I’m not a fan of wedding clothes, or, well, elaborate weddings, as I’ve written here in the past.
(I got married quietly in a fitted black Willi Smith tuxedo jacket worn as a dress.) There was never any paging through bridal magazines, no imaginings of a white, frothy day.
Truth be told, wedding visuals are a tad too “perfect” for me, because I like a genteel-y decaying edge.
Perhaps I’m a postmodern Miss Havisham, but I’m drawn to tattered lace, peeling white paint on romantic shutters, and three-day-old cake, preferably with the frosting flowers starting to melt down the sides.
But don’t say “shabby chic,” because that’s too commercial; indeed, too designed.
Genteel decay is, to my mind, the savvier cousin to genteel poverty: there’s no implication of a ruptured cash flow, there’s instead the sense of preservation—of lovingly wearing or using something time and again. (And only the gâteau has an expiration date.)
So when I saw "Ryman's Brides" by Marlene Dumas, a South African painter, in W magazine, I was intrigued, then smitten. I like its moody lack of clarity, its haunting bridal features, and its splotchy icing-sugar dresses.
Anyone for day-after cake?
7 comments:
I'm with you. Perfection always bothered me.
Haven't checked out the latest W but I will...
so very McQueen-ish methinks... I can't stand wedding attire either!
Day after cake? Yum ;P
P.S. I did the crazy white wedding with husband #1. Toned it down with husband #2. (All before the age of 30, mind you!)
Only if the icing has hardened. There's something confusing and dark about this picture. Perfect because I'm heading home this weekend for a wedding!
Your description of genteel decay is delightful. Wow!
genteel decay. Perfect description.
Great post!
Miss Havisham is one of best characters in literature - I am a Dickens lover and worshiper.
I so very agree with you about how tiresome those frothy cliched wedddings are...
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