November 25th, 2011

Glamour. Catwalks. Style. Jeans. Name brands. Europe. Lace. Magazines. Shoes. Vogue. FASHION!!!

Yes, what you can see in this picture is a girl with a PLATE on her head. A plate, in fact, exhibiting a plump cluster of succulent, wine-colored GRAPES. Perhaps she took to heart the proud words of Coco Chanel: "I don't do fashion; I am fashion." Hopefully she was not expressing herself to be a fruitloop.... =)

I thought I'd seen everything in the fashion world, or quite close to it. Russian women are fanatical about dress, Europe provides the testing waters for all new trends, and Americans invented the fine line between style and comfort. Design and fashion, style and statements and beauty, have always captivated my interest. Travel helped expand my horizons of how trends flow from culture to culture. It has been truly said, "Women dress the same all over the world: to annoy other women." Haha.

Yesterday, I was in downtown Kharkov at an upscale coffee bar waiting to go skating later on. I caught a glimpse of priceless fashion - silk sheath skirt, crisp Oxford blouse, heavy metalic jewelry, skyrise heels. I was startled, and I do mean startled, when upon her braided head I saw a delicate ceramic plate of grapes.

When girls dress up for the attention, it is obvious; because first of all, they are obvious about themselves. But this woman? Completely absorbed in her coffee date. I, at the very least, may have been slightly concerned that the plate would teeter on its precarious, diagnal perch. How embarrasing THAT would be! I couldn't help stare... and even take a picture, because I wasn't sure anyone would believe me! =)

Wasn't it a few hundred years ago, that wearing fruit in the hair was a striking fashion statement?? I didn't realize it was coming back around... Wow! And if it made the runways of New York and Milan, and from there trickled into the random magazines and TV shows about vogue, I wouldn't have thought so much about it. But to see it in PERSON? In a perfectly normal restaurant? It was too much to resist. =)

How comforting is the eternal truth of the Scriptures! "The fashion of this world passeth away," Paul noted over two thousand years ago, and he was right! Even today, designers admit, "Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months."

I would so rather cultivate a beautiful character than a beautiful style in dress. And yes, as a woman I am highly entertained by shopping and new clothes (especially SHOES!), but there is a deep resevoir of reason that governs how much of my pursuit in life I would spend on temperal, ever-changing vanity. If only every girl had some measure of common sense!

But then again, if that were the case, I wouldn't have had such a laugh last night... or been able to write this blog post! God bless the fashion-addicted girls out there, and their poor, unfortunate men!!! =)