12 is for fat women. We’ve been doing this for so long, we no longer know what a healthy female body looks like. We’ve bought into this nonsense for so long that nearly every woman thinks she’s fat – even women with less than 15% body fat. According to designers, if we can’t see your ribs and hipbones protruding from your skinny body, you’re fat. According to HealthLine, having 21-24% body fat is healthy.
Many years ago, Ms Magazine had an article entitled: Fat Is A Feminist Issue. What was true then, is true now. Women unite! Take back your body image! Take back your clothes! Take back control.
So. Eat sensibly. Exercise sensibly. Reject the notion that anorexic is pretty. Reject ugly, unflattering clothes. Reject the notion that if it’s not see-through showing your breasts and your crotch, it’s not fashion. Reject the notion that pretty means having to worry about one of your breasts falling out of your clothing if you sneeze. Take back your power.
Deb's Art 