What is bad taste?

If my comments happen to run over anyone’s taste levels, let me just say that I never intend to bruise anyone’s psyche. However, I was trained, and more likely brainwashed, by the best example to know that bad taste is whatever offends the norm or trend of society during a particular period of time. For instance, jeans were a no-no in the past — but now they are a must. How about tattoos? Even Valentino runs an ad with the model’s arm fully tattooed. Skin exposure was considered immodest in the past, but today it is acceptable. Today they say things like “slutty,” whereas my mother would say, “Like women of ill repute” or “de la quinta batida,” which refers to the undesirable elements of the fifth beating, and not the crème de la crème.

Nevertheless I will always stand for what is appropriate with a dash of surprise, or a twist of the unexpected, but in my own perspective. As Amy Vanderbilt once said, “Good manners and appropriate dress are and should be part and parcel of all gentle people.” Did my mom follow what Amy preached? Absolutely!

I would like to share some quotes I came across from my own archives. It’s a bit old fashioned, but still quite relevant, and goes back to basic beauty, grooming, and dress sense tips. The quote is from my mother’s very own beauty column, “Skin Deep,” in Career World magazine circa 1982. The title of this particular column was “Being Dressed to the Nines Doesn’t Always Rate a 10.”  

La Divina wrote: “There is much to be said about how one could acquire dress sense, but the rule of thumb is to observe trends, read current fashion magazines, and keep an open eye for what would best suit your figure, type, lifestyle, budget, environment, and climate.” It is no wonder that she read through Vogue, Bazaar, Town & Country, W, and other bibles of fashion, while keeping a keen eye when traveling through the fashion and art capitals of the world, socializing, dancing, and absorbing the lifestyles and culture of all the places she visited.  

Dress coordination will depend on the time and the occasion. Fabric, line, cut, fit, finishing touches, accessories (shoes, handbags, belts, scarves, jewelry, etc.) are other factors to be considered. But how to combine everything in such a way as to present a chic, elegant, soignée and attractive you could be a problem if one’s taste or sense of style is nil or sub-standard. Even when one has the means, without the flair and the knack for combining just the right things, the overall result could still be disastrous.

In the same column, my mother also said: “Clothes do not have to be expensive, or be of the finest material or tailoring, but it is important that it is carried well and must suit the time and occasion. One should also bear in mind that careful grooming and meticulous attention to detail (without looking too contrived) should always be the case without exception, even if one dresses casually. There is such a thing as casual elegance and uncontrived chic. When everything seems as if it was too well thought out and one looks as if she must have taken three hours to put herself together, the individual takes on an un-relaxed, every-hair-in-place look — a look that suggests that she does not look that way all the time, or that she spends hours trying to look like that and has nothing else to do but that.”

“Another rule to bear in mind is never to overdress,” she said. “It is better to be underdressed than overdressed for an occasion when there is doubt as to how to dress for it.” I recall the long gowns and fully made up ladies dripping with real bling-like jewelry, invited for a day cruise on a yacht — hilariously wrong. “Therefore just remember: when in doubt, don’t!” she continued. “And this goes for jewelry as well because adding one more piece could be too much, or using the wrong elaborate piece just to impress or for one-upmanship might only register the wrong effect.”

“Comfort was another factor,” she wrote. “If one is not comfortable, then one can never look naturally elegant or confident. One will look strained unless he or she is a great actress. The outfit must look part of you. Whatever one wears must give the impression that it was created for him or her. An integrated look always results in perfect poise.”