Talk
So, returning to the subject of clothes and what they mean, Alison Lurie's 1981 book The Language of Clothes explores the idea that clothes, jewelry and other things we wear are "words" that make up "sentences and paragraphs" to describe the person wearing them. Even before we speak to someone in a meeting, at a party or in the street, our clothes express important information in a"language" about our tastes, interests, occupation, background, personality and opinion. But while we understand this language, we can not always put it into words. The comprehension process is subconscious[下意识的] and instinctive[本能的], as if it were a universal language[通用语言], like music or painting.
So baseball caps don't look right at the opera, and a top hat[大礼帽] looks strange anywhere in the 21st century. Wearing black can indicate grief at the death of someone close, but it can in other contexts look slightly wrong, too elegant or too depressing. Wearing white suggests honest and decent characteristics at a wedding, although this is only true for the bride; the bridegroom, the man she is marrying, has to wear black and white formal dress, which gives a mixed and contradictory message. Jeans worn by both men and women suggest a kind of equality and even freedom in terms of their bodies. Yes, it's the context that counts.
Lurie suggests five rules. The first is that all degrees of seniority are discarded[不考虑年龄和资历], in order to look as young and relaxed as possible. The second is that even in work contexts, people dress to look both stylish and relaxed and cheerful. The third? You can dress down[着便装; 其反义词: dress up] in a casual way, but still be taken seriously. The fourth rule is that there are no longer any rules. And the fifth: There is no awareness of the purpose of dressing, and there's no hint of shame or self-consciousness, just honesty.
Well, it's a book of its time, and while some of its claims remain true, especially those with reference to context and connotation, it's surprising how old-fashioned Lurie's observations are when seen from the 21st century. There is now a sense of purpose, there's a renewed sense of occasion, of the need to wear the right clothes in the right context, and there's a sense that we sometimes — not always, but sometimes — have to suffer to make the right impression.
But fashion comes in cycles; the same designs happen again and again. Chanel's little black dress of the 1950s was designed to allow a woman to escape from formal or high fashion[高级时装]. In the 1970s, this continuous push towards informality had reached its limit, and today we recognize there remains a time and place for formality, even if we don't have the words and sentences to describe it.
Passage 1
Presenter: How often do you change your clothes during the day?
Penny: Um I thinkit all depends on what I'm going to do. Um it might be as many as three timesif …
Presenter: Three times.
Penny: Yes, if Iwas … if I was going to go to the gym, for instance, having dropped the children off at school, I'd be wearing an outfit for … just a causal outfit for doing the school run, then I'd go to the gym and, and get changed and er, and then if I was going out in the evening I'd change again.
Presenter: Yeah. How about you?
Eric: Yeah, um, I think it depends what happens during the day. Most of the time though I just put on my clothes for work. I go to work, I come home. Um maybe, maybe take something off, like er my shoes and change into a pair of slippers or something, just a pair of sneakers. Um but there are times when if I go to the gym, like Penny said, or if we're going out, my wife and I are going out for some occasion, I have to change into something a little nicer.
Presenter: And, and so what would, what would be the occasion when you changed into something nicer?It would be different from a work …?
Eric: Yeah, likegoing to someone's house for dinner or going out for dinner, or going to some kind of event.
Presenter: Yeah, yeah.Would that be the same for you?
Penny: Definitely.Going to the theatre, um or meeting, meeting friends for a drink, yes.
Presenter: So you'd always change for social circumstances?
Penny: Definitely makes it feel more of an occasion.
Presenter: OK, and what about the clothes you're wearing at the moment, how would you … you know, how … what made you choose these clothes this morning?
Penny: Well I'm going for an interview in an hour's time so I've got to look quite smart[stylish时髦的] and presentable so that's why I'm looking smarter than I normally would do in the day.
Presenter: I think you've got a head start here[你现在确实( 比我们)占优势] because you look very presentable.
Penny: Ah, thank you.
Presenter: How about you?
Eric: I'm able to go to work in fairly casual clothes so, um you know it's fairly relaxed, nice and easy, anything I'm comfortable with, but as long as it's clean and the boss says it's all right.
Presenter: And so you dress for comfort or do you think you're fashion-conscious[有时尚意识的] as well?
Eric: Maybe a little bit fashion-conscious, yeah. You don't want to stand out like a sore thumb [显得格格不入] and people make fun of you, you know for some reason, but at the same time you want to have your own bit of individuality [穿得有点自己的个性].
Presenter: I think you're discreetly fashion-conscious, would you agree with …?
Penny: Yes, and,and another … a good trick I always do is carry um my high heels in my hand bag and go in my trainers[运动鞋] you see, and then I can charge along[一路飞奔] and jump on the bus and then,and then look…
Presenter: And you manage high heels?
Penny: Yes, once I'm there and haven't got to move around too much.
Presenter: Very impressive, very impressive. What do you think your clothes say about your,your mood or your personality? Do you change depending … if you get up in the morning do you put on certain clothes depending on how you feel?
Penny: Definitely,yes. If I'm if I'm feeling maybe a bit down I do not want to wear black because it's quite draining. And also as you get older it's draining too. So I might I might put on some um warm colours or … which um, I don't know, sort of make your skin look lighter and your eyes sparkle a little more. Um I, I change … Iwould say I've got a lot of different colours clothes according to my mood.
Presenter: Yeah, and what about you? Do you change dramatically in the evening when you go out on town on the razz [狂欢] you know?
Eric: Well, not really. Um yeah I might put on a nicer pair of shoes or maybe er get out of my jeans and put on a nicer pair of pants, something like that. But um for the most part it's a young organization that I work for and the boss is fairly young so we all dress um with a … with a youthful thought in mind.
Presenter: Thank you.
Passage 2
Interviewer: Kelly, the film Coco Chanel is on tomorrow evening. You're a fashion journalist, so can you tell us … why are people still making films about Coco Chanel? After all, she died in 1971. Why is Coco Chanel still so important?
Kelly: Quite simply she was the leading designer of women's fashion in the 20th century, and the style she created still influences the clothes women wear today. And the Chanel brand is still highly respected as a symbol of modern day practical butchic clothing and accessories.
Interviewer: In what way?
Kelly: She had avery simple and practical eye for what women really needed after a period leading up to the end of the Second World War. Her dresses and suits were beautifully made, and as such, they were also extremely expensive.
Interviewer: What are the most significant examples of her style which she has left us?
Kelly: The most obvious examples are her famous little black dress[缩写LBD，近年已被收进牛津词典], which is still popular today. Others include her accessories, such as a handbag with a shoulder strap, her jewellery, and various styles of suits. Her perfumes, particularly Chanel No. 5 are worn by women all over the world. But it was the total look which she invented, where features of the whole outfit were matched and integrated with each other.
Interviewer: We often talk about a "slave to fashion", someone who is especially concerned that their clothing and physical appearance conforms to a current style. Do you think Chanel was a slave to fashion?
Kelly: Absolutely not. First of all, the expression implies that you're not in control of your own fashion choices, you're being controlled by others. But Chanel was incomplete control. She created the style that others aspired to wear or imitate. Not only that, she is credited with [被称赞] liberating women from the older styles which were designed to make them attractive to men, despite the discomfort of what they were wearing. Some even claim her as the first feminist clothes designer. Women felt comfortable in Chanel's clothes; it was a sporty, casual look to begin with, then stylish elegance. And of course, they still look good to both men and other women.
Interviewer: There's a famous quote by Coco Chanel, "Fashion passes, but style remains." What did she mean by that?
Kelly: It's not absolutely clear whether this is an entirely accurate translation from the French. I think she was making a distinction between fashion and style. Fashion is something which is here today and gone tomorrow. Fashion only lasts for a short time. Last year's fashion always needs to be replaced by something new next year. But style should be accessible to every woman who cares about how she looks and how she feels. Style is something that lasts and evolves over along period of time and surpasses fashion.
Interviewer: Thank you Kelly Green for explaining Coco Chanel's philosophy[idea理念] of fashion and style. Make sure you watch Coco Chanel the film on TV tomorrow night.
