KEY POINTS:
How would you rather be described today - pretty? Or fashionable? And if you can't decide, then the question is: are pretty and fashionable mutually exclusive? Where does pretty end and stylish start?
To figure out this fashion dilemma we could organise a celebrity mud-wrestling match, complete with
tag teams. On the pro-fashion side, we would have the likes of Tilda Swinton, Cate Blanchett and Anna Piaggi. They always look fashionable.
On the other side, the purely pretty team, the mud wrestlers might include Reese Witherspoon, Natalie Portman and maybe the perennially pouty Keira Knightley - because mostly these actresses always look pretty but really, they're never ultra-trendy.
And sitting on the fence, or perhaps on the sidelines, we'd have Kate Moss, the Olsen twins and Mischa Barton as cheerleaders because they can often be described as both pretty and fashionable, sometimes one more than the other.
However it might be quite difficult for a mere New Zealand newspaper section to convince all of these people to meet in one room in Auckland, let alone persuade them into the mud-wrestling pit that's maintained at the back of the Viva office for occasions just like these. So it's probably best to consider the question in writing.
First, one should define pretty. According to an online dictionary of etymology, the adjective, when applied to aesthetics, comes from a variety of Saxon and European origins, all of which mean something along the lines of skilful, artful, tricky or crafty. Around the mid-13th century the word came to refer to "fine" and "beautiful in a slight way". And the Pocket Oxford English Dictionary says pretty means "having beauty of the piquant or winning kind rather than the imposing kind".
Then again if you ask around today, you'll probably find that rather than an actual, firmly defined look of some sort, pretty is more of a feeling or a mood. It's flirtatious and just a little cute. And youth is definitely implied in the girlishness that pretty provokes. Whereas fashionable is definitely more of an all-ages kind of adjective. It seems it's no accident that the women on our pro-fashion team are older than those on the pretty-pretty team.
And possibly this is where pretty ends and fashion begins. Because of pretty's youthful dewiness there's also something slightly subservient about it. Or maybe it's better described, as one dictionary does, as "not imposing". Pretty does not make demanding or difficult statements. Whereas high fashion definitely does.
Outrageous hats, clever and unusual shapes, masculine suiting, hugely high heels, lashings of bling and bold colour - none of these make for an innocent girlish bystander. They're the sorts of garments and accessories that require confidence and style to carry off. They are sexy rather than romantic, dramatically beautiful rather than coquettishly pretty.
Conclusion: where fashion puts out, pretty just pashes. And then probably dashes.
High fashion is a hard mistress, pretty is her delicate maid.
In fact, interestingly, high fashion as seen on the international runways often turns pretty-pretty as it trickles down to the mall chainstores, where it becomes a more wearable and commercial version of its former catwalk self.
But does this make the two compliments mutually exclusive, especially in a season when straight lines overrule ruffles and big buttons have replaced bows as the detail of designer choice? Not necessarily, particularly when you come back to the fact that, as Maria sings in West Side Story, pretty is a feeling. And unless you are the fashion editor of Italian Vogue and you have an extremely high fashion image to maintain, then at one time or another you'll want to look in the mirror and sing that infuriatingly I Feel Pretty catchy song (even if it's just in your head).
And it is true that some fashion seasons are prettier than others. For instance the whole, summery bohemian look, with its peasant style embroideries, lace and ruffled skirts, had a distinctly pretty feeling. What's going on at the moment isn't quite so girlish, it's more difficult and hard-edged. And within each season, there are some trends that are prettier than others - for example, both masculine tailoring and cute smock tops are trendy wintry looks now, but obviously one has far more pretty potential.
And of course, there are always some designers who do pretty - Trelise Cooper does pretty frequently, whereas, while Zambesi frocks can look pretty, by nature they are more serious, poetic garments.
Which brings us to the most important question of all - who would have won our celebrity mud-wrestling match? It's hard to say. Keira Knightley must have learnt how to swash her buckle while filming the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Then again, you probably wouldn't want to meet Anna Piaggi on a stormy night in a dark alley. In which case, maybe the highest points should be awarded to the rank outsiders, our cheer-leading team - Moss, Barton and the Olsens. Because they could be on either side, on any given day, and they often team pretty and fashionable in a way many women aspire to. Oh, and they wouldn't be covered in mud either.
Pretty Then
Bows
Tiered skirts
Summery garden frocks
Kitten heels
Big florals
Ethnic accents
Loose, layered hair
Lace
Vintage leatherwork bag
Pale blues and greens
Pretty Now
Big buttons
Smock tops
Shift dresses
Ballet slippers
Miniature graphics
Sparkly accents
Messy up-do
Velvet
Woven leather bag
Jewel brights
Pretty Always
Tiny, covered buttons in a row
Silk blouses
Little black dresses
Courts
Little florals
Embroidered accents
Plaits and ponytails
Cotton voile
Antique beaded clutch
Dusky rose and oyster satin
