We all laughed yesterday when the news broke about pop starlet Rihanna getting told off by an irate Irish famer. We can’t imagine many men telling the Barbadian lady to put her clothes back on, but Alan Graham did just that. While fetching his tractor (yes, really) he observed Ri-Ri shimmying about in a skimpy bikini that looked like it was made out of two bandana scarves, and decided that perhaps he didn’t want her filming her latest video in his field, after all. And to that we say: bravo, Mr Irish Farmer With Principles, for voicing something that here at handbag.com we have been thinking for a very long time. Yes, Rihanna, Jessie J, Eliza Doolittle et al have the kind of figures many women (and men) fantasise about, but that doesn’t mean they have to be showing off their legs, boobs, stomachs and backs – all at the same time, of course - twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Fashion designer Henry Holland recently tweeted “Who sent the memo to all female popstars informing them that trousers / skirts were no longer necessary?!” and we think he has a point. We are bored of seeing singers in leotards slashed up to there; they would probably look more stylish if they were wearing skirts, dresses or even – woah there – trousers. Madonna kicked the underwear as outerwear trend off back in the day when she writhed on stage in a Jean Paul Gaultier corset, but that was 20-odd years ago. Now Lady Gaga and Beyoncé trailblaze the no-skirts trend – Queen B performed at Glastonbury wearing a lovely jacket and just a pair of sparkly pants, while Gaga is a fan of the gaffer-tape-as-top look. What sets these icons apart from their contemporaries is that we feel that their risqué fashion is all part of their ‘artistic concept’; they are empowered women who use fashion as a creative statement. What’s more, their talent shouts louder than an outfit ever could – they don’t have to strip off to get our attention, and will happily be seen in a full-length dress (even if it is made of meat.)
What really worries us is that other popstars now seem to have taken Gaga’s barely-there outfits as a template: skimpy clothes = success. The music industry appears to dictate that in order for a young popstar to get her career going, she has to take her clothes off – whether it is for a lingerie shoot in Q magazine *ahem*Jessie J*ahem* or performing on stage in little more than a leotard and suspenders.
It has become the norm to flash as much flesh as possible; just take a look around on your next night out and count how many girls are wearing a strapless mini dress two sizes too small. Here at Handbag we are all for personal expression in style; women should be able to wear whatever they like to convey their personality through fashion – but this ‘less is more’ attitude is completely skewed. We have no problem with someone who wants to wear just their bra and pants as a fashion statement, as long as they are doing it for them, and no-one else, but we really hope that someday soon all women, from popstars to your average girl-next-door, realise that sometimes covered-up is cool too.
Rihanna gets herself in trouble
Christina Hendrick’s iconic style
