LATEST "FASHION"?

Is there something wrong with my perceptions of a beautiful woman wearing beautiful clothes, or what?   I observe women walking down the street or through the shopping malls every day of the week.   I take an interest in looking at how corporate women dress, how they look and how they move - confidently and very aware of their own presence.  I am very partial to the opinion that there are "power" colours and styles, as I have seen how a woman's self image can change with a particular colour or dress code.

Some of the women I observe look smart, some look comfortable, some look as though they're experimenting with fashion, while there are those also who look as though they didn't really care what they put on that morning (which of course is their choice and who am I to question?)

What I do see however is plain for everyone to see.  The women who we pass every day are of differing heights, and differing sizes.  There are petite, average, large and plus size.   They all make up the whole.   Good clothing can make a woman look good and feel good about herself.

Yet it is when I see "fashion" as depicted in our national and international women's magazines, the websites of those organisations and catwalk (now called runway) presentations on the internet, that I can't help myself from shuddering.   Take for instance a couple of photos from Vogue Australia showing our spring/summer collections.  It's not only the clothing that I can't quite perceive as being "fashion", it's the choice of models.   Young models today seem to come from the one mould - they look the same (except for being blonde as opposed to brunette); they walk the same - they look like little schoolgirls, and they pout the same.

But it is the "fashion" that eludes me - if you can call it "fashion".  I always seem to be complaining about the stance and walk of models these days - (I admit I'm oldfashioned but ...) Am I being too critical in suggesting that this model could look better if she had bought some outfits from the local Salvation Army Thrift Shop?    (Visit some of the excellent Pre-Loved stores and also recycle websites and you'll see what I mean).  The second photo makes me think the clothes were thrown onto the model and she was sent out to the runway looking stunned and slightly un-dressed!  Do they EVER look in the mirror before heading off down the runway?  Let's face it - what do you think of the stockings?  Reminds me of attending college when stockings were always sliding down to the ankles - now it's seen as "fashion"?

When it comes to "fashion" though, look at any teenager down the street and in a lot of cases they'll be wearing clothes that look better than the latest runway fashion.  Yet because of the influence of the national and international magazines, they take notice of treating their clothing as old rags.  And they pay plenty of money for those old rags.

So I thought I'd visit Vogue UK to see what they are promoting for the Northern Hemisphere Winter - here are two examples.  Please tell me though, is this really "fashion" or just a set of clothes put together?

Another thing are our models getting even thinner than ever?    Is there any flesh on the body at all?