The Little Dictionary of Fashion por C.D

Oficialmente me queda una semana para comenzar las vacaciones. Aunque me de pequeños homenajes y escapadas, no consigo desconectar del todo y dedicarme por completo a la tarea por excelencia del verano: la lectura de mil libros atrasados.

A ratos me pierdo por The Little Dictionary of Fashion escrito por Christian Dior, publicado por primera ocasión en 1954, comprado en Londres y ¡alucina! impreso en China.

No hay ya buenas imprentas en Europa ¿o qué?

Como el propio autor comenta en la introducción este es un libro a cerca de "muchas cosas se han escrito sobre moda pero nunca antes un couturier se había lanzado a compilar un diccionario de la materia".

Evidentemente es un libro de materia subjetiva o como "simplicidad, buen gusto y saber acicalarse son tres bases fundamentales del buen vestir que no cuestan dinero" según el autor.

Pero ¿después de 57 años podemos considerar que sigue vigente?

Por supuesto que no y por eso me encanta leerlo, a sorbitos, reflexionando en el vestir o en cómo ha cambiado la relación entre la ropa y el consumidor.

A continuación, algunas de las mejores cavilaciones de Monsieur Dior o Tian Dior, tal como firma.

En la A....

"AGE:

As far as fashion is concerned there are only two ages-girlhood and womanhood.

(There are also grandmothers but it is only necessary to dress as a grandmother if you have certain kind of figure and lead a certain kind of life.)

You can dress to suit yourself-and therefore your age- but this does not mean that you have to wear clothes that make you look old.

There is a slight difference in a woman´s way of dressing befrore and after marriage, too. I would not advise anyone to wear big jewels and expensive furs before marriage."

¿Qué os parece? ¿Compartís conmigo que deberíamos hacerles llegar una copia a las Anitas Obregón del mundo?

En la B:

"BALL GOWN:

A ball gown is your dream, and it must take you a dream...

I think it is just as neccesarry in a woman´s wardrobe as a suit. And it is wonderful for morale....

Wearing a beautiful ball gown you become a real woman.... all feminity and daintiness and sweetness.

You can choose almost any material -the richer the better- chiffon, satin, brocade, silks, and organdie and cotton for the younger set.

And any style -although I think full-skirted frocks look very romantic; and unless you are little on the thin side, a strapless bodice is nice.

With a siut and a ball gown you can make a tour of the world and be well dressed for almost any occasion."

Tal como lo expone, y eso que yo soy doña antiprotocolo en fiestas y presentaciones, quiero una falda de estas ya. Hasta me la imagino.

Discrepo en que con la "ball gown" y un traje me pueda hacer una vuelta al mundo y estar presentable para la mayoría de ocasiones, y es que los tiempo han cambiado y mucho.

Por la C.....

"CAMOUFLAGE:

Since the days of Adam and Eve women have been using a thousand and one tricks of dressing to make the best of themselves.

Camouflage is very, very important. Most of the art of couture is the art of camouflage because perfection is rare in this world and it is the couturier´s job to make you perfect.

In the hands of an expert such a lot can be done with clever cutting and little padding. Coats and suits, especially, can be "built" on a person."

Cuanta verdad......

Tras muchísimas palabras en la C y la D, llegamos a la E, encontrando La Palabra:

"ELEGANCE:

This is a word that would need a book to give it its right definition!

I will only say now the elegance must be the right combination of distinction, naturalness, care and simplicity. Outside this, belive me, there is no elegance.

Only pretension.

Elegance is not dependent on money. Of the four things I have mentioned above, the most important of all is care.

Care in choosing your clothes. Care in wearing them. Care in keeping them."

Y al terminar sus discípulos dijeron: hágase tu voluntad.

No se si tatuármelo o grabarlo a fuego.

En la G hay varias palabras que me encantan pero me quedo con....

"GLOVES:

In town you cannot be dressed without gloves any more than you can be dressed without a hat. And for evening nothing more glamorous than very long gloves. You can choose them almost up to your shoulders if you wish, or, if you prefer to be more conventional, have them to just above your elbow.

You can use your gloves -both in the evening and in the daytime- to give that "little touch of color", but I don´t like gloves to be too fancy. And, personally, I prefer the natural colours -black, white, beige and brown.

Long gloves give great elegance to your hands and help to make them look slim and long. I like them simple -without to much decoration- but they need to be very well cut. And when they are made of leather the quality of the skin must to be perfect.

I would prefer gloves made of fabric to leather gloves that are made of cheap skins."

He captado que se ha de ir todos los días con sombrero y guantes, pero ¿verano también?

Ayyyy....Sr. Dior, no lo está haciendo difícil.....

Terminaré con la palabra perfecta para el momento que nos traemos entre manos....

"HOLIDAYS:

Holidays are the time to wear very convenient, casual and simple clothes; but it is never the time to wear fancy clothes which look like masquerade.

You can wear skirts, or slacks, tweeds or cottons, sweaters or blouses, all the comfy, gay and casual clothes you wish.

But you must always be elegant. And I would like to say now that I think British women know perfectly how to dress for sport and holidays. For these ocasions all the world has to learn from them."

Si levantase la cabeza y viese.....

En fin, me quedo con la lectura a la búsqueda de palabras interesantes para una segunda parte.

Promete ser buena.

¡¡Feliz vacaciones a todos los que estáis entregados a ellas!!