Dite LaViolette: fashion

radio-canada.ca

I went to the Musée McCord the other day to see "Dévoiler ou Dissimuler?" --Reveal or Conceal?-- an exposition that deals with the attitudes held in western society towards women's bodies in general and also toward specific parts of these throughout the last two centuries, approximately.

As I went through, gawking at the decadence of the lacey, bustled Victorian dresses, pining over art deco shoes, contemplating how the female body adaps to such fashions (naturally) and finally finding myself in front of bathing suits from every era, from full-body suits to towel capes to...

Peggy Moffitt. How do I love thee. I stopped short upon seeing this ad, dating from 1964. Peggy Moffitt here models Rudi Gernreich's "Monokini".

Firstly, I was struck by the sheer elegance of the woman. She looks as though she is in complete posession of herself, completely confident, almost haughty. Very classy, with not a trace of impropriety about her. I see girls walking down the street everyday who look more undressed than she does. I saw pictures of victorian women looking much less confident than her despite all of their corseted, showy-yet-prudish glory. It's all in the attitude.

The design also speaks volumes about what the whole expo is about. Consider the bottom half of the suit, made out of the same fabric that victorian suits were made of. The bottom half is also quite demure in and of itself, completely covering the wearer in its nonchalant black. And so the paradox stands revealed! Taking old conceptions and norms and subverting them, moving away from them yes, but while somehow still saying that while we don't agree with the way that a woman's body was treated or viewed during the victorian era, we can still reach back, take these fashions by the hand, and incorporate them into something new.

And did I mention her gorgeous curves?