I don’t think I need to explain why this advert for Glamour’s new Big Book of Do’s and Don’ts, that I saw in a magazine annoyed the hell out of me. The blurb line is laughable in itself. It’s basically made up of random candid pics taken on the street of the so called ‘do’s and the ‘dont’s of fashion. It’s like ‘Here is our idea of what’s a do and we’re gonna ram it down your throat and clone you all, and here is our idea of a don’t and we’ll laugh at these pathetic pictures we took at their expense.’ Where do we begin to examine the madness of this notion!
Furthermore, what kind of an authority is Glamour? The paradigm of style? The saviour of our wardrobes? I don’t think so.
I have an intense dislike for books, publications, TV programmes that instruct style in this calculated, formulaic way. My concern is that these ‘rules’ may be interpreted as if they were biblical text set in stone, striking fear into people. This is what puts up boundaries around fashion for a lot of people, the fear of getting it wrong and the consequences of it. Fashion doesn’t have to be like that. It’s in your hands if you want to take control of it, not in the hands of a shoddily put together book with dismissive writing.
I’m quite skeptical of these do’s and don’ts. One magazine would tout a particular look as a “do” while another trashes that very same look. So who should we trust? Can’t go wrong with the mirror on the wall.
This book is purely made for selling – do’s and dont’s? Please….
Youre so right in what youre pointing out.
I like Glamour’s dos and don’ts. They usually give people props for originality and the don’ts tend to be more about ill-fitting clothing than about style per-se. While I don’t think any fashion “rules” are set in stone, I think there are things to keep in mind when getting dressed.
Nevermind that they promote “clones”– they’re just boring. How many times can you hear someone say “Dynasty needs their shoulder pads back!” or whatever. That’s not to say I don’t agree with What Not To Wear (US version) most of the time. Some people need help.
Vice do’s and don’ts are hilarious.
i think Vice magazine is the only do & don’t authority. even if you don’t agree with them the writing is the funniest in the magazine.
I saw a picture of Natasha Hamilton (Atomic Kitten) in a magazine a few years back in one of these do & don’t type columns. She was being slammed for her dress being too short, tarty, whatever. The very next week another publication had the same kind of column, with the exact same picture of Ms Hamilton and was praising her for being single again, sexy and confident to go out dressed up like that. Sometimes the celebs just can’t win!
Vice magazine will be interested to see that.
I don’t think I could take much of what Glamour magazine says seriously especially with regard to fashion. Fashion is the new fashion and magazines like that only further enforce the idea that we all have to look the same.
I must say, there are some ‘don’ts’ in general that should be set in stone and anyone caught doing them should arrested by the fashion police immediately – thongs riding higher that the waist band of jeans; cropped tops displaying anything other than a flat tummy; squeezing yourself into a size 10 when you’re actually a size 14 thus creating unsightly bulges in all the wrong the places, the list is endless! Maybe I’m a fashion Hitler, but in my experience the mirror seems to lie to ALOT of people!
Personally I like peoples fashion fauxpas, I think they make us interesting as humans. I frequently find ‘badly’ dressed people endearing and attractive. There is something superficial and bland about being perfectly put together (whatever that means), freedom of expression and experimentation are things that make people alluring and interesting. Some great looks are born from chucking stuff together with abandon!
Long gone are the days of my youth were starlets dressed themselves without the aid of a stylist or wardrobe assistant. Bananarama wore some tragic clothes but they were fun and individual which made them appealing. Showing my age I know but there’s such innocence in mistakes…
I hate rule books, makes me want to rebel! Trinny and Susannah just make me yawn, I find this pair of middle aged nitwits plastic and boring and if they ever came chasing after me in the mall to tell me my bra made my boobs look like bannans I’d kick them! Why are they always grabbing peoples breasts? And If I want to accentuate my fat ass I will! These books show contempt for women in some regards making us feel insecure about our bodies and making us conformists. Ok, rant over I’m sounding like a bra burning man hater.
Fashion disaster’s unite! We’re where it’s at!
Good on yer Susie for making this point!
You’re so right! They label people of the way they are looking. It’s handy, but how can you have your own style if magazines or books tell you that you should definitly wear this and leave that gorgeous dress in your closet, cause in there eyes it’s an ugly dress… Too bad!
Oops, by it’s handy I mean; handy that you know what is good to wear and what’s not :)!
I think there’s a difference between dressing badly, and things like showing off a through thong or having the tummy all hanging out – I don’t flash my bits to all and sundrae and I don’t expect other people to subject me to theirs. To me, those things are offensive.
I think some people don’t have the confidence to make their own statements in terms of how they dress, they WANT to blend into the background. I can totally understand that desire and whilst books like this offer the ‘mainstream’ ideals, for this type of person that’s exactly what they need in order to feel ‘normal’ I suppose. Maybe I’m just showing my age!
Whether or not Glamour’s Do’s&Don’ts focus more so on ill fit, the “don’t” cases are usually blindly obvious to the point of stupidity and the do’s are usually bland and spare, as if the only women who have admirable style are Michael Kors robots in tweed skirts, cashmere sweaters, and understated pumps. It’s all doo doo to me.
I blogged on this, too! This book is definitely a DON’T.
http://ihategeneric.blogspot.com/2006/08/do-or-dont.html
It’s like that show I see on cable with Stacy and Clinton, I think it’s called “what not to wear”. I hate how they determine rules that people have to follow in order to spend that 5.000 dollars.
I’m actually really surprised, I’m a huge fan of galmour, but this book is just laughable.
I agree that this book and similarly situated missives are off-putting and, well, lame! But I do get sort of teary-eyed and happy when people on What Not To Wear emerge with a totally new wardrobe that they love, feeling confident and ready to tackle their lives with renewed aplomb. =)