I was watching Mrs Harris goes to Paris for the third time. It's such a lovely film, set in the 50s focussed on Ada Harris who dreams of owning a Dior dress.
When she sees a Dior dress for the first time, she is transported into a dream like state, glassy eyed at the sheer beauty of it. She runs her finger tips over the jewelled bodice enjoying the contours; completely mesmerised.
I love this film because I know exactly how she feels. I love fabric. I love the colour combinations and the patterns. I love dressing. Even now at 62 I still get excited in a fabric shop - so many possibilities.
As a child of the late 60s early 70s you couldn't buy adult styles until you had an adult body which in those days was a size 10, so as a skinny young teen, I could only dream of shopping on the high street. My saviour was 'Kumar bothers' in Stretford market who sold convincing copies, if I could convince my Mum to buy them.
At 16 I was working in an engineering office and I was a size 10, so every weekend, if I wasn't pouring over catalogues imagining my stylish self in later life, I was 'shopping' in the city centre. I'd walk the aisles of department stores clothing section, taking in the smell, running my fingers across the shoulders of jackets, feeling the weight of skirts, the silkiness of shirts and the swish of dresses. I'd try on everything and buy nothing, because I couldn't afford it. My apprenticeship didn't pay much, so my dream outfits had to wait.
I remember going into a boutique in Sale just after my 18th birthday and buying a knitted 3 piece suit. It was a fine knit skirt, vest and long cardigan; black with fine stripes. It was very elegant but on my small frame it lacked support to hang as it should. Still, I thought it was marvellous.
By the 80s, fast fashion had arrived and my sister and I regularly bought new outfits to go clubbing in town at the weekend. Mum took photos of us in full glorious fashion disasters, week after week. We thought we looked fabulous. My frame was always boyish so the 80s shoulder pads gave me shape. Oh and the accessories. I loved the accessories. I had beads and bangles and belts and earrings. I was drenched in plastic and I loved it.
Throughout my life I have followed the trends though not always bought into them. But I have taken the time to try on lots of styles to learn which shapes I can wear, which colours suit me and which fabric has enough weight to hang without gripping my body. I've never spent a lot. I couldn't afford to, so I learned to shop smart, accessorise and buy second hand. I still do, though things have changed so much it's getting harder to find gems in the sea of fast fashion and man-made fabrics.
In the film, Aida Harris has a seat on the unveiling of the new 'haute couture' collection. It's Dior at it's best in the 50s. Exquisite tailoring, off the shoulder folds, cross body dresses with cinched waists and tulle underskirts. An exaggerated silhouette of the female form and it's breath-taking.
The models walk slowly, elegantly turning and revealing the weight of the fabric in their movement . They have an air of sophistication, a slight smile, a raised chin in a sense of entitlement. (after all a £500 dress is not for everybody)
For the sake of this post, I have just watched the Dior 2024 haute couture collection. The focus seems to have shifted from fit to fantasy or maybe we have actually ran out of ideas. The models wear sheets, draped across their bodies in various ways, bland colours, bland expressions and an acute sense of boredom. Whilst the 50s Dior peddled dreams of post war feminine glamour, the current collection seems to peddle a genderless existence, void of aspiration. Glamourous it is not.
Perhaps it's that apathy that has translated onto the high street, as 'walk around in your underwear like you can't be bothered to dress anymore'. Clothing made from false representations of natural fabric draped across grumpy teenagers in magazines, shop windows and on billboards. It seems a race to the bottom. Let's hope we've reached it and can enjoy a climb back up to style and elegance and the joy of fabric.