Can fashion make us nicer? Janice Breen Burns ponders the odds
I was born in the wrong era. There is too much slack-bum denim, puckered-nasty polyester and rude, smelly people in this one for me.
I sense the 1950s was better. My natural decade. A time of rampant hypocrisy and enmeshed misogyny; yes indeed. With toxic levels of political and social naivety rife among the middle classes; you bet. But, by gumbo — didn’t they all look nice?
The holy personal trinity of (1) grooming, (2) personal hygiene and (3) careful dressing was taught from birth in the 1950s. “Out” was anywhere beyond your front door and social conditions demanded you dress for it in a clean, ironed and mended jigsaw of good-quality components (because there weren’t any other kind) picked out of a small, orderly wardrobe.
Sacrilege was a spot on your frock, a scuffed shoe or curl out of place.
“There is too much slack-bum denim, puckered-nasty polyester and smelly people in this one for me…”.
I imagine people smelled soapy in the 1950s, too — all the time, not just on special occasions like now — and their shoes were polished, fingernails cleaned, hair brushed glossy and Brylcreemed neat or tied back with ribbons.
In the ’50s, I also suspect fashion was a far fussier business than the quick- job slob-fest that it’s possible to be now. More undergarments, more prickly materials, more discomfort; a blur of girdles, petticoats and brassieres, Y-fronts, starched shirts and yet-to-be- worn-in shoes. After all that work and complicated assembly, fashion must have duped you into feeling puffed-up, a bit proud and very civilised; a cut above the primitive fug of body odours, greasy hair, dental plaque and daily grime. A proper citizen. And, fashion would have set the scene for myriad minor acts of civility.
The fashionable message was not simply: “Wear this; look nice”, but “Wear this; BE nice.” Fashion and civility were fused: good frocks, chic coats, clean shoes, polite conversation, nice manners, smiles, little kindnesses. No cussing. How rude could you possibly be in matching frock, heels, hat and handbag anyway?
“After all that work and complicated assembly, fashion must have duped you into feeling puffed-up, a bit proud and very civilised…”
Fashion in the 1950s strikes me as the ultimate anti-reality Band-Aid for every woman and man, girl and boy: “Life sucks, young Beaver? Well, stand up straight, wash your face, and pop on this nice clean, short-sleeved checked shirt that Father purchased for you at the store today. There. Better?”
Swish glamour by Willow
In Melbourne last week, winter’s first runways were sprinkled with shapely frocks and coats and womanly skirt and blouse sets that reminded me how society and fashion must once have been founded on the same principles. How the transformative power of good fashion – good CLOTHING, remember – can guide, inspire and even change how we feel about Life, The Universe and Everything in ways a cheap frock or suit — however pretty, however handsome — can’t.
There was a time when everyone – not just a dwindling few – checked their posture, manners and frocks for spots before they went “out”.
I wish I was back there.
jbb@voxfrock.com.au
