Uncomfortable Clothing

Some of you may recall the extremely expensive and painful-looking sandals that I wrote about a few years ago from a prior trip to Florence. During this trip I have already noticed some clothing I would never want to put on my body even at a small fraction of the advertised prices.

The name of Emilio Pucci came to my attention when I was in college, a time when Pucci prints were becoming all the rage for their bright colors and imaginative prints. The internet has provided me, and can do the same for you, with images of famous people of that era wearing them, such as Jacqueline Kennedy in a headscarf. Beautiful young models wore patterns of neon greens or vivid oranges that would not flatter most people but that were in themselves a delight to the eyes. Emilio himself died in 1992, but the company was revived in the past twenty years under his daughter Laudomia (an unusual and interesting name that was carried by a Medici woman in the sixteenth century and by few others before or since), the French luxury conglomerate LVHM bought a 67 percent interest in the company, and they're on a roll again with a new global network of stores.

So, here in Florence, I took a look in the window of the Emilio Pucci boutique, attracted, perhaps, by the bright colors and patterns, and what should I see but these two outfits, decorated with rows of plastic lumps resembling abacus beads. In the one on the left a person could at least sit down, though she couldn't lean back in her chair. The dress is 2390 euros ($2,702 today), while the skirt at right goes for 4900 euros ($5,540 ); the unadorned sleeveless halter-necked top is sold separately at 750 euros. I am such an old fuddy-duddy for resisting the charms of these items! Don't I understand that practicality is not the point?! (Alternatively, see Fashion Is Spinach by Elizabeth Hawes, 1938. And Jackson Hole would not be a good location for a Pucci boutique. Really not the same values. )