Ok ladies, help me out here: why is it that anywhere I look, in any city I find myself, I see them everywhere on women's feet? I'm talking about the baby doll flat. Are they cute? Do you want a pair in a bright color or a metallic color to wear on an easy Saturday? Sure- they're fun, they're comfortable- so why not have a pair or two hanging around....
But my issue with them is that this trend has blown up so big that it's practically a movement. A compulsory footwear item for EVERY closet...for EVERY outfit.....in a variety of colors for work and for play--with shorts and t-shirts and business attire alike.
Where did this all start? Most recently in Spring 2006 with the emergence of the baby doll dress. A dress that falls knee-length or above, with no waist, more fullness than a shift dress (think maternity) and sometimes accompanied by a full sleeve, and any manner of neck detail and embellishment. It began at Chloe and a few other design houses that season. The trend caught on in the contemporary market in following seasons and then spread to the mass market. By the Fall of 2006 baby doll dresses were everywhere, at every price point, and it was then that we saw our first baby doll flat shoes hit the market and watched (and participated) in the trend as they too blew up.
So why the history lesson on the baby doll look? I find it interesting...fascinating actually, this phenomenon...the infantilizing of women, the reinforcement of the cultural messaging that younger is hotter, and the fact that this messaging is not something imposed on women by the powers that be in fashion or by men, but is actually fueled by the very women who buy the fashions and wear them.
Now, you might say, "OK, baby doll dresses, baby doll flats, they're a trend, buy them or don't, wear them or don't, but move on already." The thing is, somehow I can't help but feel a bit disappointed when I see women all around me in dresses made for cute pre-teens and teenagers and girly flat bulbous-toed ballerina flats--ad nauseam.
I have always believed that true power comes from within. But I also know that we constantly communicate who we are by what we wear, and how we carry ourselves whether we are aware of it or not. What we wear and how we wear it tells an entire story about us before we even open our mouths to speak. My dilemma is not at all about a dress vs. a pant or about a low heel vs. a high heel--it's about the entire message that this look conveys.
For me this is about women as objects, women as girls, and I'm curious about the impulse that drives us to present ourselves that way.
Is it that in our obsession with looking youthful we've gone too far?
Is it that we're not ready to face the complex issues of our day and our lives and so prefer to revert back to our childhood and come across as 'cute' to avoid accepting?
Is it an expression of sexuality, fresh faced, unspoiled innocence on the outside - a game of smoke and mirrors masking a far more salacious inner woman?
Do we want to be taken care of?