Spring catalogs are being crammed into my mailbox lately. I
opened the most recent one, and saw page upon page of blouses and dresses with
cut-out shoulders.
I thought, dang! For just a couple dollars more they could
have bought enough fabric to make the whole top!
Apparently this is the latest trend, and it’s called the
“cold shoulder.” The cold shoulder usually starts at the neckline, skips the shoulder
area, and picks up again at mid-arm ending in a short or long sleeve. One can
even buy sweaters made in this fashion, but I can’t imagine them being very
warm. One would probably have to wear a T-shirt under it.
Like most fads, this is one embraced by younger women.
According to an article in the Daily Mail online, the fashion statement being
made is to expose a little skin. Be a little flirty. Give the cleavage a rest
and focus on the shoulders – most women don’t mind showing a little shoulder. And
f you’re over 40 and have a little flab on the underside of the arm, no one
will know.
But if a woman is lavishly endowed and over 40, there’s the
issue of how to hide the bra strap. It would seem to me though that you might
see this problem only on women at Walmart, where the cold shoulder would blend
in with so many other fashion mistakes.
Some over-40 women like the cold shoulder. All women want to
look their best, and the cold shoulder kicks it up a notch without being
ridiculous. Fashion writer Sarah Rutson said, “The shoulder is the only part of
a woman’s body that doesn’t age. Shoulders don’t make us feel fat or get
bloated after a pasta dinner.”
Some people who like to speculate think the current trend is
a throwback to the off-the-shoulder look of Brigette Bardot, updated a little.
Others point out that when Hillary Clinton was First Lady, she was photographed
in a formal, black cold-shoulder dress. It has been around a while, but only
recently has it been so aggressively marketed.
Fashion experts advise not wearing a big statement necklace
with the cold shoulder. “The glimpse of the shoulder is the focus,” they say.
I wonder if it would be appropriate to wear a cold shoulder
T-shirt with my comfortable baggy sweatpants.
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