For those of us who travel the world for a living, there's a certain cache from acquiring the 'real thing' from our travels and posting. "Oh, that's just a 70 year old carpet from the mountains of Armenia," we say casually, belying our pride in having bargained for that particular carpets over 17 cups of tea. "That old thing? It's just a fabric remnant from the Ottoman Empire - it comes from a bride's dress, it's only 150 years old, no big deal," we demur when someone admires our framed pieces of gold-embroidered fabrics lovingly selected from 'the only man in Turkey' who takes the time to track down these fabrics. These items and many others combine to form an aesthetic fondly dubbed "Foreign Service Chic". Pottery Barn it isn't. Crate and Barrel catalog begone. Our African masks are right at home with our antique Latin American trousseaus which happily take their place on top of our natural-dyed rugs.
But what happens when it goes too far? What happens when we start dressing like our treasures? Ladies and gentlemen - above is a photo I would like to caption as "A Bridge Too Far". This woman may have bought this coat thinking "It matches my rugs, fabrics, bridal dresses, everything all in one!". And that's precisely the problem...
Share it, don't wear it!
Agreed! This makes me think of a certain bureau where wearing tribal accoutrement is normal. In an entirely different bureau I know someone that wears a tropical muumuu every, no every, day - seasonal considerations aside! Ladies this is DC!!! I'll admit some cool Nepalese or African jewelry or a scarf can rock an outfit for the international woman but doing the whole schbang is just too much and moves the fashion image from sheik international woman of desire to... elder cat lady.
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