If women ruled the world they wouldn't be objectified and judged on their appearance. The standard of beauty wouldn't entail being 6 feet tall, 100 pounds, and covered in makeup. Their bodies wouldn't be deformed by wearing stiletto heels.
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One reason that I moved away from Manhattan is that I couldn't stand the pressure to wear high heels. I met a bunch of female professors, lawyers etc. in Boston area who also said that they hated high heels and went to lengths to avoid them -- like moving to Boston, a more casual place. Hillary Clinton's clothes during 2016 campaign were great. Do you think she lost votes that she would have gotten if she had worn tight skirts and high heels?
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This is insulting at best. Why would anyone care? Do we question men's wardrobes? Their beauty regime? We will never be treated equally until media stops this mindlessness. Please stop.
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Phoebe Philo understood how women want to dress.
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The Dior show is stunning!
"If" women ruled the world? Hey, I'm married -- they already do!
OK, bad joke -- the best marriages are great partnerships. I am amazed at the resilience of all couples who know the frailties of their partners and keep right on valuing, loving and working together.
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Haute couture is a parody of itself, absurd, ridiculous and embarrassing.
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That’s dressing for reality?
If women ruled the world, what would they wear? Certainly not this.
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You want to know what women would wear if they ruled the world? I suggest you check out Savasarala's wardrobe on The Expanse.
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Somehow, I can't see Nancy Pelosi, a strong ad competent women if there ever was one, in any of these silly outfits.
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And this is a good thing?
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Women wonder why they aren't taken more seriously.
I offer exhibit A.
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Seriously, do you not see a problem with the question you’re posing?
Sadly, perhaps even an answer?
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Being anorexic and pigeon-toed, dressed in couture no-one would wear in public on a daily basis, is not a good look.
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We have rulers, what we need is leaders. You know, ones that read and think and aren't just about money and power.
Let us consider anyone who wants to rule us as equivalent to royalty and chop off their heads.
These outfits representing reality? On what planet??
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They wouldn’t care. And it would be comfortable. Especially the shoes.
Presumably they would wear clothes. Have to admit that I find the title offensive.
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Pants. Those who rule wear pants, except for the speaker of the House.
if women dressed like this, they would rule the world.
Clothes. Let’s move on. The world’s burning.
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Tailored pant-suits and Rachel Maddow's hair cut.
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Women can't rule the world. We're too busy angrily yelling at other women for being too thin (either naturally or not, doesn't matter. you're thin? you're part of the problem). Or we're too busy feeling bad about being overweight. And then ageism comes in and we're told we can't wear graphic t-shirts after age 30, yet the men's section in any given store is nothing BUT graphic t-shirts until the grave. So, maybe the skinny girls and the big girls should stop pointing fingers at each other, buy a bunch of graphic t-shirts, and plan our next move. Otherwise, looks like we're gonna keep spinning our wheels in outfits that are impractical, at best.
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Not these things! Look at what Nancy wears. Look at Duchess
Kate. Look at the Queen of Spain. All these pictures look like costumes for Alice in Wonderland. Do real people wear any of this stuff?
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Who cares? Women, please do not be duped by the fashion and beauty industry. Their only aim is to make you feel wholly inadequate so you will buy their overpriced merchandise.
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If I ruled the world, I would wear Edith Head designed clothes...
Most of the commenters don’t seem to remember the scene in The Devil wears Prada when Miranda explains the cascading influence of fashion to the ordinary person
If women actually did rule the world, would we still have articles like this, illustrated by models delicately referencing the edgy world of eating disorders, substance abuse, bad boyfriends, and too much money?
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I wish fashion would divorce itself from the haute couture show and focus on the business of making clothes for women, not the publicity stunts of walking clothes hangers on the runway. If you look at vintage images of the couture houses of years past, they would make models (dress forms really) of their top clients to speed fittings. Not one of the torsos on the shelf was what we’d consider skinny or svelte, but she’d leave that house with a costume design that suited her to a tee. Fashion was about the individual.
The catwalk idea was born of ready to wear – a show to off a set of stock designs and not true couture (haute couture being truly high end, custom and unique work). Real women and their needs, even very rich ones, aren’t part of the equation because the catwalk is about publicity and not fashion. Further down the line, even the artistry is sacrificed to the alter of mass production. There are only so many silhouettes available than can be produced cheaply, so the couture houses add flash and bang to distract from the lack of form and finish in the work they actually sell.
Charles Worth, the founder of haute couture, stated that he liked American women because they had faith in him, figures he could put into shape, and the francs to pay for it. The only thing left in that equation is the francs. We are expected to conform to a body type (because anorexia is better for you than tight lacing a corset?) and hope for clothes and not art.
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What would we wear?
Are you kidding me? This is the most important question to consider when discussing the empowerment of women?
Maybe not the place to ask this, but what's the point here? These clothes only exist for the runway, or am I wrong? I really would appreciate an explanation.
If women ruled the world....what an interesting proposition and yet the article is only concerned about what women would WEAR. How disappointing. Surely if women ruled the world they’d be so busy ruling - ending wars, stopping violence against women, improving reproductive health, pursuing education, introducing paid maternity leave, flexible work arrangements, advancing children’s rights, and saving the planet against climate change (it’s no accident that many leading climate activists are women and girls)- that what they were wearing would would be the least of their concerns.
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I appreciated the question - if woman ruled the world - what would they wear?
This past week - in a effort to disrupt my personal dysfunctional relationship with cute clothes, I wore the same thing for a week and NO ONE noticed and/or said anything. I changed underwear and added an under layer for warmth but otherwise the same.
I saved lots of time in the morning and evening. It was a little bit of a mental struggle to “be the same” every day but it was partly to really get at the root cause of my thinking about having so many different “outfits” in my closet and yet still wanting more.
My outfit this week is also cute - although sadly I’ve discovered a hole in a jacket I just bought last year. I am going to keep up my “outfit of the week” approach and see how long it takes for someone to say something.
That’s something I would like to see fashion designers work on - the best, “wear this every day” clothes - with plenty of pockets, layers, easy to clean and dry, comfortable, long lasting, make me feel good, made out of sustainable materials by people earning a decent wage, insurance etc.
Thanks again for asking
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@Liz Pallatto I wore uniforms at catholic schools, wearing the same thing every weekday, all day, for 12 years. Ever since I routinely wear the same thing until it needs cleaning, with a different scarf or sweater. No one notices, no one comments. Turns out, for most of us, clothes don't matter.
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Wow! Thanks for this comment. I anxiously put on the same clothes today and then read your thoughts - so good to know I am not alone. Yeah, I have been thinking about clothes as uniforms and how they represent “service” or “conformity” to many folks such that they seek to distinguish themselves with clothes to be seen as a person and individual. I can appreciate that mindset but when it gets us into habits like “fast fashion” - we need to recalibrate. Thanks again.
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I loved this! Thank you New York Times for bringing this fashion show to us in all its beauty and fantastical array! Great to think about emergent female power and the forms it could take if we unleashed our imagination. And to the other commenters, “Lighten up!” These are barely wearable fantasies that serve as art and inspiration, not blueprints, for designers and buyers. If anyone wants to see some great outfits for albeit imaginary female rulers, I suggest doing internet searches for Commander Lexa on the show, The 100, and for Danyris Targyrean on Game of Thrones. Creative, graceful, and powerful and sometimes using incongruous materials like car tire tread, intricate braids, or symbolic adornments.
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If women ruled the world, they would wear whatever they wanted to wear, how they wanted to wear it, when they wanted to wear it.
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Hmm, just like men wear whatever they want? Hardly. Neither men nor women rule the world in any meaningful sense. The norms of a given society govern what styles are considered appropriate and what behaviors are acceptable, which will differ considerably from culture to culture.
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That may be he case in Marin, but I can assure you most of the men I know wear what they like, and couldn’t care less what Paris says is en vogue.
@Word Smith the norms of society don't spring forth from the ground all of a piece. They are defined and set by the members of society. Typically by men. Nice attempt at a diversion though.
I thought women did rule the world.
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@Asher As long as there is no female President for USA, we have not yet fully progressed in the modern world, still imbibed in our personal fears and prejudices.
If women ruled the world, they certainly wouldn’t wear these ridiculous creations which are uncomfortable, difficult to move in, revealing, demanding skinniness, and are just plain silly. How about identifying this stuff as extreme fashion and stop pretending it would be normal for women to wear these impractical outfits in any situation other than a costume party?
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If that's reality, I would hate to see fantasy.
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If women ruled the world, I doubt these are the clothes they would wear on a day to working day basis.
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If women ruled the world, they wouldn't advertise clothing--no matter how gorgeous--on stick-thin female bodies that look wasted and underfed, and all too often, belong to adolescents rather than truly grown women. That's just for starters.
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Probably not fussy dresses and silly shoes. Maybe comfortable pants and a warm sweater?
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If women "Ruled the World' there would be no more high heels! Feminine shoes, yes. Torturous, no!
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I think they would wear all kindsa stuff depending on their mood. Sultry. Steaming sexy. Jeans and a t-shirt to mow the lawn. Jeans and a long sleeve shirt to work in a lab at school.
I don't understand high heels though. Never have.
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To answer the question: not the stuff in the pics (unless they’re hobbling along a red carpet somewhere).
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Pockets. We’ll wear clothes that have real pockets.
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Yes -?but what about the rest of us - what would or should we wear?
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“If women ruled the world, what would they wear?”
Comfortable, sustainable, hand-made, beautiful, practical clothes made by people who earn a fair wage for their creative designs and labor.
Clothes designed to last for years rather than months. Clothes designed for all body shapes and sizes.
Clothes that make you feel good because they fit your personality and lifestyle, not because they try to make you look like someone you are not.
Fashion Industry “clothing” is none of these.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could actually have clothing made FOR us?
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Surely you jest. These fashions make me laugh, but in a very cynical way. Is this the secret of why a woman can't become president?
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@Darrel Lauren Hmmm. Why can't a woman become president? Pantsuits? I see no pantsuits here
I'm pretty sure we'd wear something that that allowed us to pass through normal sized doorways.
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If women ruled the world, they'd wear pretty shoes that didn't hurt. It's 2020. Surely someone can figure this out?
Of all these ensembles, I like Iris Van Herpen's -- for a sci fi movie. They look like exotic birds. Perhaps if birds ruled the world ...
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These dresses are stunning, but no, I don't think if women had more power they would choose to dress more uncomfortably.
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I can't help but think "why do all the models look so unhappy?"
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You know what American women would wear if they "ruled the world"? Jeans. comfortable shoes. Things that felt soft. or warm or cool. Clothes that blocked UV rays. Nothing that itched. Colors they wanted to.
ANYTHING THEY WANTED TO!
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If they ruled, they wouldn't wear the outfits shown in the photos!
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Flat shoes, definitely!!! And pockets in all my clothing.
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I can hardly relate to any of these attempts at dressing a woman. They fill me with longing for the wonderful 1950s, Audrey Hepburn in the movie "Sabrina". Marilyn Monroe in the marvelous pink (taffeta I think) dress singing "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend". The clothes were so classy (ala Grace Kelly) and sexy too. I grew up thumbing through Vogue and dreaming of becoming a dress designer. All I can do now is sigh.
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@SKwriter They were also terribly uncomfortable. I lived it. No thank you.
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@SKwriter They were also terribly uncomfortable. "Ladies" wore girdles and stockings. I lived it. No thank you. Quit idealizing an awful era.
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@SKwriter They were also terribly uncomfortable. "Ladies" wore girdles. I lived it. No thank you. Quit idealizing an awful era.
I am a woman. A real woman who barely has time to cover herself on the way out the door. I hate anything that binds me or causes pain. I do my best to avoid looking silly. These designers care nothing about me and, I must admit, I care nothing about them.
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Loved the photos, they made me laugh for hours...clothing often made from toxic fabrics, that can't be worn anywhere, really. Modeled in turn by people who are apparently starving themselves and which would cost many people a years wages, if they are employed at all. Wow. Most of the women I know would just like something comfortable, quite possibly beautifully put together by local manufacturers out of sustainable fabrics. On top of that they'd be affordable yet still pay the people who made them a decent wage. I don't quite see that here...
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If women ruled the world, clothes would be made of fabrics that do not add to our environmental decay. Our fashion wear would reflect science, where the body is treated with respect. Our motion would be fluid, reflecting not a cultivated gait, but one that assumes control, where not the earth, nor air would offer resistance. Our perception of clothing would encompass the trillions of poor who seek to be clothed but are left naked the world around.
These ladies of fashion can surely rise beyond the shackles of the industry and apply their obviously enviable creativity and intellect to change the whole notion of what makes a woman beautiful. Then we can really open up to a future where women WILL rule this world.
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Clothing can certainly be an art form, but haute couture is an indulgence of the 1% in these decadent late capitalist times. I enjoy looking at the rec carpet displays of various awards ceremonies, but what I wear myself bears no resemblance to anything i see there. My pyjamas, my exercise clothes, and even my dress up clothes look very much like each other: pants, teeshirts, colorful jackets and occasionally some jewelry. Comfort is all!
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Iris Van Herpen's spectacular collection owes much to the inventive couture and domiciles of ladies and gents we pass along Broadway early in the morning, sleeping, tossing, shivering, groaning, mostly horizontal though some squatting, leaning, standing with hands out. One long-time artist of homelessness in front of Victorias Secret's enticing windows at West 89th Street is a marvel of persistance and survival, atop a warming grate, wrapped in UWS quilts and coats, face only showing aglow from finery displays.
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