Words by Claudia Sorace
It's the month of May. 'Well, evidently well spotted Claude' I
suppose you are thinking. But there is a reason that this month is pertinent on
the Hollywood calendar. It's also a pertinent date for Braudia. So, as I'm
sitting at my mahogany desk on a rainy, autumn afternoon in Melbourne I am
startled when Bryn, my business partner comes and sits on my desk and say's
"Claude! May is here... It's the month of Gatby's release! And so, he is
correct. You see, not only is Baz Lurmans "The Great Gatsby" hitting
cinemas, but for May, everyone has gone Gatsby mad.
Vogue's latest edition is centered entirely on the concept of
the fashion and jewellery of the "Gatsby" era. Bryn is so exited
because finally, it is fashionable to be old fashioned and for a man born irrefutably
in the wrong era, I'm sure he's excitement is boundless because he finally
feels that his chickens have come home to roost.
So as I sit as my desk on a rainy afternoon, I ponder on whether
the Gatsby influence will be a fleeting fashion trend (like last years fluro
come back) or whether the opulence of the aesthetic class is here to stay. For
the Runways, retro is back. But when we think "retro" with think
50's, 60's, 70's +, however we do not consider the nineteen twenties or round
about 'retro'.
Instead it's coined as the 'Gangsta or Flapper' period (in
America) and the latter is a far nicer term. So how do you know if your a
flapper? Well, you probably dress to compliment the period and have a dapper
young medical student that you're courting named 'Henry'. Henry takes you
rowing and for picnics and everything is wonderful until you see the browser
history on his iPhone 5 - in which case you find out that Henry, is actually
into 'furry' extra curricular and in which case, you decide to break up with
him and laugh about the experience with your friends.
So in this technical age, where Henry can get his kicks easier,
quicker and without leaving his house, and you (trying to be all dapper in your
flapper, which is incorrect nineteen twenties terminology for me, because in
fact a 'dapper' was, in those days a 'flappers' father) happen to want an old
school romance. See the thing is, half of the nineteen twenties 'Gatsby'
glamour is made up of just that, 'romance'. Why? Well it's untainted, sure people
still drank, cheated and threw their chaise lounge's out of hotel windows, they
didn't, however publicize it. So, essentially, 'Henry' was the perfect man. By
perfect man, I mean it wasn't recorded on friend finder where he relents his
seedy goings on, or was incriminated by Facebook tags.
But what else attracts us to Gatsby? Well, of course the
glamour. It's essentially what everyone woman (in her right mind) wants;
glamour and romance. We liken to Gatsby, because let's face it - if Leonardo
DiCaprio is offering it up...who is going to say no?
The reason the Gatsby era is so appealing is because that all
important glamour equates to people trying harder. Think about the ever popular
Downtown Abbey, and the eloquence it promotes. Why do we love it? Because the
men wear tuxes and the ladies spend lots of time finger waving their hair.
I say now, that you should enjoy reminiscing the 'jazz period',
even if you never lived through it. There's no actual going back for us tech
age folks, but for an evening - take your other half or fabulous friends and
transport yourself back to a time when love and romance were untouched by the limitless technology we possess today. What's more? Leo may be looking older
these days, but lets he honest. We'd all still have a go...
The Great Gatsby opens in cinemas on the 30th of May.
Snatch the June Edition of Australian Vogue for further Gatsby Madness.
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