On the Diplomatic Battlefront Those who haven't done so yet should check out the Daily Demarche , a blog run by underground conservative...
On the Diplomatic Battlefront
Those who haven't done so yet should check out the
Daily Demarche,
a blog run by underground conservative diplomats who have that pricelss extra, a
self-deprecating sense of humor. From them and the
Diplomad, we
discover such terms as the "Far Abroad". One of the more hilarious entries is by
Smiley, who describes the dangers of living in a fashion time capsule in the Far
Abroad.
We are not well-dressed. At all. There are two main problems with the dress
tastes of male FSOs. First, many of them, while really nice people and
competent at their jobs, simply lack dress sense. Even the Land’s End
catalogue, a perennial foreign service favorite, cannot rescue them -- simply
because a shirt, tie, and coat appear in the same catalogue does not mean that
they can be worn at the same time. ...
... there are some FSOs out there who are capable of being trendy. The
problem, however, occurs when they leave for the Far Abroad. Even if they are
au courant when they leave Washington DC, and they arrive at post at the
leading edge of fashion, style will change, as it always does, and they will
return to DC from some far away place some years later, failing to comprehend
that the fashion scene in the US just may have moved on, while the scene in,
say, Niamey (Niger) may not have quite kept the pace. This is true of
diplomats who have been abroad for any number of years; when returning to the
Department one begins to believe that some people must have been overseas
since the mid-seventies – this is the only possible way to account for all the
polyester grape smugglers and weird suits (plaid, linen, anyone?) one sees
swishing through Foggy Bottom’s halls.
Is there a savior for our sartorially cursed consuls and second
secretaries? Yes. There is. Behold
Manolo.
If for nothing else, the link to
Manolo is worth the
visit to the Daily
Demarche. He must be the equivalent of the
Onion or
Scrappelface for the
fashion industry. Consider Manolo's advice on
shoes, which
every diplomat, even those posted in the Far Abroad, may at one time or another
wear. His lavishly illustrated page discusses the merits, or lack thereof, of
such classic footwear as Uggs, Birkenstock, Earth Shoes and Betsy Johnsons. A
sample:
The Earth Shoe it has the famous, "negative sole" which puts the toes of
the wearer higher then the heels...perfect for making every girl look like she
has the kegs for calves. Also, this it is another of the favorite shoe of the
hippies.
Query: why do the hippies and the crunchy bohemians insist on displaying
their solidarity with the peasants by wearing the peasant shoes that cost $100
the pair? Manolo asks, if they are indeed serious about wearing the
comfortable footwear of the peasant should they not be sporting the shoes made
out of the recycled treads of the steel-belted tires?
And I thought bloggers had it bad with their pajamas.
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