What They're Selling, I'm Not Buying

At least part of it.

I always make a conscious effort to avoid the petty bitchy side of fashion, and I try to be careful with my criticism. Criticism is one thing but some of what people write is just plain mean. Also, fashion is extremely subjective. What I'd wear and what works for someone else are often totally different.

But I've got to get something off my chest. I really hate the shapeless, sexless cocoon look that is a trend for Fall 2008. I've tried to see the light and I can't. In fact, rather than talk about the trend when it emerged in New York, I waited until after Paris because I wanted to see if I still felt the same way. I can see how it works for magazine spreads, and I can also see how pieces can be styled differently than they are shown on the runway. Yes, I know you can take that fuzzy bathrobe, I mean, coat, and pair it with a slimmer pant. I did not fall off the turnip truck yesterday. I would wear, for example, a baggy pant paired with a more minimal top; it is a look I like. But a lot of what I saw in the cocoon category, I dislike no matter which way I imagine it.

I sense that some of you are quietly judging me. But as you're trying to pin me down in the fashion sense, let me say that I don't own one piece of Roberto Cavalli or Versace although recent Versace collections have been stronger than ever. My personal taste in fashion does not include a plethora of slits and cleavage. You won't open my closet and be attacked by animal prints. Nor will you find any article of clothing that looks like it was attacked by a bedazzler. Let me also say that I have never had acrylic nails or hair extensions. I don't put on makeup in public, and I don't chew gum.

I very much understand the need to cover up. I am often drawn to the idea of fashion as armor. That is one thing. I also understand androgyny as it applies to fashion. But androgyny is not about being sexless. It is really about having the characteristics of both sexes or being suitable for either sex. I understand fashion that is not so much about the body, too. Those are not the same things as being sexless. And maybe that is precisely why I have had such a visceral reaction. Mine is not so much a reaction to cocooning but a reaction to sexlessness. I don't think I like sexlessness in fashion.

One thing I do think is interesting is that we are all talking about it. And from a historical standpoint, I think that makes it important. As a museum curator, I'd buy it. But as a consumer, I am not.