|
|
Columns
|
«Back
|
Logan's Style Watch
|
OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW……
by Logan Bentley Lessona
ROME, December 31, 2000 --As we enter the new millenneum there are a few
things that I won't mind leaving behind. When I first came to live in
Rome they still maintained an old custom whereby as the fireworks went
off indicating the beginning of the new year they threw the old stuff
they didn't want out the window.
Italians love to make noise, so that often meant old plates and glasses
and furniture went crashing down to the street below. Wise persons
learned to park their cars in a safe place. Although the custom has
(thankfully) fallen into disuse, people still refer to what they would
like to (figuratively) throw out the window. So here goes, and if you
have some to add I'd love to hear about them:
1. Bare belly buttons, except at the pool or on the beach or in private.
2. Pokemon.
3. Straight stringy blonde hair, uneven at the ends. I just saw a
picture of one of the Miller heiresses and I don't care how rich you are
or that you're a princess, it just looks messy. I could live without
those extensions, too, which always look fake.
4. Lips injected with silicone. Even Melanie Griffiths looks terrible.
5. Shoes with long winkle-picker toes (that's what they called them in
the sixties) that make your feet look even bigger than they are, even if
they are made by Prada.
6. Bare pregnant bellies on the street sticking out of t-shirts and
pants that border on the indecent. I would be terrified that mine would
fall down, don't these women ever worry? Madonna, you may be acting
like a nice church-going lady these days but you didn't do us any favors
by popularizing that look.
7. Those stupid-looking peter-pan fur collars tied with a ribbon worn on
bare skin. Don't they itch? Again, just because Prada shows something
doesn't mean you have to buy it.
8. Little girls dressed and made up like adult women wearing pierced
earrings, colored nail polish, and suggestive clothes. Let's let
children be children, learn to enjoy the simple things in life, and play
and day-dream.
9. Bad manners and rudeness. It doesn't cost anything to be polite, to
say please and thank you. Saying "Have a nice day" is meaningless if
you've just ruined mine.
10. Saying "The computer messed up." Computers don't mess up (except
when they crash). It's the fault of GIGO, that is, garbage in, garbage
out. Data entered incorrectly is the fault of the person who made the
mistake.
11. Evening dresses slit up to "there" - being seductive does not mean
letting it all hang out.
12. Those who demonstrate against fur-wearers. Most of them are wearing
leather shoes, no? And they probably eat meat, fish, and poultry. So
what's the diff? I was going to write that animals should be killed
humanely but that's a non sequitur, isn't it.
13. Expensive face creams that are useless. Christine Gorman of Time
Magazine wrote an excellent article last summer documenting their
contents, not one had enough of the "active ingredient" to do any good
but lighten your pocketbook. Doris Day's old technique of leaving your
face and body damp after a shower, slathering on Vaseline, and sleeping in a gym suit, is still the best and cheapest treatment. NAPCA, found in health food stores, is
also an excellent cheap moisturizer. Keeping moisture in the skin is
what keeps it young-looking.
14. And speaking of skin, avoiding that burnt-on-the-spit look in the
summer is worth more than any face-lift. The sun is healthy but not in
big doses, it's a lot stronger than it used to be.
15. Cowboy boots. Let's get rid of them before they start - the photos
of the patrician New England-bred Bushes père et fils with their cowboy
hats and boots are just too phony for words. Puh-leeze, can they stop
trying to act like "just plain folks"?
16. On the same subject, let's throw out all the articles and comments
about making over Laura Bush. If she likes her hair and her suits (boooooring) who
are we to say she should change them?
17. Fancy (and very expensive) cooking pots and pans. A cheap hefty
cast-iron skillet that has been seasoned correctly will do the job of a
number of gourmet pans and takes up a lot less room. I use mine for
making toast, poaching or frying eggs, cooking steaks, making chili and
crepes and at least a dozen other uses.
18. Anybody who says "I'm just telling (or doing) this for your own
good."
19. Anyone who is mean to a dog. Scientists have just discovered that
dogs can tell when somebody is about to have an epileptic fit and
Schnauzers especially are good at sniffing out tumors of the skin. Dogs
love you and accept you for what you are and are usually better than any
tranquilizer.
20. Conspicuous consumption.
Happy New Millenium!
© 2000 Logan Bentley Lessona
Syndicated by ParadigmTSA
|
«Back
|
|
 |
|
|
Privacy Statement: It's very simple, any information you may provide will not be disclosed to anybody else, period. Since you showed an interest in Made In Italy On Line we might notify you in the future about new features. We are obsessive about privacy and have total respect for the privacy of others.
|
|
|
|
|
Fashion and Design from Italy has been on the web since February 1995. It was the first ever web about fashion. We're working on a new section about Italian Design - industrial design that includes furniture, ceramics, bathrooms, home and office accessories, automobiles and other articles that have won prizes throughout the world and are exhibited in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
