HOW WOULD YOU DRESS.....?

If nothing was out of bounds.

In the recent award winning film, Poor Things, a dead woman is brought back to life. She has to learn everything from scratch. Set in the Victorian era, normal female attire would consist of tightly fitted gowns. Corsetry, holding in the waist, would create the archetypal hourglass silhouette while making it extremely uncomfortable to eat, sit or move freely. In this film, the protagonist eschews this type of garment. She is unruly of movement and out of control much like a young child finding its feet so this type of period costume just wouldn’t have worked.

The costume designer, Holly Waddington began her process by thinking of how a 5 year old might play ‘dress up’ with her mother’s clothing. How dressed, or undressed, she might be at any given time. To do that, she needed to strip away the components of the Victorian outfit and, instead, use light, airy, silky fabrics to house the organic, unruly, living, breathing, creation within.

I remember my granddaughter who, at around 3 years old, acted pretty much in the same way. At any given moment, she would strip off her clothes and prance about totally naked without embarrassment or notions of what others might think. Freedom and abandonment - not meant to last, of course.

It made me wonder about sartorial choices I would make if I had died, then was consequently resurrected, not knowing or remembering anything of my past likes or dislikes and totally unaware of current trends in clothing styles.

Taking the opportunity to go back to my childhood, I remember coveting the sparkly, pink ‘Cinderella’ shoes. owned by my best friend. I was not allowed to own them as they were far too frivolous for a 6 year old. I yearned to be a ‘grown-up’ - all the time. I constantly walked on tip toes eliciting “What are you doing?” time and time again from my mother. I was practising being an adult - obviously! Childhood didn’t really resonate with me. I wanted to wear fashionable outfits, travel the world - maybe become an air hostess (too short if you’re interested) - meet fabulous people, drive a Mini, earn lots of money and win the hearts of many admirers - in my dreams! None of which was encouraged in my household.

My aunt was my mentor. She took me to the theatre, inspired me to read, listen to music and travel the world. She was fashionable via her clothes, hair and makeup. If I take after anyone in my family, it is most definitely her. She never married, which never seemed to bother her unduly, despite the majority at the time seeing spinsterhood as a worryingly negative state of being.

So, here’s the thing: Although I have shorn hair, a deeply resonant voice and small breasts I have never seen myself as anything other than feminine. The sparkly shoes could still make my heart sing even if I don’t have the opportunity to wear them. While I’m not a huge fan of colourful clothing now, I have been in the past. Who knows if I would revert back to choosing fuchsia pink or bold abstract patterns. I believe I would still choose comfort over style but, again, there have been times when I didn’t. At one time, I would rather have died than give up my high heels.

My mantra has always been ‘Life Evolves, Style Evolves.’ Even if you’re not a dedicated follower of fashion, clothing in the wardrobe will have seen some changes whether it be driven by lifestyle, the time, relationships, appearance, mood or a mix of all of them.

I would like to think I would be independently minded and choose exactly what would have made me happy at the actual time of my resurrection - or would I? Would I be affected by what others were wearing? Would I want to fit In? Would I be brave enough to be a liberated spirit? I’m just not sure. I know I have been guilty of these things in the past, in my younger days, when I had little confidence in who I was or what I wanted to portray about myself. Is it a pipe dream to think I would be any different now?

What about you? If this happened to you, what would you choose - and why?