My hairdresser referred me today as “the one who always wears red lipstick.”
“Like Kathy Kirby,” he mused, standing over the sink in which my hair was immersed. “You’d be too young to remember her, wouldn’t you? She died last week.”
I Googled Kathy Kirby when I got home, and sure enough the late starlet (a sixties songstress, if you too are too young to remember her) always donned a glossy pout of bright red.
Being defined solely by the colour of my lipstick has made me acutely more aware of how easy my style is to break down.
Red lipstick, a menswear top, pencil skirt, black tights and brogues = a good 90% of my outfits. I have two signature scents which I wear on rotation, but they’re both by the same brand. My hairstyle has changed little for over a year, bar growing a bit longer between cuts. I own few items which aren’t either black, white, grey or red.
To a certain extent, my restricted sense of style is financially related – I don’t get to spend much money on clothes, so when I do, I tend to buy things I know will go with the rest of my wardrobe (hence the masses of monochrome and red). But I also think there’s also an appeal in finding a look that best encapsulates who you are and sticking to it – like Edie Segdwick, with her uniform of leotards, black tights and chandelier earrings; Vita Sackville West in her menswear; Coco Chanel’s tweed skirtsuit and pearls; or Kathy Kirby’s bright red lips.
I like to think I take a bit from each of these – the boyishness of Vita thrown in with ladylike Coco, and the monochrome of Edie topped off with Kathy’s red. Which essentially makes my ‘signature look’ an appropriation of various others’ signature looks – and thus, not really ‘mine’ at all. I’m not sure if that’s post-modern or another sign of sartorial laziness.
Rosa Abbott is an arts, fashion and culture obsessive originating from Yorkshire, England, and currently living in Dublin, Ireland. On top of being a student at the illustrious Trinity College, she is a freelance journalist, writing for a number of Irish publications, and also edits the visual arts section of entertainment magazine Totally Dublin.
When she’s not up to her eyeballs in writing, Rosa works as an assistant to stylist Aisling Farinella and volunteers at various art galleries. Her musings on life, style and art can also be found over at her blog, Too Gallant.
