January Jones versus Celia Johnson

Catwalking.com

Is January Jones, aka Betty Draper from Mad Men this season's pin up? I mentioned in an earlier blog that British fashion people are obsessed with Mad Men (humor us, we get US TV shows way after you guys have watched them). I certainly suspect that Jasper Conran is among those enamored, especially of the scene when Mrs. Draper strips to saucy black underwear (as I said, humor us, we only just go through series one).

Jasper would loathe to be described as one of the elder statesmen of British fashion, but he's been a reliable source of British elegance for a considerable time and usually it is way more buttoned up than it became today.

Of course there were luscious cashmere coats (all in black, every stitch of the show was black) which looked wonderfully demure, as if inspired by the photographs of the peerless Norman Parkinson, whose pictures for the 40s and 50s are, I suspect, on several designers' mood boards this season. However then it got rather raunchy, with corsetry dresses featuring seaming to mimic the structure of pre-Lycra lingerie, when it was all low cut bust cups at the front and lacing up the back. But then a model came out in a black leather bustier shown with stocking tops. No, Betty Draper would never go that far (unless she does at the end of series 2, so you guys know something we don't?). It was at that point I started wondering if Jasper had maybe, maybe just rerun The Night Porter on DVD instead? Or Visconti's The Damned? (Is there a fashion designer alive who has not got a DVD of The Damned?).

I'm curious why corsetry is such a huge trend. Is it because we are all so liberal now, anything goes? Or is there subliminal message that women need to be more feminine? When Dior did wasp waists in 1947, the sartorial signal was that women, liberated by war in terms of being out in the work place, should get back to where they belonged so the men could have their jobs back. Unemployment is rising sharply in Britain as the recession bites. But surely no one thinks 21st century dames are going to meekly keep the home fires burning?

But then, another pin up of the season is emerging as I mentioned yesterday. It's Celia Johnson "the happily married woman" who bottles up her emotion right until the very end of 1945's still tear -jerking "Brief Encounter". With all this austerity chic and neat suits in gray flannel or in tweed and then all these corsets...Phew! thank goodness, I just remembered Kind Aggugini's sleek pant suits for the working woman from Saturday. I was beginning to feel a wave of panic.