bobo

Have you heard about the latest fashion trend? Bobo. Bourgeois and bohemian. A melding of shabby anti-fashion layers with just a hint of obscenely expensive name brands. The New York Times has identified the phenomenon, and named Mary-Kate Olsen its poster child. It will be interesting to see how fashionistas attempt to affect this look. I suspect many will fail. I've always considered the mixing of old and new, expensive and thrifty, a skill mastered only by the truly stylish. The Bobo fashion domain has always existed, occupied by those who do not require the security of proclaiming their social standing in head-to-toe name brands, which, of course, ends up proclaiming their own superior rank. They don't need to care, yet still provide subtle hints for those that may not get it.

Now that they've been categorized and stripped of their exclusivity, what are the original Bobo's to do? Will they go the way of the original preppies of the eighties, who faced a similar fate when the masses attempted to emulate their age-old traditions in upturned collars and top-siders?

It's too bad really. When Brittney or Jessica go Bobo, the Bobo pioneers will have little choice but to seek a new statement or suffer confusing humiliation. Sigh, what's a girl to do...