By Maria Lokken
This is a fashion protest. This is a protest about fashion in contemporary romance novels. When it comes to fashion in contemporary romance novels, I think some authors miss the mark.
We all remember the contemporary romance books of the 80’s. I think every single heroine wore leggings and a cowl neck sweater. Once you get into fashion, you’re going to date the book. It’s like I always say, if you get a new haircut, and you hate it, don’t let anyone take a photograph of you. You will be sorry. You will feel stupid ten years from now when your children laugh at you — I feel it’s the same with novels. The heroine wears extremely pointy shoes, or she dons shoulder pads … ooopppssss. What’s a writer to do?
(On a personal note, I for one was extremely sorry to see shoulder pads removed from the everyday vernacular. I LOVED them. I even had shoulder pads in my nightgowns… really, no, I’m not kidding. But I look back on those quasi line backer days, and I think, “who the what now?” How did they fool me into wearing that… but then, if everyone else is doing it, you don’t look half stupid. )
Back to fashion and contemporary romance novels…
Okay, I’ve recently read some books where I thought the author really ought to have taken a look at Vogue, or at the very least a recent Glamour magazine, and if not that, please go outside and see what women are wearing in 2008 and find out what we think is pretty, sexy, and chic. The book I speak about was released this year, so it’s current. So you won’t be surprised when I tell you my jaw came a bit unhinged when one of the female characters was described as wearing a purple velour lounge suit and gold slippers, and was described as being very chic. Girls – this is most certainly not my definition of chic. In fact, it’s the kind of thing, that if I were shopping with Marisa, and saw it hanging on the rack, she’d instantly tell me “Tell it no, and don’t ask why”. That’s our short hand for it’s hideous, run, do not walk, do not even THINK about making such a purchase, you will live to regret it and it will sit in your closet for years to come, and every time you try it on, you will never wear it in public because you will never feel comfortable and you will look bad.
I’m currently reading a book and the heroine wears black jeans, a silk shirt and no bra. Struck me funny, I don’t really know anyone who goes around braless anymore. I did in the 60’s, it was quite the thing to do. But even the perky, stand up and fly right 20 year olds are wearing Victoria Secret underneath their tanks, tees and cotton shirts. It wasn’t so much the bra that hit me the wrong way, it was the silk shirt. To my fashionista sense, it seemed a bit passé…
Then there are the contemporaries where the heroine is Punked to the max. Spiked hair, tattoos, clonker boots – nope not sexy. Yeah, the hero wants to rip her clothes off, but only because he wants to heave them into the trash and take her to a stylist.
Anyway, I find it distracting, because I keep imagining the heroine wearing something that is so not fashionable, and it colors my perception of them. It just puts me off – not enough to stop reading the book, but enough to take the time to comment about it.
What about you? Are there certain fashions in romance that bother you? Or are you one of those readers who doesn’t care what they wear as long as the heat of the relationship and the plot are worth turning the pages for?
Loading ...
heidenkind
on Jun 11th, 2008
@ 11:15 pm:
The plot is the most important thing, of course. But this week (coincidentally) I’m reading a book that was written in the ’80s, and O MY LORD. The book itself is really good, but every time the heroine describes her outfits (high top sneakers? jean jacket with the collar pulled up? I can’t even imagine what her hair looks like–oh wait, I can), I have to admit it totally throws off my concentration. The hero’s outfits are even worse.
The strange thing is, when I’m watching an ’80s movie, I don’t find the clothes nearly as distracting.
Mostly, though, I don’t expect novels to be fashion-forward (though fashion-familiar would be nice). I know exactly what book you’re talking about, Maria, with the purple velour “suit,” and I had the same reaction you did.
Buffie
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 5:23 am:
Since I rarely read contemps, I hardly ever have this problem. The few I have read the fashion doesn’t stick out in my memory. Of course I am the least fashion forward person on this board. Sure I like to look nice, but I am totally awful at picking out clothes. I have to see the entire outfit displayed and say I’ll buy it. Please don’t ask me to mix and match stuff! Thank goodness my sister helps me out so I don’t look like a total dweeb. She got all the good genes!
Marisa O'Neill
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 5:44 am:
Buffie, you make me laugh. I’m with you girl, fashion often eludes me. I try for the ‘ever classic’ Katherine Hepburn look – but somehow always fall short. I make Maria go with me every time I have to buy clothes, otherwise I’d walk around in my pajamas, put on some lip gloss and be done with it.
I sometimes have a problem with fashion in romance… particularly with urban fantasy or paranormals where the heroine is looking like she belongs with a biker gang. Don’t find it appealing, sexy or particularly alluring. So, when I read something that doesn’t quite jive with my ‘ideal’ – I have to picture something else in my head, and it makes the read that much easier. For example, heroes with facial hair – that’s a no for me. So when the author starts describing how the heroine ran her fingers across his mustache – gotta quick skip over that part, because in my mind the hero has no facial hair. But really, If the book is well written, and the dialogue and plot are making me turn that page, well, the hero and heroine could be wearing moon suits for all I care.
Buffie
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 6:05 am:
Marisa — really, no facial hair for your heros??? I’m funny with that. I can’t stand facial hair on the dh. I want him clean shaven 24/7. But on a hero, I really don’t mind. Especially if it is the scruffy look, which I think is kind of sexy. But not on the dh, no way! Weird, huh?
Maria
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 6:40 am:
Facial hair doesn’t bother me – but if he’s wearing really, really, really tight jeans, I think – gosh that’s gotta hurt.
Heidenkind – I agree the plot, and for me the relationship is the most important thing – but exactly what you said, sometimes the outfit just throws my concentration.
MaryKate
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 6:58 am:
LOL! This is a hilarious post!
Well, I’m someone for whom the height of fashion is when my teva flip flops match my t-shirt (and it’s not often). I more have a hard time picturing some of the outfits. When I started reading historical romance, there was no internet and I had the hardest time figuring out what pelisse was or what bustles exactly looked like (I was 12).
I still love to read older contemporary romances. The one thing that totally sticks out to me though is all the smoking. Especially in Nora’s older romances. EVERYONE smokes. Now, I’m well known to have an occasional cigarette with a cocktail, so I’m not judging, but it’s just interesting given that these days smoking is kind of taboo and even more than that, you’re never allowed to smoke inside!
Maria, I too am a child of the 80s. I had this FABULOUS jacket that had shoulder pads in it. I wore it EVERYWHERE! Also, the 80s were the first time I wore kitten heels, which of course are totally back in style now too. I had all colors of kitten heels and wore them with my pinstriped jeans. LOL!
AndreaW
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 8:27 am:
I’m not much on fashion either. I guess I don’t really “notice” the fashion while reading (except historicals, of course). I’ve only recently started reading contemps, so I’ve not read any that were written in the 80s, thankfully. I really don’t want to revisit the shoulder pads, stirrup pants and mile-high hair. LOL
As for facial hair, I don’t mind some scruff or a goatee, but I’m not hip with a full fledged beard and mustache.
stargazer
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 10:42 am:
This post is cracking me up! Shoulder pads, tats, spikes, leather boots, skin tight pants, facial hair, tall hair, stirrup pants…..omg! If all of that was in the same book I think it would be hilarious. I have read some book though…where I thought she wearing what?!?! But, I always finished the book.
Buffie
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 11:11 am:
LMAO — Maria — I totally agree with you on the very tight jeans. Who’s looking at the facial hair then??!!!??!! LOL
I think most of us grew up in the 80s. MK, I totally forgot about the pin-striped jeans. I think I owned a few pairs of those! Of course I had red and blue huge belts to go along with them. And what about all those neon colors. I had pink and green and yellow socks and gloves and shirts. When the dh and I were dating in the late 80s, we had one set of matching clothes. I had a yellow shirt and red tank shirt and he had red jams (remember those!) and a yellow tank. Man we thought we were hot. Now looking back on those pictures . . . it was pretty lame!
Maria Lokken
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 11:53 am:
Buffie – yeah, the 80’s clothes are a scream – but please let us not forget those 80’s HAIRDO’s and the waist lines that were way above the belly button. You had to have legs that were at least 4 feet tall to pull it off… of for the love of Pete!
What I do notice is that year after year, some fashion from the 60’s comes back. Wheter it’s tye die, or patterns, or colors, or minis, or whatever. I think, for me, it was one of the best times for fashion.
keoweegirl
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 12:53 pm:
Y’all are having way too much fun over here! lol! I don’t notice fashion that much in contemporary books unless it’s blatantly out of place. A purple velour loungesuit definitely qualifies as blatant in my book. Normally, I’m so focused on the storyline that the fashion, or lack of fashion, slides right by me.
Maria, I have to agree with you on the fashion from the 60’s. That’s my decade and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished I’d kept some of those clothes! A lot of the 80’s fashions kind of bypassed me. I was married and in conservative southern banking management by that time and most of my clothing reflected that. I do remember a lot of jumpsuits with big belts during my off-work hours but no big hair. Actually, I’ve never had big hair, in any decade. Too much work.
MaryKate
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 1:15 pm:
PJ, I was just watching Hairspray last night and marveling at the hair.
Aquanet forever!
I do love the dresses with all the crinolines underneath. My mom actually has three cashmere sweater sets from the late 50s – early 60s. They are wonderful. And tiny.
heidenkind
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 1:59 pm:
MK, you make a good point with the smoking. You really notice nowadays when characters smoke on TV or in books. When I was little, I remember my mom let me buy candy cigarettes with powdered “smoke” that you could blow out the end. lol Bizarre.
Liz
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 3:13 pm:
heidenkind, i remember thoe fake cigarettes. my aunt used to buy them for me whenever we went to the flea market.
As for the fashion, I don’t have much of a problem with it unless the outfits are described in complete detail whenever the hero/heroine change clothes. I am, however, one of those people, who believes that the hero/heroine’s description should match their personality. For example, I am rereading one of my favorite books for the third time, and i have just realized that one of the main characters is a petite blonde. I have always pictured her to be a tall brunette, so now i have to try to see her as a blonde.
Marisa O'Neill
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 4:43 pm:
Well this has been a trip down memory lane. heidenkind, Liz – I too remember those fake cigarettes – and the bubble gum that were shaped like cigarettes and came in a fake cigarette pack. Those were the days when pregnant women smoked in public and everyone smoked everywhere – including elevators and Doctors got on TV and told you their favorite brands. Times change, now very few of our heroes and heroines smoke and if they do it’s not on the page.
And Liz, there have been some books that start with no description of the hero and/or heroine for several pages. They’re walking around and talking, getting shot at, or driving a car, whatever, but the author hasn’t told me what they look like. So I create an image in my head of let’s say a redhead with long flowing hair who has alabaster skin and is 5′9″… and bam, one page later she’s describing a petite brunette with ringlets – throws me totally off.
mrsrony
on Jun 12th, 2008
@ 8:09 pm:
I don’t really notice unless its ugly or doesn’t make sense. Like one book I am reading the chick is always wearing a long white silk robe that ties. She has no other clothes. While I can dig thats all she has ever worn and no one else seems to mind I do sometimes get sidetracked…especially when it gets mentioned several times. I mean dayum, can you have meaningful conversations when you are alway this shy of complete nudity? Doncha get chilled? I know when I wear a silk robe it never stays tied and I’m flashing someone something every time I turn around. She lives with a bunch of men so geesh…How do you get through dinner? One pass of the salt and its a free boobie show. What was the question?
I think the trend of labeling every article of clothing is more irritating than the clothes themselves but I do think the fashions should be kept vague as possible and not detailed every time a person moves. That way even if it is ugly…you can at least try to forget or block it out.