Chris Saul's Blog

Thursday November 12, 2009

One day, women's clothing will no longer be important

I wonder if future generations will be spared the tedious topic of women's clothing?

The Middle East, the UK, Brazil recently, the world over - what women wear is endlessly talked about, ruled upon, judged and ordained.

I find it all very boring.

When I was at school, endless form meetings were occupied by discussions on whether the girls could wear hooped earrings as well as studs. And what length their socks could be. And their skirts. And whether they could wear makeup (which falls under 'decoration', rather than clothing, but still fits with the theme). What a waste of time - we could have been talking about how the tuck shop kept running out of Dairy Milk.

Out in the real world, the discussion continues, at length, endlessly.

My happiest clothing years were when I wore school uniform, or Scout uniform, or Air Cadet uniform, depending on the time of day and how old I was. We all wore the same stuff and your personality shone through by means other than what your parents could afford or what was supposedly cool or uncool. I quite like wearing a suit for the same reasons, especially now that living in Dubai there are numerous tailors who can provide formal wear that actually fits. The average Brit is forced to put up with clothing designed for the average Brit, who doesn't exist, which means your shop bought suit won't fit you. Unless your dimensions are truly average, which - on average - they aren't.

I'm not proposing that we all wear a uniform all day long, as if we lived in a neo-fascist wonderland - the girls wouldn't like that and it would take up even more time and newspaper columns. I would also look a bit silly wearing a red blazer, shorts and a cap or woolly trousers, jumper, belt and beret, depending on the time of day.

Life would be a little easier though.

I must admit that I envy my Gulf colleagues in their dishdashas, khandouras, ghutras and other kit. What shall I wear today? Something long, white, comfortable and flattering - particularly the UAE and Omani version free of cuffs and collars - with a simple head covering. What will the ladies wear? Whatever they want, but keep it covered up with an abaya in public so that noone gets upset.