Keep the setting in mind when using fashion as an escape

The recently held Golden Globes awards showed that occasion dressing needs to be respectful, not revengeful.

Amanda Seyfried in an Oscar de la Renta silk sorbet gown, Cynthia Erivo in neon green Valentino and Nicole Kidman in a custom-made black and gold halter neck gown by Louis Vuitton–these were some of the dressed up at home looks that celebrities wore for the event. All of them commented on how good it felt to have an occasion to dress up for. While they choose beautiful and bold clothes—there was a sense of elegance to their selection. None of them pushed the boundaries too much, as that would not have been appropriate.

Last April, when we thought the pandemic would be over by summer, many fashion pundits predicted that “Revenge buying” would bring in a new wave of people shopping just to make up for lost time during the lockdown.

---

The one exception to this rule is Princess Diana’s revenge dressing moment, when she wore a fitted black off-the-shoulder dress with a rather short asymmetrical hemline to a high-profile summer party. It was the same night that the infamous Prince Charles interview was airing where he confessed to his extramarital relationship with Camila Parker Bowles. Princess Diana wanted to look like “a million bucks” that night so she decided to wear a dress out of her comfort zone. This was a moment when over dressing suited the occasion, it had a purpose.

After World War I, the time of the fabulous flapper girls in the 1920s when women’s unapologetically glamorous fashion spoke of their newfound confidence. Decadence seemed in tune with the moment. One can use fashion as an escape, but let’s not behave like modern day Marie Antoinette’s, because revenge is never the answer.