"Who Are You Wearing?"

So, the question of the day to the actors on the award shows is "Who are you wearing?" Because of the east-west time difference, we get to see the actors in full evening dress in the afternoon sunshine. That's weird to me. It also seems weird to me that the focus is on the designer of the dress or tux. My guess is that in a few years the question will be "How much did your dress cost?" Everyone who is in the know can calculate easily such info from any given designers name. Everyone else must feel a little out of it. Back in my day (ahem) one recognized a Channel suit because Channel had a signature look, not because you asked. "Who designed that suit?" That would have shown ignorance which no one wants to show. Am I right?

Back in my day, you didn't have to have your people call every one's people to find out whether you would be wearing the same dress. A designer designed for you alone and the designer had a say in what worked on your body. That simply can not be true anymore.

That question aside, dressing up is a chance for an actor to be themselves, make their own costume choices and project their own character for a minute. That must be a little exciting. Are they the aging actress trying to look fifteen? Are they the actress who can't walk in her dress? Is that one the princess she seems to be?

My perception is that we all do this all day everyday. Certain conditions cage us in or give us more freedom. I can awake in the morning and decide whether I will be sporty, or hippie, or Yankee preppy, or sweat pants depressed or any number of options. I hate shopping and I own very little but I can be a lot of characters with what I have. In a kind of way we aren't much different from any previous era. You can almost always tell a Seattle person by his bicycle pants, a Marbleheader by the tennis skirt, a Parisian by her shoes and so on. In England, not so long ago, a banker wore a Bowler hat, a judge wore a wig, a country person wore tweeds and practical shoes. We dress as the character we are playing at.

My sense is that the real question that could be asked on the red carpet and to most people at any given time is "Who are you today?" and better yet, "Is your inside happy with your outside today?"

I am not dismissing the "fake it 'til you make it" approach. Nothing lightens life faster than answering "Great!" when asked "How are you?" But, there must be a better question than "Who are you wearing today?" Really.