by Frank Pitz

Just when you think it can't get any sillier, any more mundane, along comes a news (sic) that restores your faith in the bizarre. I suppose that I could never be a fashion writer like Elizabeth Wellington of the Inky (that’s the Philadelphia Inquirer to the nicknamed challenged). There are just so many nuances contained within the sartorial spectrum that I just could never master. One must be knowledgeable in all aspects of fashion runway demeanor, verbiage and just when a particular designer is “making a statement.”

And I will admit, whenever the occasion arises that I must wear something other than jeans, sweats, cut-offs or pj’s my lovely wife goes into DEFCON-1 mode automatically. No way would I ever get out the door – in her company, or sans her company – until I pass a style assessment. As a reader, writer and journalist I’m always open to new ideas and/or trends, keeping my finger on the pulse as it were. I am also aware that fashion trends with the varying color schemes and other trappings always somehow – at least according to fashion writers and ‘other’ experts – have an underlying theme. I mean like it’s not just a suit, skirt or shoes, it means something and that something denotes just who and what you are on some fashionista’s real or imagined pecking order.

Ms. Wellington – with a few comments from supposed fashionistas’ - in a recent offering entitled "State of the attire" opined on just what we could infer (psychobabble-wise, one supposes) by paying attention to how those in attendance at Bush’s State of the Union fiesta were dressed. As proof of this her sub-hede “Powerful prefer pastels” spells it out for those of us who are fashion challenged. Dick Cheney – a true fashion maven – offset his usual stern countenance by sporting a “pink tie.” One supposes this is meant to convey his power look but tempering it with “pink tie” approachability; Cheney as teddy bear as it were. The boy Prez himself opted for a “sky-blue tie” to offset his dark-blue suit, hidden by the dais was the unanswered question as to the color of his cowboy boots though.

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