As the public inquiry into those distinctive Philip Treacy front-of-forehead
hats at the royal wedding continues – particularly the one that arose from
Princess Beatrice’s head like the beige antlers of a baroque stag – few
debates have exposed so clearly the national disagreement over what fashion
is for.

There are those of us who cling to the humdrum belief that fashion’s chief
role is to flatter the buyer: if you have invested in a garment, then it has
a reciprocal duty to make you look a little bit better. This appears,
however, to be an increasingly outmoded interpretation of the relationship
between clothes and their wearer.

In many circles, fashion is now the boss: like a dog that is never brought to
heel, it is increasingly performing acts of unpredictable savagery upon its
indulgent owner. Often, cheap summer dresses the more a person has spent on a get-up, the more
likely it is to make them look like a runner-up in the Surrealist Olympics.

At outfits grow ever more strident, I finally find myself understanding the
meaning of Robert Evans, the veteran Hollywood producer, when he remarked
that if eight different people complimented him on a tie, dresses for juniors dresses for juniors black evening gowns he put it in the
shredder: “ short black dresses short black dresses Screw the tie! I’m not there to make the tie look good. The tie
is there to make me look good.” bridesmaid dresses 2011 bridesmaid dresses 2011