Mall bans shoppers' hooded tops
I have to say that the nearest I have ever got to shopping at one of these new-style out-of-town 'malls' is some god awful nausea-inducing claustrophobic place in Bromley, and the old fashioned Arndales etc.
Living so close to the West End, wild horses would not drag me into such a sterile shrine to commercialism. I moan about the pavement congestion and maelstrom of Oxford Street, but there's something organic about it, there are plenty of places to escape, and the shops are more diverse and comprehensive than anywhere else. Plus, you don't get told how to dress.
I think banning baseball caps and hooded tops is a hammer to crack a nut. You don't get marauding gangs of threatening chavs in Oxford Street and environs, which merely adds to my theory of anomie about the artificial places.
I actually think that Bluewater will enforce the ban partially. If I happen to go there wearing my M&S hooded jumper I do not suppose I would be banned. They'd probably ban me for smoking, which seems yet another good reason to stick to 'traditional' High Streets.
But I do think that baseball caps should be banned wholescale, merely on the grounds of taste. If that is fashion, forget it. Don't people realise they look stupid. Jimmy has one, which he wears when the temperatures top 80 degrees and there's not a cloud in the sky; even then, he never wears it indoors (because men shouldn't wear hats indoors) and even outdoors, only at beaches, parks etc.
I have a straw hat. It's been a while since I've sported a winter hat, but I often used to. It did attract attention, admiring attention, because I looked stylish and distinguished. Not some tacky cheap thing swearing allegiance to something of which I know nothing.
A Primary School near me got fed up of kids wearing baseball caps, and banned them, introducing proper caps for the boys and boaters for the girls. I think the kids look lovely in their summer uniform as they skip down the hill. The girls also look lovely in their gingham dresses. I'm probably a bit old-fashioned but I do believe that a smart uniform enhances self-esteem, with all the positive consequences of that.
We had a fire alarm at work on Monday. Fire wardens are supposed to wear bright yellow baseball caps. It was interesting to note that only the dorkiest, least self-aware people actually wore them, and the rest of us just carried them prominently in our hands.
The comments on the BBC page are interesting
I am a British person living in the US. Many American people wear baseball caps both to work and recreationally. Baseball is the American "National Pastime". I think this ruling is utterly ridiculous and risks offending unsuspecting American tourists on a shopping spree. It shows a complete lack of tolerance for a sartorial style, which, whilst not my own, is not intrinsically offensive. Denial of such a basic freedom makes me ashamed to be British.
In principle, he has a point. But is there a more ridiculous sight than a 'senior' US citizen with a baseball cap perched precariously on his head, especially when there seems no functional need. And I don't agree with the 'causing offence' statement. As a tourist in the US as well as in the Middle East and in various European places, I have to accept that there are rules about dress. I wouldn't sunbathe topless in the USA, and I accepted the 'no shorts' rule when visiting the White House (Actually, I got round that one by wearing smart, plain, tailored shorts!). If you resent being asked to make minor adjustments to your dress, maybe you should just stay home with the familiar.
My immediate reaction was pre-empted by the commenter who said
Does this mean that the clothes/sports shops in the shopping centre will not be selling the offending articles (baseball caps and hooded tops) then??????
The obvious answer is, of course, no. A former colleague of mine was stopped at airport security for wearing a sort-of kilt pin that held her top together. It was deemed to be an offensive weapon (never mind that she actually had Counter-Terrorism clearance at the time). She surrendered it, passed through security and promptly found any number of shops airside selling similar pins.
About the time she told me this story, I read on some blog or other someone who had their Swiss Army knife confiscated. They were changing planes at Zurich. Guess what they were able to buy airside, in transit...!
