Rosy Is My Relative

I’ve just read an article in the July issue of Marie Claire about older models being cast in catwalk shows which has inspired me to talk about my dearest relationship with fashion- that of the Vintage genre.

Personally I feel a very strong affiliation with The Past, and in particular, the 1920’s, and not just in terms of fashion but also with architecture, music, dance and the like, as I know that these are synonymous with fashion.

The Marie Claire article reminded me of my dear friend who is a Silver Siren on the fashion front. She is the owner of Reminiscene, an enchanting vintage clothing store in 7^th Street Melville, Joburg.

And so begins my journey through the world of the Past. It has a sublime sense of escapism. And I travel through it with Rosemary.

I have spent a few afternoons in the back garden with Rosy, sipping on Champaign and listening to her intriguing stories of her life, gazing at our companions literally hanging around us, feeling very comforted.

The clothes that dress the store have their stories too.  They have traveled and have adorned perhaps more than one companion. I feel this great sense of history and an overwhelming sense of content sadness. I feel that now that I have gotten to know the story teller of Reminiscene, I see why she has the passion for what she does, it’s as if she surrounds herself with these stories which have traveled, like her, a journey of complexities and simplicities alike.

Their past is exactly that, and it is what makes them.

What is it about fashion and the past? “Silver Sirens” of the Catwalk? There is a great respect demanded and earned. These faces and fabrics have lived, and more than that, have survived, a changing world, and very erratic industry.  And unlike “Ten Years Younger” they have embraced their age and come out on top.

Your history forms a prominent part of your identity.

It is, without doubt, the fabric of you.

The Ugly Truth

Upon getting a bit of ‘slouch time’ on my couch the other eve I was channel hopping and came across “Ten Years Younger Australia”. Don’t get me wrong, I am no avid fan of Reality T.V. but admittedly I do like to see things made-over. When ugly things get transformed into beautiful things, it gives me a sense of relief.

Now when I think back, I realize how lucky I am to have grown up during a major revolution. I don’t think I will ever really grasp how important this revolution is, and in a way, I almost want to reject it. This is of course the techno-revolution. Technology has grown, changed and continues to evolve at such a rapid pace that “Back to the future” doesn’t seem as trivial after all.

I remember sitting in my English class in grade ten and my teacher gave us a lesson and a project to do on the “New Thing” that had hit our television shores: Reality T.V. I remember thinking that it was a stupid idea and that I personally do not want to see the “real” people in the celebrity and minion world. I want to escape into their seemingly unreal lifestyles.

This said, Reality T.V has come a loooooooonnnggggg way since then. It has become carefully crafted, casted, directed, produced and acted. In fact, it isn’t at all “Real”, it’s more a version of the truth, a new genre in film and television in it’s own right.

So there I was waiting for miss ugly and her husband to be cut into a more beautiful version of themselves, a younger version. And so the challenge unfolds- there are two teams. As if it wasn’t bad enough to compare two strangers, and then two friends, now they were comparing spouses!

Team One- makeover their old and tired canvas using only brushes and paint. No hard surgery and at the most a bit of injecting some of this here and a bit of that there.

Team Two- are all about going under the knife.

Then they slap in some “confidence boosting” trapeze swinging or acting classes and they both get a full new wardrobe- all in ten days!

At the end of the program I wait avidly for the two transformations to be revealed, so I can get my quick trivial fix on the ugly truth. Surprisingly I feel a very strong sense of sadness. I see the new couple- who look like Aussie versions of Barbie and, in this particular case, um… Derek (remember, Ken’s best friend).

I felt so ashamed that I was part of the addiction fuelling these makeover shows, realizing that the truth of being old and being humble and modest (Adam and the Garden of Eden spring to mind) was being shunned. You simply weren’t good enough being the best version of you, no. You have to be a younger, more plastic version of the truth. And might I just add here, that for some reason all the couples end up looking the same.

They keep churning out versions of Barbie, Ken, Derek and Skipper!

So not only are you not good enough aging, but now you get to look just like millions of other people out there. A generic 21st century Third Reich if you will.

I thought we were all on the same mission in life- to be unique! I guess not…

So what is the message here? Please don’t, at any stage of your existence, feel good about yourself. Don’t think that you looking your age, or dare I say it- older, is ever a good thing. And I am just as bad for wanting to watch it!

I know some people think that what is being done here is a good thing. They are helping people who are not confident, boosting their self-esteem, rediscovering their youth. But the truth is, and it may be an ugly one, that at some point you will age… or you will end up like Meryl Streep and Goldie Horn in Death becomes Her. And do they really think that all that plastic and make-up will suffice for a more confident you.

Looking great is one thing, but being ok with who you are, is something technology, money or Reality T.V. can’t buy. That is the humble truth.

But one thing I am for, is definitely update your wardrobe!