opinion & features

R.M. GoodmanDidn’t we put this debate to bed long ago?

The Great Pants Debate … To be butch or be femme – does it even have to be a question any longer in these days of blurring gender/orientation lines?  Do we even need to have “lines”?  Hell no! – not where the Hepburns and Dietrichs are concerned or have they all gone dragging?  And if they are a-draggin’ then both genders and many orientations are still paying the icons homage – as they should be, my fashionable friends!   

Katharine HepburnThere are two Hepburns who are fashion icons of the highest order; one, the gamine, waif-like, perma-child/woman that we all remember fondly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Audrey – and the other Hepburn – Katharine – she of the fabulous plaza pants (were they not made famous because of her?) and the innate ability to riff on the menswear classics of the day.   And of course we have the great Marlene Dietrich, who once said, “I dress for myself. Not for the image, not for the public, not for the fashion, not for men.” Her public image and some of her movies included strong sexual undertones that made her desirable to men and women alike.

Madonna tried to be Kate in “vogue” and she tried to “express” herself but Madonna never got kicked out of a hotel for wearing pants like Kate did back in the 1930s at London‘s famous Connaught Hotel – or so the story goes.   I don’t care what anyone says but Madonna was original for a millisecond whereas Katharine and Marlene, with their individual senses of style, are still being debated in not just fashion circles but sociological ones as well.   

Marlene DietrichWith stout resolve, regarding Katharine Hepburn, she almost single-handedly broke down the dress code for women by insisting on wearing men’s trousers on set and off, everywhere and all the time. Her style was so informal and untraditional that she never, even after becoming a star, owned a dress or skirt of her own. One of her many awards came from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in1986 – in recognition of her role as non-conformist in modern fashion.

The following best sums up her style ….Katharine Hepburn would often come to interviews dressed in men’s suits, saying that it was “comfortable”. Without meaning to, she made a fashion statement, and women who admired her started wearing trousers, which was not encouraged at the time.

Come to think of it, there are still cases, even in this country, where pants on women is seen as inappropriate or, heaven forbid, taken to be a political statement.  One need look no further than at that institution of the high school prom.  I remember my grad, not-so-fondly, when I took a classic men’s suit, had the tailor fix it up for me and wore that for the group photo.  There were two girls in the back row with the boys.  My sin was the suit and her’s was wearing a black spaghetti strap gown. I guess that was too slutty for a country high school!  My, oh my, but were we bad or what?   One still reads of backwards thinking when it comes to what is considered proper for young ladies to wear at a formal occasion.  I find those notions to be ridiculous.

Who is my inspiration when I put on my vintage men’s tuxedo pants with suspenders over a sleeveless tank? (I just had to mention that getup as it is one of my favourite combos for the winter party season) – I keep thinking of Katharine and Marlene, their sculpted cheekbones, perfectly tailored trousers and looks that would melt hell … and I know, deep down inside that I am in good company, indeed.

– R.M. Goodman is a freelance writer and closet case fashionista. To comment on this or any other article in Outwords, writer to letters@outwords.ca