Unbored

So it’s time to update the site categories again. When I started Unbored I hadn’t the slightest inkling that at any point I’d be writing on the subject of fashion… And yet, here we are.

On Friday the 27^th of November I attended the Charity Fashion Show at Ashlyn’s School after being invited by the designer, Chantal Gibbs-Jones. I had never been to anything like this before and had no idea what to expect, though I could probably have hazarded a guess that it would involve a number of attractive, statuesque girls walking up a catwalk and posing a few seconds before walking back… That’s pretty much exactly what I got. But the important part is the outfits themselves.

Ms Gibbs-Jones’ cupcake themed exhibition contained a collection of dresses that were sweet without being saccharine, sexy without being ostentatious and elegant without being another long word that you’ll have to Google. But enough of the fashion Mag style wordiness.

I found myself wondering what I’d think if I saw someone wearing one of these outfits while on a night out. You have to detach the outfit from all the catwalk flair around it if you want to get to the real thing. If one of those models walked around in a bin bag with holes cut out they would still look good. One of the other acts actually tried it with a recycling theme… I couldn’t help but think of the ‘Derelicte’ campaign in Zoolander. As an excuse to get some of the girls up on stage wearing a bikini made of Tesco’s bags it sufficed and on the catwalk they looked good, but off the catwalk nobody outside the mentally ill would actually wear it.

The cupcake themed dresses with a vaguely 50’s vibe to it on the other hand… If I saw a girl wearing that at a party or in a club, I must admit, heads would be turning and eyebrows would be most lasciviously raised.

I can’t exactly say I’m the target audience for this kind of thing, I’m sure I could pull it off, but I don’t particularly like the breeziness you get with skirts. However, as the target for the target audience, the young men that see the people wearing them; I’d say it would work. Not just on the ‘it looks sexy’ level, that’s more a question of wearing less than wearing more, but on an image level.

These dresses give a sense of quirkiness and fun that many outfits in the fashion world do not. If I saw a girl wearing one of these on a night out, it would give me the impression that she would have a sense of humour, an optimistic attitude and a fun personality with a flirty streak. Of course that impression could always be wrong, but I’d have to go and talk to her to find out. So the Pros: You’ll look stylish and sexy. Cons: You’ll have to beat men like me off with a shitty stick.

The second half of Chantal’s exhibition was a series of elegant ball gowns in the mould of Dior’s Haute Couture collection that put me in mind of the final scenes of every American high school movie ever. They were expertly crafted and beautifully designed… Maybe it was because I was trying to work out how to get the camera I’d been given to work, or maybe it’s because I’ve always got cupcakes on the mind, but the first act left a greater impression on me. But from what I saw, they looked elegant, professional and reassuringly expensive looking. Being almost indistinguishable from professional efforts, which is really all you can ask for if you find yourself in an American teen drama. It certainly would have helped when it happened to me… Do you have any idea how much it costs to get a Dior dress?

As the guy that has written all the video game reviews on the site, it is surprising that I should take an interest in this kind of thing, but Miss Chantal Gibbs-Jones career is only beginning and I’ll be keeping an eye on it as it grows.

Check out Chantal Gibbs-Jones’ site here.