Friends, tomorrow is the big day — at least according to fashion-maven/blogger Claudine, who told me so on Saturday. August 14th is the day big, fat September Vogue hits the newsstands, and if I'm wrong I am going to feel like an idiot.
Today, however, I received the latest New York Magazine in the mail, and it's the Fall Fashion issue. And I noticed something strange flipping through it, particularly the fashion ads. Can you guess what it is?
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| Miu Miu |
What the heck is wrong with these models -- or perhaps whoever directed and/or chose these shots? Would it be too much to crack a smile now and then? You don't have to show your teeth.
Look, I am not naive. OK, maybe a little naive. I understand that not every model has to be smiling in every fashion photo. The human face can register a wide variety of emotions. Suzy Parker didn't always smile in the Fifties.
Or Twiggy in the Sixties.
Or Brooke in the Seventies...and so forth.
But they didn't look like they'd just witnessed a shooting. We strolled past one on MPB Day and we were still giddy an hour later — though not about the event itself of course. So why don't models smile anymore? When did it become uncool to look — dare I say it? — happy? Why the endless zombie, deer-caught-in-headlights, catatonic stares?
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| Calvin Klein |
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| Max Mara |
One of the things I've noticed about sewing blogs is that they seem to be full of happy people. Sunni, Casey, Gretchen, Debbie, Debi, Laura Mae, and so many other sewing bloggers, smile almost all the time. Even in their wadders, they smile. I know an unsmiling picture can be equally stunning (though not so much when you're over 40; your neutral face shows and that can be scary, am I right?). But you rarely see a professional model smile anymore, and they probably have better teeth than the rest of us.
Readers, is it just me? Are stone-faced models perhaps less distracting, helping you pay closer attention to the clothes? Half the time in these ads you can hardly even see the clothes; it's just about an attitude. What kind of attitude is it when you're in a beautiful locale, wearing gorgeous clothes, carrying to-die-for accessories — AND you're young -- and you can't even grin a little? What is the message here? (Parenthetically, the swankier the clothes, the less happy the models seem to be wearing them. You're much more likely to see a model smiling in an ad for Banana Republic or J.C. Penney.)
In closing readers, this is another one of those things I just don't get.
Enlightenment requested!
They look like androids. As if the demand that they be ridiculously thin wasn't dehumanizing enough: Why don't designers just use faceless robots, already?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'd be much more likely to buy what they were wearing if they looked at all like the enjoyed wearing it.
I don't have any enlightenment. I feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteOn Project Runway they always say that "one day you're in and the next day, you're out." Maybe the models realized they could be permanently unemployed tomorrow and it makes them sad?
I don't get it either. It's like the people hiring the models want them to look like they are on drugs, because if they looked like real people, it might distract the viewer from looking at the clothes. Or something.
ReplyDeleteI've noticed this in runway shows (not that I see them in anything but video). It's like the models are instructed to have no expression at all. Or they are supposed to look as if the people watching them are dirt beneath their $1000+ shoes.
It's kinda spooky and creepy and to me, very off putting.
Beth
I would scowl too if somebody stole my eyebrows. Are they missing eyebrows? Or do I need to adjust the screen on my iPad?
ReplyDeleteOmg, you're right! It's awful! I didn't even notice but they have no eyebrows. It's too creepy. Before you know it they will all be wearing those unitards with the face covered and all we will see is Lycra covered knobby knees and elbows and ugly expensive clothing.
DeleteWhen I was still auditioning, I remember never liking my commercial smiley headshots but loving the brooding sexy ones. While everyone else was the opposite and said the smiling ones looked more like me. I've noticed the same in other actors. I believe it's because we rarely smile at ourselves in the mirror and our smiling faces are not as familiar to us, we are not used to them. With the models, however, since some editor chooses the shots, I think it's to make a strong impression on the reader, to make him look longer, to make him think about it. To make him write a blog about it!
DeleteFunny you should mention this, Peter. Since going to FIT on Saturday I've been perusing old runway shows on Style.com... particularly Alexander McQueen. I had also specifically noticed how unhappy his models looked. I'd placed the blame on the stupid make-up and hairstyles he put on them. But now I see it's more rampant.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I don't get is photographing elegant clothing in sordid surroundings. This is supposed to influence us how?
Sewing bloggers smile in order to be accessible -- the sewer next door. Models don't smile in order to create mystery. If they seemed ordinary and approachable their clothes would lose much of their mystique.
ReplyDeleteI think sewing bloggers smile because they feel happy that they are wearing something they made.
DeleteYeah, I agree. I smile because I'm happy to share what I made (although whether or not I'm happy with the result is a toss up - I smile, whether the garment is wearable or not). :)
DeleteIf I'd just killed Big Bird and dyed his feathers black to make myself a sweater, I'd look unhappy too. I don't know why the rest of them are unhappy. Maybe they think their faces will look skinnier if they don't smile.
ReplyDeleteThanks Carolyn for that very apt description of that hideous whatever! I don't know why, but for some reason, I feel that model is not a real woman....correct me if I'm wrong, but I know many of you are thinking the very same thing!! LOL!!
DeleteWhy don't they just hang all the designer clothes on a fancy clothesline and send it down the catwalk. That's basically all we get now. I am a person who finds the most attractive people attractive because of their personality. It seems totally soppy but I do find personality attractive. I couldn't get behind any of those clothes shown up top. They look like junk on a person with a junky personality and attitude.
ReplyDelete"You are not even good enough to gaze upon me, you insignificant worm-- go out and spend yourself into debt trying to become fabulous enough for me to deign to smile upon you."
ReplyDeleteYou are so right! I know "To be a model is really hard"! We hear that in every "XX next Topmodel" episode ;) , but to be honest sometimes I just think "How is it difficult to do nothing, express nothing, be as exiting as a rock?!". I could do that... only that I would look terrible I admitt :D
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I agree with you completly!
Liebe Grüße
I'd much rather have models with a forbidding expression like those above than the standard mouth half open please f*** me look that seems a lot more prevalent to me in fashion and advertising. Is it just me? Oh well, ok then.
ReplyDeleteHalf open mouths?? All I ever see is tight lipped zombie stares....maybe in Victoria Secret's ads you might find that and considering what they're selling, that look would be appropriate!
DeleteI worked for a printing company for a while some years ago and was fascinated that the female models in the ads in the women's magazines had the same facial expressions as those in the soft-porn for men magazines (i.e. that parted-lips ready for sex look)
DeleteThe reason they look like statuary is because it's just the done thing. To quote Nina Garcia "It looks expensive". Or some crap like that. It sure doesn't make me want to run out and drop a couple of Benjamins or three on a pair of SUNGLASSES. I think it's just being pretentious.
ReplyDeleteThey live on tic tacs and celery, have to wear these ridiculous clothes, foot twisting shoes stand around for hours being photographed - really perhaps they are just being honest?! The look says to me,"This job sucks, the designer sucks and if you buy this overpriced tat, you suck too!"
ReplyDeleteI suppose it’s to add a sense of mystery, but I don’t really know. The Mona Lisa is mysterious, but I don’t see many people rushing out to buy her clothes.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting that in French, the word for “model” is the same as we use for a store dummy: Mannequin. It’s even spelled the same way.
Models no longer look like real people, walk like real people or pose like real people. In many photos, I can’t tell how the garment is supposed to drape, or I can’t see most of the garment at all, because of the weird contortions of the pose.
So if this is the way it’s going to be, why don’t they just use mannequins (the inanimate kind – or can they tell the difference?) and do away with all these skinny kids and their vacant stares?
I guess they look like they are dying of boredom wearing tens of thousands of dollars worth of clothing which they have to take off when the shoot is over.
ReplyDeletePerverse ? Moi...........?
Waves hand frantically in the air.....
ReplyDeleteI know this one, yess Honestly I do,
As an aspiring Photographer I asked this very question when a very famous "Fashion" photographer came to visit a class i was attending and the reply was;
"Fashion photography is all about lifestyle Aspirations not the clothes themselves, and the lower down the social order you go, the more a person is required by say an employer or society to smile, so the models scowl out of the pictures at you to denote the High status they are portraying, they are not and should never be shown as workers on a break from a factory or just like the women who live in your street, they should look as if they live where you desperately wish you did"
It makes sort of sense in a slightly uncomfortable way, I have had jobs where you could be sacked for not smiling at customers, and they were low status and badly paid, basically, your boss isn't the one smiling at you, its the other way around. its more about Brand image than the actual garment, and its closer to selling you the real money makers which is the accessory line.
And thats also why I despise current fashion photography its all about Brands not style.
wow. interesting!
DeleteHuh. I don't appreciate the photographer's response, but I appreciate you sharing it. And they wonder why so many average, everyday people feel out of touch with the fashion industry.
Deletemust be hard to smile when you have anorexia
ReplyDeleteThey're saying "You can't afford this ugly thing, so shut up. I hate you and your opinion of me and this ugly rag."
ReplyDeleteI'd look mad too if someone made be have my picture taken in Oliver Cromwell's wig.
ReplyDeleteLOL!! You bulls-eyed that one!!! If someone hacked my hair up like that I'd have an attitude too. I still think that's a man!!!
DeleteAlright, I have always wondered the same thing. I've also noticed that a lot of the female models look so man-ish, which I really don't like either.
ReplyDeleteI hate these crabby photos!!!!!! Hubster and I buy fashion mags for 5 cents, and somtimes there are a few clothes we like, and good articles. I found some good articles in British Vogue. I think it's important to enjoy our lives, and appreciate things. This can make us happy. Sewing individualized clothes (custom) makes me happy. I am trying to organize stash more, which is a fun thing too, leading to more inspiration. I was delighted when CoCo, my sewing cat, turfed out another bag of lovely patterns, many vintage. Oh, joy. And our sewing fun can be "on the cheap" too. Cathie, in Quebec.
ReplyDeleteI hate it, everyone looks so angry and it certainly doesn't make me feel good. But I'll take it over 'drugged-up sexy face'.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I agree with Beth. The look they are all going for is contempt, like we are dirt beneath their dainty feet. We're supposed to be filled with self-loathing, and the only way we can get them to like us is to be thin and buy the same clothes they are wearing. And to not have pores -- nobody who's ANYBODY has pores anymore! ;-)
ReplyDeleteWell I wouldn't smile if I had to wear some of the crap models are seen in. I never understood why the post-apocalypse drug-addled look was so popular. I agree with the others who say these models look contemptuous, too. As for smiling bloggers, we know that a smile is the best accessory!
ReplyDeleteThat model in the channel ad looks like her 3yo just found her sewing scissors and cut her hair for her while she was asleep, and she just realized what happened. Don't get me started on the one's with the missing eyebrows...
ReplyDeleteThe whole idea behind advertising is to tell you about something you need to make you feel different than you already are.
ReplyDeleteIf the models look happy, they might be sending a subliminal message that everything is A-OK with the world and you might see yourself in it that way and don't need to change or buy a thing!
Because they are stone-faced, they are playing "hard-to-get" and this is more effective than if they were not aloof. To be like them, attractive, you need to buy these things. Then you too can be exclusive. Maybe I need to word this better for my idea to be better understood, but it is very complex but at the same time very simple, with sex being the bottom line. Having sex, I mean, or getting someone to have sex with you. Does THAT make sense?
I haven't ever had the opportunity to look at an expensive shirt, or skirt etc, like big designer expensive. Besides the fact that most modern fashion doesn't really appeal to me, it's waaaaay out of my budget range. But for what you are paying, are you getting something well made? Are the seams finished (not just serged?), is the quality of fabric soooo much better than than nice fabric you can find at say Mood or a place online? Do they use plastic crappy buttons? I guess what I'm getting at is are people paying for the shopping experience and the brand moreover than buying a piece of quality tailored clothing? Is the fit that much better? I guess I just don't understand the desire to spend $300 on a shirt just to say you can. It's obscenely wasteful IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI am completely behind the "I don't HAVE to smile at you, you WORM" premise that "ItscurrentlytwoAM" came out with; the psychology of the notion that "smiling is appeasement offered by an inferior; frowning indicates superiority" is absolutely correct. It's the premise of the "Golden Rule": those who have the gold, rule. Only those who have 'lots of gold" can afford such clothes, right?-therefore the implication of a non-smiling model wearing an obscenely expensive outfit is "if you have the gold, you too can rule-in this outfit!"
ReplyDeleteOf course, the garbage I see nowadays being fobbed off as "fashion" kinda negates this idea; an ugly piece of crap is still an ugly piece of crap, no matter the pricetag...If I had to wear some of this idiotic-looking stuff, I'd be frowning too!
People on the sewing blogs look happy because they are independent of any such maneuverings and manipulations: they are free to dictate thir OWN style ("style" is always a million times BETTER than "fashion", as anyone with a particle of intelligence knows) and they can SMILE FREELY and NATURALLY, without any of the snotty, stuck-up, fashionier-than-thou attitude that is endemic in the 'fashion" world. They can produce something JUST AS WELL-MADE, and far more ORIGINAL (with nary a fraction of the monetary investment necessary to ride the starved anorexic pony that is "high fashion")
Oh. My. God. Apparently my mother was in New York and cutting people's bangs just like she used to do 50+ years ago to me and my sisters. I can't tell you how many grade school pictures there are of us with bangs just like those. And we look just as happy in those pictures. I'm telling you its the haircut that makes them look that way.
ReplyDeleteHigh fashion models never look happy. It makes me feel sad for them, and definitely has the opposite effect of making me want to buy the clothes. "Wear this, and you, too, can live an empty, sterile life devoid of affection!"
ReplyDeleteYeah, not something I want either.
Current fashion styling makes me long for the simple wisdom of Annie: "You're never fully dressed / though you may look your best / you're never fully dressed / without a smile...."
Who cares what they're wearing on Main St. or Saville Row? It's what you wear from ear to ear, and NOT from head to toe (that matters)! ;)
DeleteAs a former model, I think what most of these models/photogs/brand reps/media firms are going for is the look of intensity and dominance. It's about conveying superiority and condescension, which I think boils down to our modern perception of "strength". It's an especially popular look on the more "beautiful" male models and women. Casual brand tends to have models give a bit of smirk, a wink, or a smile which is more for the approachable angle. That said, on a shoot the model usually goes through a slight range of emotions and then the brand people and photographer choose the final shots that make the ads.
ReplyDeleteRe: social scale/smile calculus. I'm not sure. Powerful business and political leaders are increasingly shown smiling, as are monarchs and popes. At one time, they were not.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the flat expression works in fashion photography the way it does in religious icons.
An icon isn't supposed to be a representation of the person depicted. It's supposed to inspire the viewer to reflect on what the person symbolizes.
Thus, an icon of St. Paul is a reflection on "saintliness". On this idea, a fashion photograph of someone in a Dior gown would be a reflection on "style" (I'm guessing), not a portrait of the model.
It's bizarre for a sales person in a boutique not to smile, or make you feel "other" but a model isn't a sales person. It's practically a model's job to make you feel "other".
I think smiling (real smile) does have a link with being inferior (or, at least, equal) and somewhat weak.
DeleteWomen have always been expected to be all smiley, while, until recently, "real men" were not supposed to.
Now leaders are smiling because they rely on an image and, right now, we (the public) want to feel like we're all equal and friends.
Dictators, however, rarely smile in public.
At least once a day a commercial will air on TV that leaves my partner totally baffled. I used to go to great lengths to try and explain the joke or what their ultimate message was supposed to be. Now I just say, "'Hon, it's not meant for us, ignore it" and leave it at that.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same thing. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what we think. We're not the target audience. They're only interested in the 15 to 25 year olds. Us old goats know better than to fall for that...stuff. But as the frontal cortex doesn't fully develop until the mid 20s, the kids are easily manipulated by that garbage. And once hooked, it is almost impossible to break free of it.
So anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make is, if we don't understand something in current popular culture, it's because we're too old and aren't supposed to understand it. Just like it's always been.
And is it just me, or do Suzy Parkers gloves look comically over sized and ill fitted in that photo. Maybe I've been living on the farm too long, but it looks to me like she's getting ready to inseminate a cow while dressed in her best frock. A very disturbing image indeed.
ReplyDeleteWell, they don't get to pick the clothes . . . much less feel proud of making them. So I understand why they wouldn't smile. I'm smiling in my me-made togs as I leave for work this a.m. :)
ReplyDeleteI too don't understand the stone-face look. OK so if they cannot show teeth, but too bad they don't have someone like Elizabeth Taylor to coach them on smiling. But then maybe it comes down to what A Little Sewing posted, "I think sewing bloggers smile because they feel happy that they are wearing something they made."
ReplyDeleteAs you said, it's attitude. These ads are not here to sell clothes (who would rush into a Chanel store after having seen an ad in Vogue ?), they're here to polish the brand image and the reputation, and position themselves as trend-setters.
ReplyDeleteLet's be honest : 99.99% of Vogue readers don't have the money to buy the goods. But why would any rich girl buy a Chanel dress if the nobodies don't know who is Chanel and how chic and exclusive it is ?
Idem for the runway shows : no one will buy this barely there red dress made with feathers and nylon net, but it's not the point. This dress is here to sell something else.
Looking bored or angry is in, it has mystique, it's chic, and it looks expensive. Smiling and being nice is for regular people, and these brands don't want anything to do with regular people, it's not their business model.
Banana Republic ads, and online stores pictures are here to *sell clothes*, they're here for the money, so they have to make friend with the "regular people", their target. They have to show how pretty and flattering the clothes are, and look how you would be happy if you had that dress !
So they smile at you and use regular poses.
Maybe they're just stoned..
ReplyDeletethey are simply using the oldest advertising ploy in the books - tell them they cant have it and they will want it..... well this look is a welcoming as a dissection table and it is not going to t win hearts and minds therfore the clothes MUST be good cause ethey don want you to like them and they certainly dont like you..... Remember the kid in school that was such a stuck up self absorbed repellent snot that all of the wannabees fawned all over and praised him or her? I rest my case. The phrase "scum rises" doesnt come from nowhere but then my idea of beauty is dressed in the clothes i will one day create for THEM to be happy in, is tattooed,and dreaded and has either curves or muscles or both and SMILES WILDLY lol but these andro android sexless sticks are as tantalising as a cold turd.
ReplyDeleteGotta put in my 2 cents! You know, it is not just the models, but also the photographer, stylist and CLIENT who is directing the show. There were probably 500+ pictures taken the day the selected advertisement photo was taken. I think it has more to do with that Film Noir look that every one thinks is art (and I do too LOVE Sunset Boulevard). Even the most jaded of photographers thinks they are capturing art, never mind the rent is due.
ReplyDeleteSo, maybe they are suffering for art? That "I'm so rich I'm bored to sobs about my life so therefore if you buy this dress you will soon be just like me . . . " projection that is pseudo art?
But no matter. The fact is, they can scowl or be filled with giggles, I cannot afford to be that rich, that bored or that miserable.
Or maybe they are just HUNGRY!
Yes, the September Vogue is out! It was on the newsstands in New York last night. My wonderful husband came home with a copy.
ReplyDeleteRe smiling: it's very American to smile for every picture. If you look at the European sewing bloggers, you see fewer smiles.
Personally, I don't really like photos of myself smiling. I'm self-conscious in front of a camera, which makes my smile look less-than-genuine.
Claudine (couturearts.wordpress.com)
If I had to have my hair cut (badly) like that model in teh first picture, I'd have difficulty dredging up a smile too! And wearing stupid looking clothes like all the ones you've shown too...
ReplyDeleteIt's a backlash to the super models of the eighties! Designers today don't want models with personality.....they want androids! They all have the same build, look and mechanical walk, the shows aren't even exciting to watch anymore! I was looking at a YouTube video on Halston and it was so wonderful to see those models smiling as they came down the runway....Pat Cleveland brought the house down, swirling in a one shouldered scarf gown, the audience of celebrities smiled and broke into applause at her exuberance! It is incredible to watch! I'm so grateful to have been part of the seventies and eighties!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know who Pat Cleveland was ("Gasp!") until you Halstonized this blog.
DeleteShe truly was in the moment on the runway; guess that's not allowed any longer.
We now value those who reside somewhere between despondent and detached. Moreso than hemlines, are runway model dispositions a sign of the times?
By maintaining this "android" way of modeling you keep them anonymous and therefore affordable...If a model has flair and personality she'll catch the public's fancy and will become a "super model" and more expensive. What it all boils down to is a dollar!
DeleteWhenever I need to get my sewing "mojo" cranked up I watch that video. She's like a modern day Aphrodite descending from Olympus!!
DeleteIt's because they're hungry Peter...no, stike that...they're starving. I remember once on the Academy Awards they used super models to actually show some of the costumes which were nominated for best costuming. Whoopi Goldberg was the speaker. She made the comment, only a super model could be pulling down 10 grand an hour and still manage to look hacked off, but she might have used slightly different words. It's part of their persona...and, they're starving!
ReplyDeleteI don't get it either!
ReplyDeleteThere's something a little bit vulgar about luxury brands in this economy. So maybe they are trying to not look quite so gleeful in their extravagance - serious times/serious poses?
ReplyDeleteGah! Starved robots, Why don't they just replace them with dummies on wheels? I was quite surprised by this post because I avoid modern fashion like the plague and was not aware of the zombie model thing.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things I love about your blog is that you always wear a big smile when you model your clothes.
While I agree that it would be distracting to have fashion models grinning from ear to ear in every picture, the stone faced look is bad.
I personally would prefer the softly smiling, far away look you see in 18th century portraits. Oh and speaking of 18th center ladies, they had a healthy amount of flesh covering their arms and faces, why aren't modern models allowed to cover up their skeletons?
This is just a guess here, but I think maybe it considered a sign of "sophistication" that you looked bored/pissed off all the time.
ReplyDeleteIt's that same perverse sense of being impressed by hairstylists who greet you with a withering look and barely concealed contempt which makes them seem ultra-chic and all the more desirable.
Am I way off base? I am so unsophisticated that I probably have no idea what I'm talking about, but that is my theory!
It is just a look, that's all. It probably can be interpreted anyway you want. To be honest I really don't even notice such things when I am glancing through a magazine or book. Who really cares? Surprised anyone does.
ReplyDeleteNow it's "these shoes are made for walking", stay out of my way or else!!!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that Karl Lagerfeld designed that horrendous "feather sweater" and skirt! He's damn lucky Chanel's not alive.....if she was, she'd kick his nuts up into his neck!! LOL!! I'm sorry....... I just couldn't keep that one to myself!! LOL!!!
ReplyDeletemaybe art directors/models believe that they look more gorgeous when they don't smile. i don't really know
ReplyDeleteFrom when I used to watch America's Next Top Model, I noticed if a model was too smiley or cheesey in her expression they'd say "it looks catalogue". I think it is something they do to differentiate high end brands from your Target and the like. And please, let's stop talking like the models are choosing to pose this way! They're being directed! They're not the ones people should be angry with.
ReplyDeleteYou're right about about that.
DeleteHey, it's lonely starving and posing like addicts while wearing weird clothes! These models represent the opposite of what makes most of us happy-very expensive, unattractive clothes, starvation, heavy makeup, uncomfortable high heels, enough flesh to keep warm at night. Poor miserable things represent the fashion industry, bewildered when people stop buying junk and ask for quality, fit, construction, modesty, comfort, durability, fun.
ReplyDeleteThanks for bringing this up Peter, I've been having just exactly the same thoughts!
ReplyDeleteThe shoes (gasp!) - I can't stop thinking about the height of those heels. Nothing would ever get me in those - not even in my 20's. I think women look alien in shoes like that. I can't imagine what L4 and L5 will look like on the next generation in 10 years.
ReplyDeleteI'd always assumed that like rock-stars, models were deaf and thought they were posing in Vague.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of off-the-wall guesses that are probably wrong. Smiling distorts the face. From what my teenage-sleep-deprived brain remembers from Latin class one of the reasons many statues/paintings were created with blank faces were because a non-smiling face was beautiful. Maybe we're just coming back around to that? I dunno, it may be dull with every editorial like that.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I'm an OOTD blogger. I don't smile a lot. I have chronic bitch face. I don't really smile much IRL, I don't want to put on a fake smile for the camera. Even when I do feel like I'm smiling, it doesn't always translate. However I'm not a high fashion model, so that point is a bit moot, but I do think it's a little annoying to have people telling you to smile and "look" happy.
I think it's a sad commentary on our culture: cynicism is hip, earnestness is out. Hence, all this "irony" in dressing, in food, in music. It's designed to make one appear aloof and elite, which is also designed to challenge those around you to prove that they are just as aloof and elite (buy buying into whatever shill you're selling). It's not really the models. The models just provide the face, the skeletal structure on which the clothes are draped. Those poor models are barely women - and how many of them are just interchangeable with the others, all of their faces frozen into these identical stony masks?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think hip cynicism is cowardly and lazy and I don't have much respect for it or anyone who capitulates to this disgusting social trend. We're still one of the wealthiest countries in the world and we're surrounded by images of people pouting about it. In the words of Eliza Doolittle, "GARN!!"
Here's a guided visualization excercise...ok - you have to be looking in the mirror first...ready? OK...Imagine you walk into one of those scary designer stores...now imagine you're walking out wearing, oh, any one of those outfits in the magazine that suits you most...Think of how that feels...now remember you just rang up about $8,500.00 or more on your card for it....THERE! You made the face didn't you? I think the reason they make them make the face is so the over-rich-over-botoxed set can see themselves in the models and therefore imagine themselves buying those clothes. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the straight-faced photos. Isn't it just so American to expect everyone to smile?
ReplyDeletebotox
ReplyDeleteThese models haven't mastered the art of "Smizing" yet! LOL.
ReplyDeleteI agree totally. I think they do it because it makes them seem more important than mere 'models' but I think the clothes look terribly made. What you make and model, Peter, are so much more attractive. Even your shirts made with fabric printed with sewing machines look more expensively well made than those high fashion creations.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
Delete