It's a wonderful subset of people-watching. It's only about clothes and is no basis for making any sort of judgements about the person. At all. Except that they are unable to look in a mirror...!
The majority of people you see out are dressed neutrally. Plain or bland. In something that suits them, fits them, is appropriate to the occasion and the weather, and does not seek attention. Dressing for comfort. I'm only interested in those whose outfits are deliberately put together to "be fashionable" or to attract attention. People who have made the effort to put on a nice black dress and ruin it by having half of a white bra visible beneath.
It started before we had even got to Brixton. A woman got off our bus. Pink leggings down to her knees. Over them something that I assume was a skirt. At the sides barely beneath her hips, but dangling to a V that reached her knees.
On the Tube numerous examples of the wrong-coloured bra - if I was wearing an electric blue top, I probably wouldn't wear it with a green bra. I certainly wouldn't do so if the entire back strap was about two inches higher than the back of the t-shirt.
If I had a teenage daughter with a nice black halterneck top I would suggest that black bra straps would look a lot better than white. She might not listen, but I would suggest that if she wants to look good, she should listen. But then I wouldn't be the mum ruining a rather elegant trouser-and- top two-piece by a pair of knickers at least two sizes too small. A small diagonal canyon was cleft across her cheeks.
There comes a point where you have to think - if I have breasts of such significance that I can only get bras with wide straps, maybe it's not wise to wear a top with spaghetti straps. Alternatively, why shouldn't I? Yeah, I'll wear beige spaghetti straps over a red bra with inch wide straps.
Trust me, if you are so conscious that your strapless top (I say top, I mean strip of material tied round boobs) may fall down that you are hunching your shoulders and stooping, it defeats the objective of looking good.
That is a really nice black dress you're wearing. Good material, well cut, fits perfectly, if I look very closely I realise it disguises the slight curves of incipient middle-age. You have a great haircut, nice skin, understated make-up, a nice smile, lively eyes, classy minimalist jewellery. You are attractive and elegant, and not short of a bob or two, so why wear bright green scuffed plastic 'ballet shoes'?
That is a nice dress, a deep plum colour with a slight, not obvious, repeating pattern. It would look great on you if it were three sizes bigger. Oh, it's meant to be low cut. Obviously you're uneasy displaying your cleavage to the world. It's probably not a good idea to display three inches of nylon petticoat instead. Still, the purple colour of the petticoat is reasonably close to the plum of your dress so it almost doesn't clash.
Now dear, you really shouldn't have made an effort. It is never sensible to team a white blouse with blue polka dots with a pink skirt with border print. True, the blue jesus sandals do match the blue of your polka-dots and of course are comfortable, but really look a bit silly with tights. Because you've tucked your blouse into your skirt my partner thinks you're pregnant, but I say you're well the wrong side of 45 to be pregnant. The wrap around nature of the skirt emphasises that. Maybe you should take a tip from the man you're with. Is he your father? Maybe your grandfather? He's eighty five if he's a day, and he's very unsteady on his feet, needing a stick to walk just a few paces. He's wearing cream trousers, a pale blue shirt and a grey jacket. All well made, all perfectly fitting, elegant. Eye-catching at eighty five.
Again and again I concluded, those that looked the best were those that aimed for simplicity, who wore clothes that fitted, that resisted the temptation to show their underwear (there's a clue in the word), who avoided patterns, or wore just one pattern, if wearing patterns kept the accessories neutral, who'd looked in the mirror before they went out, and regarded their shoes as part of their outfit, not a minority report.
And me? Off-white top with old lace, not a peek of white bra, with red skirt so long it didn't matter I was wearing DocMarten sandals (with socks). Or maybe you saw me and thought "No, no that's all wrong." I don't generally check shoes in the mirror - shoes are downstairs, long mirrors upstairs...
