Vatican red-carpet fashion

We love that Cardinal Ranjith took a chance
on this look but ....

Says The Onion, assessing The 8 Worst-Dressed At The Papal Conclave. Check it out - delicious stuff.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the sartorial scale, Wellington is awash with cruiseliner passengers in leisure wear. Eight thousand of them yesterday alone, with three ships in port, including the Queen Mary.
Manmade fabrics are de rigeur, and "leisure" seems to be interpreted as a curious hybrid of his-and-hers, urban-guerilla/outward-bound/warzone photographer style. Frankly I prefer vestments. 

Nit-wear

Most us over the age of 30 have reason to regret something or other in our pasts. But those who managed to avoid modelling knitting patterns back in the 60s, 70s and 80s have a lot to be grateful for.

 

And I'd love to hear from anyone willing to share her experience of wearing a knitted bikini.

 



A reader asks ...

"Do you think I'd look good in these? I'd obviously wear them with shoes."



Dear N, you are joking, aren't you. It wouldn't matter what you wore them with, they are irredeemably hideous.
The Oxford bags portrayed in a recent post were of soft, quality fabric, hence Ms H's comment that they "they drape a little, they flow a little" when men are dancing. Denim does neither of these - it's stiff and ungainly, designed to be a hard-working fabric. It never adapts gracefully to excess yardage.
Does that answer your question?

Running gear

This chap made international news late last year when a Tauranga High Court judge reversed his previous District Court conviction for offensive behaviour. 

Tip-toeing through the daisies, he is the picture of innocence. Suggesting that the woman who originally came upon him in the wild and called the police was a tight-lipped, prune-faced killjoy. 

Maybe she was. But I'm not inclined to condemn her out of hand. I'd be startled too if I were alone in an isolated spot and Naked Jogger ran out of the undergrowth. Startled and a bit scared. 

 

Roll on the day when we women can be comfortably naked in public without attracting unwelcome attention - from the law or anyone else.

Bags

A delightful post on MsHedgehog's blog, accompanied by this cartoon from 1925.




And Ms H notes that:

there is a fashion among tangueros for rather wideish trousers, which certainly do look very nice in motion, if you get it right, and especially if you dance well; they drape a little, they flow a little, and the way the toes peep out, in their soft, pleasingly stitched and coloured dancing shoes, is charming. If you overdo it, you can look like a traffic cone. If you are not so young and you really overdo it, you can look like a Vampire. And if you dance badly you just look foolish.

And, this can happen.

But risks are the whole point of difficult garments. Seeking to answer the question "can I carry off this possibly ill-advised style?" correctly is a rather basic part of being a human whose immediate needs are met. It exercises the artistic sense, and teaches modesty and wisdom. Enjoy your trousers. Beauty is always dangerous.

I applaud the point she makes in that last paragraph.

 

Provincial style

Bank, Whanganui

From the Department of I-wish-I'd-thought-of-that

I've long enjoyed this site, and it's time I brought it to your attention. The blogger sews, but also delights in bringing us old sewing patterns and either attaching little stories to them or attributing dialogue to their often weirdly posed models. This one goes: 

Alison: Okay girls, everyone straight on the mission? Find your target,      then catch, clamp, drag. Celia, you’re without a bridesmaid today, you gonna be good on your own?
Celia: No worries, Sarge, I got this. I’ll bring back a good one.
Alison: Bridesmaids, don’t be hasty. Select those targets with care. Catch and release was last week, this is live fire exercise. Repeat, this is a live fire exercise. I’ll see everyone back at Pastor Rivendale’s at 3 pm sharp, or the ice cream cake is gonna be soggy by the time we’re through with the ceremonies. Now — are we ready?
All: Hoo-AH!

Here are a couple more:



While Dulcie went on and on about how handsome, clever, and innocent her new prison pen pal was, Laura watched her rib cage carefully. Could Dulcie beat her all-time record of 41 words per breath?




Floral: Look. Look into my midriff mandala. Lose your "self" and become one with creation.
Yellow: I represent the Sun, and thus life itself.
Green: I represent all other living things, given life by the Sun. Or, possibly, avocados. It's hard to tell. I mean, my midriff triangle could represent the avocado seed, right?

Daft but fun, don't you think. And since I own a whopping carton of dress patterns going back to the early 60s, I really do wish I'd thought of this myself.