Whatever her function, it is clear that the graceful bulges of the Venus of Willendorf are an idealized exaggeration of the female form. Even though she is at least 25,000 years old, to my eyes she is an obvious fashion figure. The belly doesn’t get the glorification much any more. And yet, every so often in modern western history (and I’m sure outside of it, though I am oblivious) the belly gets to stand out.

This idealized torso, possibly of the Egyptian queen and famed beauty Nefertiti and dating to around 1350 BC, is quite slender while still featuring a pronounced belly. The Egyptian ideal is quite exaggerated. While ancient Greek representations of female forms were certainly not thin by modern standards, they were balanced proportionally, with the belly not standing out any more than any other feature.

Jan van Eyck’s 1434 masterpiece The Arnolifini Portrait features a fashionable couple, possibly celebrating their betrothal. Many modern viewers wonder if she was pregnant – all evidence points to no, and as you can see in this van Eyck depiction of Saint Catherine (on the right), the woman is just wearing contemporary fashion. The Arnolfini family were merchants, and are showing off their wealth with abundant quantities of fabric. Her gesture is possibly meant to indicate hopes for a fruitful marriage – hopes that were never realized.

The high-waisted silhouette featuring a convex belly was a long running trend for the 15th and 16th century female form – whether depicted dressed or undressed, by Botticelli in 1482 (as above) or by Cranach in 1528. These are fashionable bellies, not pregnant bellies, though it seems obvious that their fecund appearance was a significant part of their attraction. This trend very gradually, and in different ways in various geographical regions, began to evolve into the conical, geometrical torso of the Elizabethan woman.

The peascod belly (this example from 1569) is a bit more ridiculous to modern eyes – as it was to commenters at the time. The garment that clothed a man’s torso – the doublet – went through various phases over a few centuries, from more padding in the chest during medieval times, then less padding, and then more padding again. In the 16th century, the padding extended at the lower torso. The male belly became an abstract shape, described as a “peascod”. Echoed in armour, this protrusion was sometimes almost pointy.

The look was achieved with padding and was balanced out with padded sleeves, codpieces, stuffed hose and square toes - a bombastic silhouette most famously worn by Henry VIII. In this case, the look seems to be about abundance in a different form – masculine girth was probably meant to evoke solidity and strength – and later on as fashion turned, reeked of excess and machismo.

These young princes in 1637 are wearing heritage armour with distinctive peascod shaping, though by this time the style for this shape in the doublet had fallen out of favour.

Female and male waists alike remained nipped in throughout the 17th and 18th centuries until the French Revolution. A sudden resurgence in classical styles created a dramatic change in fashion and for a couple decades, women abandoned the waist. While the belly isn’t exactly the focal point of this trend, displaying a sense of relaxed roundness (these fashion plate examples are from 1806) does seem to be considered attractive.

Outstanding stomachs have been absent from modern fashion ever since. Even when styles are relatively waistless, as in the 1920s or the 1960s, the concavity of desirable bellies remains a constant. When lower torsos do appear in the spotlight, it’s only under two circumstances – here capably demonstrated by pop singer Christina Aguilera:

The turn-of-our-century trend for midriffs doesn’t quite compare to the other examples I’ve cited because the focus is on the absence rather than the presence of a belly. Still, expansive gaps between upper and lower garments do draw all the attention to the navel, and as with the other feminine examples, it is very sexual.

The trend towards displaying the pregnant belly – shocking as recent as 1991 when Demi Moore graced Vanity Fair – has now become a mundane facebook trope. Google “belly” and most of what you’ll find is garishly painted, proudly exhibited pregnant bellies. Pregnancy, which used to be something to conceal, has become something of a bulls-eye, with or without apparent irony. Does that indicate that fashion is full-circle cycling towards to fertility worship?

Sort of like square toes, bellies only seem to make sporadic appearances, and without any sort of obvious recurring pattern. It also seems like it is wholly out of our control – the hue and cry over the absurdity of the peascod belly did nothing to end its thrust. Modern campaigns meant to promote the idea of all bodies being considered beautiful – belly-ful or otherwise – are more than a bit hopeless. In history as now, bellies are only idealized under occasional circumstances.

A new paper doll! It has been over six months since the last one. This one is inspired by another British fashion model, Naomi Campbell, and some of the memorable outfits and items she has worn over her significant career. Making this doll, I was struck by Campbell’s amaranthine beauty – her body is so finely formed even fashion designers hesitate to cover it up with much – and her super-sweet smile. In this format, I can only capture a fraction of the essence of this incredible female.

You can purchase a high-resolution, print-quality PDF of this doll personal use, to print, cut out, display and play with, for just $9 USD.

Welcome to click click, the sporadic review of what I find worth clicking on the internet.

Details of an 1874 Levi’s denim 3 pleat blouse, via Loomstate and Just Goods.

• Interview Translation: Coco Chanel on fame, trousers, creativity and the moon – this wonderful post reveals a lot. I had watched the 1969 footage and was intrigued by the designer’s body language. I searched and couldn’t find a translation, so I’m grateful that brilliant Lucie provided.
• The Beheld – what Final Fashion is to clothes, The Beheld is to beauty. I’ve enjoyed digging into Autumn’s archives. Two recent posts riffing on ideas of intimacy and appearance – The Privacy Settings of Pyjamas and My Love of Slips.
• Six Theses on Pinkification – talking about symbolism and significance of my other favourite colour.
• The Blind Hem – a new collective my-kind-of-fashion blog with a great set of contributers.
• “Brand Me” – this article was making the rounds amongst the Toronto twitter contingent this week. I don’t think any of these subjects just “happen to be blonde”, and to be honest, I would consider myself one of them. The implication that self-creation is somehow insincere doesn’t reflect my experiences at all. I also think that the word “branding” is more accurately applied to inanimate products than people.
• How Maggie Thatcher was Remade - a closer look at the history of a very deliberate aesthetic strategy. See also - Costuming in The Iron Lady.
• waiter, there’s a hair in my satire – A great collection of caricatures mocking the excesses of Ancient Regime hairdos.

Old-school karma for new-school friends -

• Yes, Jessica? - “My name is Jessica. I live in Chicago with my two dogs.”
• Dressful – “exploring fashion beyond its surface: trend interpretation, fashion blogging, visual inspiration, fashion industry analysis and commentary.”
• Anytime Yoga – “I’m a longtime yoga student and an amazingly busy person.”
• Be Fabulous Daily – “icons and inspirations, as well as active strategies for frugality and wardrobe-editing that I’m pursuing in my own life.”

The first edition of Modecast was an unqualified success. For an exclusive audience of about 20 individuals, Barima and I proceeded to knock back a bottle of very fine whisky and talk style and culture, as we do. If you missed it, you can watch the recording…

Topics we covered…

• This edition’s intro – “Everybody Dance” by Chic.
• This edition’s official drink – Gordon & McPhail Single Malt Scotch Whisky, neat. Drunk from coffee mugs and chased with Tesco sparkling lemonade.
• Straight Talk – we discuss a New York Times article about post-metrosexual straight male fashion bloggers.
• Jake Davis Blog – we like what this dude is doing.
• Christopher McDonnell – a 1970s London fashion designer that we know nothing about, other than we like his white suit.
• Coco Chanel 1969 interview translation - sometimes when you can’t find something on Google, you can ask a friend to post about it for you. This is a revealing treat, thanks Lucie!
• London in Ruins by Gustave Doré – discovered in this book.
• Another Garçon - shout out to fashion blog friend and street style photographer Jonathan who was a very active contributor to the show.
• The Style Blogger – referenced on the topic of standard street style poses for men.
• Hedi Slimane at YSL – Slimane’s earlier work was gutsy and unusual and worth a long later look.
• Joe Orton – a gay playwright famous for black comedy and taking on taboos, who died tragically.
• Pan-Africanism – we briefly touch on greater ideas before reverting back to frivolity.
• Toe to Type – we attempt to discuss inappropriate toe shapes for men before completely dissolving into our cups.
• This edition’s outro – “Life’s What You Make It” by Talk Talk.

We had a lot of fun and having reviewed the footage, have some ideas of how we could improve for the second edition. We also thank you for your participation and welcome your comments and suggestions. We’d like to do this about once a month, so please stand by and join us next time.

Want to have a drink and hang out with me and Barima of Mode Parade? We will be talking culture and style, live, on our new modecast channel on Sunday, January 29 at 9pm GMT/4pm EST. Please feel free to ask questions for us to address on the broadcast. Just email your bit to  finalfashion@gmail.com. Of course we also invite you to watch and join the discussion live by chat, twitter or facebook.

This edition’s topics include cocktails, theme songs, straight male fashion bloggers, toe shapes for men, and whether makeovers are somehow disingenuous, etc.

This is just something we’re doing for low-fidelity fun, and depending on how well we do it may become a recurring feature. As this is the first time we’ve ever attempted this, we expect to be a little bit lost and somewhat tipsy. Your attendance, patience, and contributions will be most welcome.

What connects a head to a toe? The human being in between. They say that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their shoes, and leading that line of thought is the shape of the toe.

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Pointed toes still carry connotations of aristocracy. The French Revolution all but ended the era of men wearing pointed pumps. Men renounced fashion and leisure and adopted more practical clothing that emphasized the worthiness of work. As such, the pointed toe – like most features that are considered more fashionable than practical – is considered the most feminine toe shape.

The only time pointed toes are considered masculine in modernity is when they are equestrian – the classic cowboy boot’s point is meant to make sliding into stirrups simpler. It’s indicative that points are better for riding than walking.

Off the saddle, the pointed toe is the most impractical. It crushes the toes together and causes health problems. The extension to the length of the foot leaves the toe vulnerable to wear – pointed toes only really look good fresh out of the box. They’re not for working in, in either sense. Today they are considered the domain of high-maintenance women and dandified men. Points really offend some people.

Economically, pointed toes tend to come into fashion when times are good, perhaps too good. In 20th century, points were in vogue at the turn, and again in the 20s, the 50s and 60s, and the 80s.

Points are about extremes – a shoe celebrating individuality, materialism, hierachy and sexual distinctions – they symbolize conservative values without being conservative about it.

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Round toe shoes, on the other foot, are proletariat. Round toes are for working in, in both senses. If you look on any menswear forum, the overwhelming consensus is that a round toe is the only sartorially acceptable, masculine choice. Any other toe is considered too try-hard for modern man.

The military boot, the trainer, the ballet flat – the round toes are task-driven by design, but well-rounded in terms of versatility. Being the most practical shoe, they’re common in all senses of the word and worn by ordinary people by default, whatever the trends of the time happen to be. They’re as ubiquitous as Ugg5 and Cr0cs. Still, they’re just as almost as abstract a shape as points or squares, not echoing anatomy. Anatomically-inspired footwear that echoes the bare foot – shoes with articulated toes or thong sandals – are considered either very casual or very weird.

Round toes tend to be popular in hard times – in the 20th century they were worn in the 30s, 40s, 70s, and late 90s. They remain the most current style at the present moment, despite occasional glossy proclamations that round is over, points have failed to gain much more than a niche toehold in this century.

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Square toes occupy a bizarre middle ground. Perhaps the least anatomical of all shoe points, they seem to exist in the neither-world between the binary of round and pointed.

Henry VIII is the most famous square-toed king, and favoured a look considered sporty at the time. The blunt foot was a reaction to the Medieval popularity of super-extreme pointed shoes after they were banned by Henry IV. By the time of Good King Hal the square toe was almost as ridiculous as the preceding “Poulaine” points – “bear paws” or “bags” described shoes that could be as wide as 6″ at the toe.

The other famous square toe – the pilgrim’s buckled shoe – is a modern myth. When the Mayflower made its trans-Atlantic voyage in 1620, buckles on shoes were unknown (in London, Pepys’ diary records his own adoption of buckles in 1660) and what evidence exists of what the pilgrims wore indicates that the men wore round shoes and the women wore points.

More recently, square toes were briefly trendy in the late 1980s and early 1990s – which is where they acquired that lingering taint of distaste reserved for too-recent fads. Today, wearing square toes reveals that you are either unaware, or don’t care about fashion. They seem to be considered acceptable to wear in middle-class offices. Perhaps more so so in places like the civil service where employees are reluctant to wear their personal politics on their sleeves – or their feet.

The square toe represents equivocation or hegemony. It is a style non-statement.

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Personally, I have always worn round toes my entire life, and own just one pair of almond-shaped toes which have as much of a point as I can handle. What do you wear?

Welcome to click click, the sporadic review of what I find worth clicking on the internet.

Aren’t these costume caricatures wonderful? Check out these waltzers. There’s loads of them, and more – on this page full of treasures.

• Dancing with the Stars – Lewis Lapham draws erudite connections between celebrity, the worship of graven idols, politics and tabloids. Well worth a slow read.
• The Horror of the Milan Shows - revisiting Liberty London Girl’s classic insider rant (in 6 parts, both from the editor‘s and publicist‘s perspectives) is entertaining and educative. My Milan fashion week couldn’t have been more different. But then again, I didn’t have any jobligations. And hey, just for counterpoint, why not read an outsider rant from a jock?
• Iowa fashionistas savage Cintra Wilson – it’s easy to imagine Iowan ire making Wilson smile. She actually let the Hawkeye state off pretty easy. If you are in New York on April 3, go to this! Wilson is giving a free talk about her perfectly titled book “Fear and Clothing”.
• “Il Papa non veste Prada ma Cristo” – disabusing us of the fashionable urban myth that the Pope wears Prada. The devil wears Prada, the Pope wears Christ – the red shoes represent the martyrdom of Saint Peter, the first Pope. Speaking of Prada mythology, the living designer is not so pleased to be curated and compared alongside Schiaparelli.
• Said Language to Fashion: “OMG, I Die” – Sarah Nicole suggests you create your own Manual of Style. Fashionable phrases lose their freshness so fast.
• Looking Forward - The curse of the catchphrase: Christian Siriano’s boyfriend talks about the lingering aftermath of the Faustian bargain the designer made with reality television.
• If the Clothes Fit: A Feminist Takes on Fashion - this is the mirror image of my post on fashionable feminism. I especially loved the reminder of the Green-White-Violet colour symbolism. Big hat tips to this great post on The Frisky for making the connection.
• The Identity Crisis – an interesting response to my post on self-creation. I disagree with the premise that conscious self-creation is somehow disingenuous, as I believe a successful identity reinvention is just as much intuitive as it is calculated. Also check out a previous post by Paul, The Plight of Personal Style.
• OWN Visionaries: Tom Ford – watch the revealing Oprah documentary about fashion’s premier ‘personality’ designer.

All the latest karma can be seen on the promenade…

• The Style Confessions - “a fashion blog devoted to inspiring women to feel glamorous and beautiful”
• Virtual Makeup Artist – “Send me a picture of yourself and win a fanciful and extravagant virtual makeup.”
• Boudoir de la Mode –  ‘Fashion is as profound and critical a part of the social life of man as sex, and is made up of the same ambivalent mixture of irresistible urges and inevitable taboos.’ Rene Konig
• The Beheld – one of the best beauty blogs I’ve ever seen. Check out this post about the problem with fitting human shapes into geometrical (or fruit-shaped) slots.
• Coffee and Heels – “Fashion editor, writer and international daydreamer. Rockstar girlfriend. Vegetarian.”
• Crazy With It, Crazier Without – “WRITE ME ELECTRONIC LETTERS, CRAZIES!!”
• Meaghan Gallant – “Dream big, make miracles.”
• Adventures and Tea - “hopefully during my journey I’ll figure out what exactly it is that i’m doing… ;)”
• Careers in Fashion – it’s always an honour to be included in a lineup of much-admired fashion bloggers.
• polished – “Express your best self without saying a word.”
• Une Fille Comme Les Autres – this shoutout made me smile, a lot.
• The Secret Goddess – “I believe we are all goddesses inside and that we all deserve to live our most awesome lives <3″
• Rachel’s Symbiotic Life – “My blog is all about Food, Fashion, Beauty, Art, Photography, and Health.”

My first show was Corneliani – the morning was chilly and we got off at the wrong bus stop so we hustled through frosty streets to get to the venue – a design museum. The runway was one of the longest I’ve ever seen and curved, with watery blue projections along the curved wall. The clothing was very clean and careful, grey clusters of grown-up wool suits and handsome, substantial bags.

I have to admit that during Frankie Morello, I was so distracted by the show I forgot to draw it. I love seeing showmanship (literally) on the runway – it’s too rare. Morello sent out punky clubbers bristling with nails and fur and cool downtown boys in beanies, which gradually relaxed into hippie-dudes with bindis and sarongs. For the finale the model’s sarong hung dangerously low until it was dropped with a flourish. Morello literally had the entire crowd leaning forward in their seats and practically salivating. Now that’s runway.

The John Varvatos show was another highlight. Inside a shabby church with chipped plaster and a faded painted angels on the walls and ceiling, they reproduced a bit of Central Park and sent down a series of exquisite New-York-style imaginary boyfriends. I loved drawing this show. The other fun part of this show was getting to sit with the team from Holt Renfrew and for the first time having the opportunity to introduce myself to a Canadian fashion inspiration, Barb Atkin. I was not expecting to see a familiar face in Milan, so this made me smile.

Iceberg had a modern-times backdrop and a bit of Charlie Chaplin rumpled flair. Bowler hats tipped-back, big cardigans and hands in pleated pants-pockets. As a proposal for menswear it was charming – but somehow it didn’t inspire my best work. Perhaps because I switched to markers from watercolours at this point, I was still getting a handle on a new medium.

The final show, Gazzarrini, was the show that was perhaps the most peculiar. It doesn’t take much in menswear to cross over from interesting to implausible. If I met someone wearing these clothes in real life, I would find this person a somewhat strange character. Pin curl pompadours, funnel necks, very high-waisted trousers, and a pop-o-flouro palette.

As usual, you can see the development of sketching over the course of the week – stiffer at Corneliani and very loose and abstract by Gazzarrini.

I did find my first menswear week to be much more chilled out than any womenswear week I’ve attended – perhaps giving a taste of what fashion weeks were like in the pre-blogger days. I saw only a small handful of street style photographers and met only a couple other bloggers – though of course the shows I attended were not the hottest tickets. It did feel like there was space for everyone that wanted to be there. And of course, the people-watching was wonderful – folks were well-dressed and well-groomed, and there were very few show-ponies.

My whirlwind tour of Italy  is concluded, and I’m sifting through a pile of sketches at my desk now. To place-hold while I catch up, here is the most successful live sketch, completed while the show was in session. John Varvatos presented a lineup of New York rock-star crush objects which seemed to inspire some of my better work.

Studio Supplies

• watercolour paper
• watercolour field box
• squeezy brushes
• pencils, sharpener, eraser
• markers
• marker paper
• notebook
• small tablet
• scanner
• various chargers & USB cords

Clothes & Such

• makeup & toiletries
• red & blue plaid skirt
• blazer
• 5 tank tops (blue & white striped, black, white, red, blue)
• white henley shirt
• 2 buttoned shirts (blue and white)
• 2 cardigans (red and blue)
• navy blue brogues
• packable windbreaker
• sequinned scarf
• small red handbag
• black leggings

What I’m Wearing Today

• jeans
• leather belt
• black Dr. Martens boots
• black tank top
• black buttoned shirt
• black hoodie
• red printed scarf
• blue coat
• white toque