Bra-bra slack sheep: following the ‘edgy’ herd makes for a plague of foul fashions
This outfit on young starlet Bella Thorne is everything that's wrong with modern fashion. Photo: Getty
I like to spend a little bit of time trawling through the style pics on the internet each week, just to cast a cursory glance of who looks stylish, but most often than not it’s just an avalanche of who doesn’t.
I accidentally stumbled across a photograph of a member of Young Hollywood, 19-year-old ex-Disney actress Bella Thorne, rocking scraggy pink hair, a beanie, white sunglasses, black nails, a white lace bra, jeans and four kilos of junk jewellery.
It’s a look, I get it, living on the edge, doing our thing, kids today etc etc.
You see the same thing in Bondi, although I haven’t seen a white lace bra worn on its own yet – usually there’s a singlet top or a sheer shirt over it – but I presume it’s coming.
Lingerie dressing in the prehistoric period, when I worked at Vogue, used to mean things like a beautiful satin slip dress worn under a cashmere wrap coat, a silk and lace camisole peeping out from under a tailored jacket, high-waisted designer undies glimpsed through a long sheer evening skirt.
Now it apparently means just wear your bra and you’re good to go.
Is it prudish to suggest that oftentimes sexuality that is hinted at can be much more powerful than in-your-face, “Have you seen my rack everyone?” dressing?
My ridiculous outfit/s of the week award has to go to the indefatigable Kim Kardashian.
Her momentary disappearance from the limelight after she experienced an awful robbery at gunpoint in Paris made us all think that she’d seen the light and decided to retire gracefully.
Hell no. She’s hit the gym, consulted with whoever her current stylist is and decided that a Lycra bra top three sizes too small is the basis of every outfit, whether it’s hiking in the LA hills or hiking up the red carpet.
The gossip sites were waxing lyrical last week when Kim showed up at the opening of a new Balmain boutique in LA, wearing one of French designer Olivier Rousteing’s newest creations.
It was a spangly skirt. And a stretch bra top, not unlike something you’d see at Lulu Lemon.
Everyone has to stop describing what these Hollywood celebrities wear while they grab their takeout coffees as “fashion”.
Peculiar beige leggings and crop tops on a Kardashian are just active wear worn with a ton of makeup and a strategically placed parka from Kanye’s latest clothing collection.
Alexander Fury, the Chief Fashion Correspondent of T, The New York Times style magazine, tweeted something that resonated with me this week.
“Why aren’t more things just beautiful? “ he asked. “Not edgy. Not cool. Just beautiful.”
I couldn’t agree more. I’m a huge fan of dressing for comfort, but that does not mean that style needs to sacrificed. And yes, bras are lovely. But so are tops.
