The Way We Look Now: Special Style Section

FASHION HAS CLAWS. Its artful adornments should not be mistaken for mere fripperies. They display the primal instincts of the predator. Ever since the days of the French Revolution, when decadent aristocrats challenged their doom by tying crimson ribbons around powdered necks, fashion has taunted with its provocative play of power.

Earlier in this century, this power lay mainly in the hands of a few women. High personal style dominated the fashionable sphere. The dictators of a sybaritic and capricious way of life, a select group of the wealthy and aristocratic exerted influence by making modish what they chose to wear.

RC

About the Author

Rachel Campbell-Johnston

Featured Tags

FASHION HAS CLAWS. Its artful adornments should not be mistaken for mere fripperies. They display the primal instincts of the predator. Ever since the days of the French Revolution, when decadent aristocrats challenged their doom by tying crimson ribbons around powdered necks, fashion has taunted with its provocative play of power.

Earlier in this century, this power lay mainly in the hands of a few women. High personal style dominated the fashionable sphere. The dictators of a sybaritic and capricious way of life, a select group of the wealthy and aristocratic exerted influence by making modish what they chose to wear.