MODA / FASHION
WHY ARE THEY NEVER OUT OF FASHION? Polka dots aren’t a pattern – they’re a mood Somewhere between Minnie Mouse’s wardrobe and the artistic hallucinations of Yayoi Kusama lies a truth that we must finally accept: polka dots are eternal
T hey might hibernate for a sea- son or two, or withdraw from the scene in the face of the on- slaught of Scandinavian beige aesthetics, but then – just when fashion thinks it’s outgrown them – they make their return. Cheekier, better and, most often, on Zendaya’s body. Like any self-respecting diva, fashion suf- fers from amnesia. It forgets everything, except that which it simply cannot do without: Chanel No. 5, a little black dress, a scandal at the Met Gala – and, yes, pol- ka dots. They’ve been described as “play- ful”, “feminine”, “retro” and even “pain- ful” (by male fashion puritans lacking a sense of humour), but never “outmod- ed”. That’s because you can’t cancel pol- ka dots. They’re too cheerful, too flashy, too… perfectly moved.
Wearing polka dots is like winking at se- riousness. That’s why Carolina Herrera used them to build a temple of elegance, and that’s why her spiritual successor – the aforementioned Zendaya – brought to Venice a dress with polka dots the size of drink coasters and redefined the very notion of glamour. That’s also why Brit- ish princesses – who tend to be aller- gic to any radical display of personality – stealthily slip them into public appear- ances. Think Princess Diana, Princess Kate and even little Charlotte, who ap- parently inherited both her mother’s cheekbones and her love for polka dots. We must nonetheless clarify one cultur- al confusion: are polka dots sweet or au- thoritative? Girlie or an element of pop art? The answer is: yes. Polka dots can do a lot. A blouse with micro-polka dots
Just recall the New Look silhouettes that Christian Dior condensed to the max, exploding in a cloud of hap- py dots. Recall Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, walking into the box at the rac- es, wearing that brown dress with white polka dots that said, “Yeah, maybe I was something else five scenes ago, but now I’m a lady – specifically, a lady who goes to the country club.”
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