homage

hello there

just another post with me catching up with stuff observed, or seen, down in that there London, innit. and in this instance it is, once again, look you see, something what i gone seen darn sarf of the river, in the area usually regarded as the "east end". which is fine, except i would have reasonably expected to have seen something of this nature up north (actual) of the river, in the soho region. oh well. 

by no means could it be said that i am someone of fashion, or a fashionista, or anything like that. no. i think, or seem to recall, that the last time i was anywhere near "fashionable" was that time in 1985 when i went and bought the same green shirt what Jagger wore in the celebrated Dancing In The Street video. presumably because even i knew not to follow Bowie's dress sense in that one. yet even i am aware of some key, or important, names in the world of fashion and design. not many, but some. 

and yes, the sadly no longer with us Vivienne Westwood would certainly be a name i am most familiar with. there are many, many people who can lay claim to being the instigator of various aspects related to what gets called punk, be it the music, attitude, or even phrase applied. few, and even then only the foolish, would argue against Vivienne Westwood, in a remarkable career overall, being the mother or architect of the punk look, dress sense and, well, fashion. even if she didn't intend it as such.

there is probably not really any such thing as a wrong place to pay tribute to someone held in general and wide esteem, i suppose. yet i did find it peculiar that this was down in where i said it was, rather than soho. but, that said, it's not like i went too far around soho on my adventures, and certainly (so far as i know) nowhere near where her celebrated boutique was (perhaps is). i would take a guess that if still running they probably don't do garments my size, or of a style that i would wear. make no mistake, i would love to have some punk gear on, but me Mum would knack us. 

i can't, having established my lack of credentials, really say all that much on the fashion design she was responsible for. except, well, what did all of the "punk" fashions say to me? i don't think they were ever intended to be as scary or intimidating as they were widely derided (or praised). for me all of the punk look was to defy expectations, to be brave and confident enough to be different, to subvert things and challenge the accepted meaning. of course, not all of that was safe, in particular the flirtation with symbols which had become associated with the nazis. 

outside of fashion, so to speak, is that other thing what Vivienne Westwood was known for. which would be declining to wear undergarments (knickers) on instances where she was in the presence of the royal family. so far as i am aware this happened more than once. despite me never making it a secret that i would quite happily accept a knighthood (or similar), i've not ever really considered that i may meet a royal at some stage, so no i haven't given thought to full attire for such a thing. 

yes, i suppose it is, or would be, rather unusual for someone so strongly associated with anything punk to be in the presence of royals, but there you go. if nothing else, proof (if it were ever needed) that it was so Vivienne Westwood transcended any and all "pigeonholes", labels or attempts to be placed in a category. 

nice one to who(m)ever it was that put this tribute up. whereas i doubt (very much) i get all that many readers who may be interested, hopefully this homage gets seen by many more by me posting it here. i was certainly delighted to see it. 

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!