Appendix 1: Dolly editorial
Hey Girls
I’ve always fancied myself to be reasonably fashionable. I love a new trend and there are very few I haven’t given a nudge – that’s not to say I always nail it, but I never thought I got it diabolically wrong. The other day, my friend Cath (who is so stylish it makes me sick) visited me at work and remarked that myself and the other mag chicks in the building looked like we were on our way to a fancy dress party. For a second I thought it was a backhanded compliment. I mean, what’s wrong with a 25-year-old professional woman in a denim mini, a skirt moonlighting as a boob tube, cowboy boots and a faux fur vest? You see, that’s the thing with working in mags – when it comes to fashion, anything goes. You could walk in wearing a tea-towel as a skirt and a pillowcase as a top and everyone would think, “Wow, isn’t she creative”. I knew the only person who would tell me the truth about my fashion track record was my mum, so I rang her. The conversation went like this:
Me: “Mum, do you think I’m stylish?”
Mum: “Sure darling, you’ve got a very unique style. You can carry different looks.”
[MUM LAUGHS AWKWARDLY]
Me: “Can you maybe trawl through some albums? I can’t think of many REALLY wrong outfits off the top of my head.”
Mum: “What about the green floral dress with the matching floral headband? Or the white puffy-sleeved blouse with the big black-and-white bow. Actually, I know, I’ll find some from your jazz ballet days.”
Me: “Mum! How could there be so many? And why didn’t you step in and pull me out of fashion wrongtown? Or at least chuck a style mag my way?”
Mum: “ No darling, you’re a very determined girl and you were adamant about what you wanted to wear. I was allowing you to develop your own style and creative expression.”
Me: “Mum, creative expression and bloody ugly are two very different things!”
The entire office laughed hysterically when the photo mum sent landed on my desk, and that’s when I realised the true greatness of fashion – it captures a moment in time and gives you a snapshot of your personality at various stages of your life. Get the chicks together and take a look back at
your own fashion history – it’s bloody funny. Bring on more fancy dress days, I say!
Bron XX
Appendix 1: Dolly editorial1