Spring Break
Fashion trumps pain when is beauty at stake
Hop Couture
Issue date: 10/11/07
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"
Take here, the grand secret if not of pleasing all yet of displeasing none: court mediocrity, avoid originality, and sacrifice to fashion." - William Blake
Allow me to begin with a brief lesson in fashion history. The time period was the 16th century, and the newest look in style was the corset. Used to slim the body and make it conform to the garment, the corset quickly became a valuable asset for royalty. The concept was that the body should fit the clothing, contrary to today's strongly held belief that the clothing should fit the body. The corset became ubiquitous and gave way to a new branch of fashion called tightlacing.
Tightlacers, as they were called, wore ridiculously tightly laced corsets to extremely modify the figure and posture. Today tightlacers are still present though the practice is heavily condemned by physicians and health specialists who claim it is seriously harmful to one's health.
More recently, the corset has made a comeback as an artistic statement, and as well in certain fetishistic scenes, though this is neither the time nor the column for that. This brings me to the subject of bodily sacrifice for fashion. Now the art of sacrifice, as I like to say, ranges from tightlacing to not wearing enough layers in the cold.
I am a strong believer in sacrifice because I persist that looking good on the outside translates to feeling better on the inside. And as long as I feel good, no range of extreme temperatures, rain, sleet or snow can bother me.
Of course, there are certain degrees of sacrifice, as well as figurative lines drawn that we choose not to cross. Tightlacers, in my opinion, are the extremists of bodily sacrifice for fashion. On the other hand, something along the lines of - wearing those flats on a particularly cold day when you shouldn't have, but did anyway because they looked too good with your outfit not to - classifies as a small sacrifice. I sacrifice everyday, and I urge you to do the same, because a little risk here and there is necessary.
Take here, the grand secret if not of pleasing all yet of displeasing none: court mediocrity, avoid originality, and sacrifice to fashion." - William Blake
Allow me to begin with a brief lesson in fashion history. The time period was the 16th century, and the newest look in style was the corset. Used to slim the body and make it conform to the garment, the corset quickly became a valuable asset for royalty. The concept was that the body should fit the clothing, contrary to today's strongly held belief that the clothing should fit the body. The corset became ubiquitous and gave way to a new branch of fashion called tightlacing.
Tightlacers, as they were called, wore ridiculously tightly laced corsets to extremely modify the figure and posture. Today tightlacers are still present though the practice is heavily condemned by physicians and health specialists who claim it is seriously harmful to one's health.
More recently, the corset has made a comeback as an artistic statement, and as well in certain fetishistic scenes, though this is neither the time nor the column for that. This brings me to the subject of bodily sacrifice for fashion. Now the art of sacrifice, as I like to say, ranges from tightlacing to not wearing enough layers in the cold.
I am a strong believer in sacrifice because I persist that looking good on the outside translates to feeling better on the inside. And as long as I feel good, no range of extreme temperatures, rain, sleet or snow can bother me.
Of course, there are certain degrees of sacrifice, as well as figurative lines drawn that we choose not to cross. Tightlacers, in my opinion, are the extremists of bodily sacrifice for fashion. On the other hand, something along the lines of - wearing those flats on a particularly cold day when you shouldn't have, but did anyway because they looked too good with your outfit not to - classifies as a small sacrifice. I sacrifice everyday, and I urge you to do the same, because a little risk here and there is necessary.
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