The D word

I have no idea why I do it. There is no explanation for the fact that I’ve ended up with these things. Some time ago I spotted a book about the late Princess of Wales in a charity shop and bought it. Since then I’ve bought a few more, along with a couple of thimbles on Ebay though I think the thimbles had more to do with their kitsch appeal than sympathy. For some reason I have taken more interest in Diana since her death than I did when she was alive.

I’ve noticed that a lot of the books that were produced about her in the 1980’s have begun to crop up for sale amongst the bric-a-brac, possibly because someone has moved and decided to let go of a collection or because there has been a death. It is likely to be the latter because so many of her fans were loyal to the last.

Looking through those books it is impossible not to feel sad that the behaviour most of us took to be a coy shyness was in truth indicative of a fear and nervousness we could not have begun to imagine. How mean some of the comments made about her then seem now, with the benefit of hindsight. I can’t help wondering how she felt, at an age where young women are particularly self conscious about their appearance, to have all that aimed at her when she was coming to terms with such a strange new life. Regarded as one of the most elegant women of 1981 she was then voted one of The Ten Worst Dressed of 1982.

From what she said to those who recorded her thoughts, she could never really understand why she had such a potent effect on some of the men around her. I saw this for myself when a teacher at the school I attended at the time came back from a lunch break having seen her. The tough, blunt Scot was useless for the rest of the day because she had smiled at him.

Of course her daughter-in-law to be, the girl she never had the chance to meet, has all that ahead of her and the strange thing is that there has a been a lapse of time large enough for many to forget that the same things are being said all over again. That Kate is a style icon, that she is bound to encourage new interest in the British fashion industry, that she will set trends rather than follow them.

“It was really on the day that she became engaged to the Prince of Wales that she became a leader of fashion. Copies of the magnificent sapphire and diamond engagement ring were very soon on sale for anything from a few pounds to a few thousand pounds, depending on whether they were made of coloured glass or the real thing. Of course the soft blue suit, which became the perfect foil for the engagement ring, was copied everywhere too, and the colour of the season became ‘Lady Diana Blue.‘” “Princess, Leader of Fashion“, Martina Shaw

A few weeks ago I was walking behind someone who looked so much like Kate because of her clothes and hair, and I realise now that what she has in common with Diana is her ordinariness. Diana set a trend for pie crust blouses and that bobbed hairstyle because the media transmitted her look (worn by hundreds of women in central London) to thousands elsewhere. The woman I was following by chance wore her hair long, her raincoat belted in at the waist and her long boots kitten heeled because so many others of her generation do. And now even more do simply because she does.

How easily the lessons of Diana’s trials at the hands of the media have been forgotten. Kate and her family have already suffered the ignominy of being scrutinised and then criticised when her relationship with William broke down briefly. The footage of her walking quickly through a horde of photographers in the early days, head down and hunted, brought back many queasy memories of Diana and her ordeal, both before and after her marriage.

Few are willing to say it out loud, that Kate will inevitably be seen through the filter that her mother-in-law’s experience created. Every British royal bride will be for the foreseeable future. Diana has slept on her island at Althorp for over a decade now and she isn’t coming back but her influence is as powerful as if she had risen from the dead. The special but intangible wedding gift she has given both her boys is contact and experience of the real world. Their experience of normality may still be a long way off from that of the man who waves at them as they drive past today but they are so much closer to it than their father and his siblings ever were.

I hope that this gift will give the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton a fighting chance. I wish them a long, happy and drama free life, full of all the things that a certain blonde, whose memorabilia I will probably continue to accumulate, was denied.

Royal Wedding Charity Fund
Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund

Better than the real thing

A week or two ago there was a bit of a fuss over Cheryl Cole’s hair. Someone in the media felt it was time to notice the teeny-weeny disclaimer on the ad for the L’Oreal hair product she has been promoting. Those flowing locks in the photos? They aren’t all hers! Shock! Horror! She wears extensions!

This revelation has led to complaints to the Advertising Standards Agency by outraged viewers who believe that Cheryl’s hair only looks that good because of her natural hair extensions. Actually, they aren’t even natural ones. Her stylist says that the glue used on the natural ones was damaging her hair. The complainants include journalist and parent Daisy Goodwin who said that her nine year old daughter had asked her to buy the product because she wanted her hair to be just like Cheryl’s. I guess she wasn’t interested in any of the hundreds of other products pushed at us that have disclaimers for hair extensions or false eyelashes worn by celebrities in these ads.

The fact that Cheryl has managed to get nine year olds pestering their mums to buy a product is a testament to her power as a style icon, although I think much of her appeal lies in the fact that she is a gorgeous version of the girl next door. The girl next door would probably wear extensions if she could afford to maintain them but she has probably blown all her cash on one pair of Chanel earrings, or a high street version of a dress worn by Kate Moss.

Recently I was asked for directions by a young woman who was carrying a very smart Gucci bag. A smart Gucci carrier bag. They carry home evening gowns and handbags worth thousands of pounds and are then sold on by enterprising Ebayers. They are actually worth something in themselves. In Knightsbridge and Mayfair they end up amongst malodorous coffee grounds and vegetable peelings unless they are extracted in time by a maid or housekeeper with an entrepreneurial streak. I’m not proud, I’ve done it myself. They’re great for storing accessories. The best one I’ve bagged came from Miu Miu.

Naomi Klein's "No Logo" revealed the lengths that global brands will go to keep us interested. When I first read it I’m afraid that I was really impressed at how crafty they are. The hold of brands like Adidas is extraordinary, their products are as likely to be worn by those who have no intention of going near a track as those who do. I don’t know when they began designing items that fell entirely into the category of fashion but the dress I spotted in a catalogue shows that their place in the hearts of the fashion conscious is secure. If the girl next door wants to wear that dress (and she does) they’re doing fine.

Unfortunately the credit crunch has meant that funds are even more limited for those with expensive taste but it would appear that some aren’t letting a lack of cash get in their way. Shoplifting has become more common as those who really want something just steal it. The other option is of course the knock off. The local authorities do their best to clamp down on anyone selling this stuff in markets and at car boot sales but I suppose that as long as there is a demand there will be a supply. No thought given to those who make these clothes and accessories, working in sweatshops for little pay.

That also applies to some of the high street stores that produce fashionable but really cheap clothes. Primark seems to go out of its way to be seen as ethical after accusations of the use of child labour. If they are ever be able to control their supply chain to the extent that unacceptable practices of that kind are eradicated no one will be embarrassed to admit that they shop there. At this point I put my hand up and admit that I have come home with a brown paper biodegradable Primark bag full of cheap gloves or socks. And yes, I did feel guilty.

For some years The Attached One worked as a warehouse supervisor for a company that supplied leather clothing to a number of high street stores. This was at around the time when the demand for a constant supply of new designs developed, which meant short runs of a specific design that would hopefully sell out. If that happened the run would be repeated before the taste for it faded.

What amazed me was the disposability of these clothes. I keep clothes for years and make them last. I can’t imagine throwing anything away unless it is in shreds. It turned out that some don’t actually buy and then bin. They buy, wear, find a fault and return it to the shop for a refund. He and his colleagues would spend hours checking and processing returns.

One person at the company was developing the concept of selling designs that were near copies of clothes worn by celebrities or on screen. As Seen On Screen, ASOS, is doing rather well these days. As good as the real thing if not better.

All this makes me even more surprised that anyone was bothered that Cheryl’s hair has had some help. In an era when breast enlargements are something that a man might pay for as a gift for the woman in his life it seems a bit odd that anyone can get worked up over extensions.