Today's Question

Is there a men's equivalent to the Very Short Skirt?

I suppose I should specify that it is a tasteful and sparingly used Short Skirt, as opposed to a meritrice kind of short skirt. The sort of thing that lovely business women in films wear. I ask because I found it useful when last I visited a Manuscripts reading room. I suspect they would not have been so kind if I had chosen the dress code of my female colleagues. (Ill-fitting blazer, bland collared shirt, ill-fitting trousers, brogues.)I should say that I did not plan this rather unethical use of clothes; I only packed it because it took up the least space in my limit luggage.

Anyway, do men have access to the advantages of strategic dressing? I understand that women in general are less responsive to such visual cues, but for myself, I am inclined to think the equivalent is a degree of sartorial elegance.

But I am eager to know what you think.

Immoderate Laughter

This bread pudding looks like it started life as a poultice for a yak.

A New Hat

I have often wondered what it might be like to have to have ones hair covered all the time. So, this week I have decided to find out what it is like and am going to wear a headscarf.

Tuesday: Now I know how vain I am about my hair. Much more vain than I thought I was. I never really though much of my hair, but now that I do not have it out, I feel positively haggard. I have absent mindedly almost taken the scarf off twice today. I think from that vague feeling that I was still wearing my hat inside. It feels odd to have ones ears covered for so long a period of time. There are not a lot of scarf-wearing people in St. Andrews. I have had several odd looks, and several hastily averted looks. Am I being racist when I suspect this is due to seeing a blue-eyed scarf-wearer?



Wednesday: WEll, since I felt extremely ugly without my hair yesterday, I decided on a Rapunzelly scarf. Which I like, only it irritatingly slips back often. Not very much, but enough that my hair shows a bit, *gasp*. Since this scarf does not look like a hajib, I got curious looks instead of sideways ones. It is a bit peculiar looking - I would look curiously too. It is funny but now even the slightest whisp of hair seems pretty.

Thursday: I was feeling a bit selfconscious having to wear a scarf to teach, because then is truely a situation when everyone is looking at me. But it was alright, I even got a compliment on it. I begin to suspect that hiding ones hair encourages other to think it is pretty. At least, I find it is much nicer now than I was used to think.


Friday: I like todays scarf but the dratted thing WILL insist on falling back. It is MOST VEXING. I feel a bit like a discerning nun. One who obviously won't become one if she insists on this extravagant taste in head-wear. For kicks I read Tertullian's tract On Modesty. I was surprised that he does not insist that women cover their hair. He takes violent exception to hair dye though. I thought, on the whole, it was a rather sensible tract considering he is an Early Christian writer (b. 160ish). I was expecting a lot more 'wickedness-of-women-and-vileness-of-beauty'. However, he even suggested that his strictures on modest dress and bearing ought to be adhered to by men also. How fair.