letter from the editor: March '05.(fashion, worst dressed)(Editorial)

The Worst Best

love the worst-dressed list. The clothes are much more entertaining than the little black dresses, silk head scarves, and tasteful diamonds on all those so-called fashion icons. Where the best is rigorously correct, the worst is flamboyant and dramatic. It's the cotton-candy pink fake-fur hat, the tutu dress and matching satin shoes with ribbons snaking up the legs. It's the gown that wants to be so much more: a stir-fry of short in front, long in back, half jacket, half strapless, slutty, prim, a little bit country, and a little bit wok 'n' roll. The worst-dressed clothes deliver costume and performance in one deliciously gaudy package. As a cautious dresser, I look at pictures of women in canary yellow ruffled minidresses and pom-pommed high heels with envy. I love the combination of a pleated Grecian tunic and combat boots or a UFO hat, as long as it's on somebody else. In my early teens, I had a brief flirtation with fringed suede, purple velvet, and patchwork. Later, I wore an acid green Yves Saint Laurent skirt and multicolor T-shirt to my college graduation. But I gave up crazy when I looked at pictures of myself and felt duly embarrassed for my stabs at ...