MARGUERITE BARANKITSE - A FASHIONABLE HUMANITARIAN

             "With each of our dreams we advance humanity"

Fashion is all about inspiration. We can find inspiration anywhere. The people we love, a magazine, a movie, a stunning landscape… they can all be sources of inspiration. Although there is something that can be more inspiring than anything else: people who live to inspire others, people that fought or fight everyday for peace and freedom. In this raining afternoon the Red Shoes will take me on a journey throughout the life of a person that makes sure every single day that Human Rights are not just words on a paper, Marguerite Barankitse, and I invite you to come along.

The story starts in Burundi, an African country bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It became independent in 1962 and has been devastated by ethnic violence ever since. In 1993, the situation turned into a violent civil war that lasted for almost 12 years.  On October 24^th in 1993, Marguerite faced a life-changing moment that would determine her role in defending human rights in Burundi and that we are about to testify. She witnessed the slaughter of 72 Hutus that were hidden in the bishop’s residence where she worked. Among them, there was a Tutsi friend of her that refused to let her husband die alone. She left her two children and Maggy, as she likes to be treated, immediately realized that as those two children, there were thousands of orphans, victims of the atrocities of war. She decided to take care of many children as she could, both Tutsis and Hutus. 32 children, then 300, then 1000, 10000 and 30000 children. She never had kids of her own but it’s easy to understand why she is considered “the national mother” of Burundi.

In 1994, Maggy founded a house that would later be called “Maison Shalom” (“shalom” is the Hebrew word for peace). In her words “Shalom was born to say no to war, to say yes to the love, yes to the life!” There everyone is raised as equal, as human beings, based on love and reconciliation and away from the burdens of war. Children learn to forgive and to be free from prejudice. “For me a Burundese is a Burundese”, said Lydia, one of her daughters. Marguerite refuses to build orphanages. She built more than 3000 houses throughout the country, giving away all the land of her grandfather. Children live in small groups as families so that they can have a perspective of a bright future. She is creating a new generation of Burundese that would stand up to the injustices of war and work hard,  hoping that when she turns 90 the country would be completely at peace – “I know in my heart that evil will never have the last word”.

Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world (around 67% of the population lives with less than a dollar a day and life expectancy is 50 years-old) and one of the main reasons to its poverty is the lack of education, motivated by years of social injustice. This fact led Maggy to found schools, a library and the “City of Angels”, a place where young adults can learn a skill and cooperate to create small businesses. Despite the importance of education, Maggy also considers that it is important for children to have fun, so she built a cinema, a swimming pool and other amusement places where kids with different ethnicities can socialize. If you pay attention to the scenario we are soaring right now, you will see that these children are, in fact, happy.

          Following the belief that the path to improve the future of the young generation is through developing the environment in which they are raised, Maggy created an ambulance service and the Rema hospital to ensure proper medical care, something that is lacking in the country. One of her biggest concerns is to fight AIDS – more than 260.000 children are HIV positive – ““It is so unjust,” she said. “I am angry because of AIDS. There is enough money in this world for treatment but children are still suffering. I can see the way for reconciliation, but with AIDS I cannot see the way at all.”

           Although she has done so much for her people to live with dignity, hope and in peace, Maggy considers her work a “small contribution”, a natural action since “our human vocation is to love”. Day by day she is getting compensation for all the love she gave to her country by receiving love from her people, international recognition and a partnership with UNICEF. She won the Chirac’s Foundation Prize for Conflict’s Prevention in 2008 and “Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom from Want Award”, among others.

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created in 1948 a huge step was made to preserve human’s dignity and justice. However, the rights do not have the force of law in many countries and atrocities like the civil war in Burundi have been done since. Human Rights like the right to be fed and to have a proper education are violated everyday and free-thinking individuals like Maggy Barankitse choose to live their lives seeking for equal justice and opportunities and to fight war and poverty, showing us that our lives can truly make a change based on the choices we make – “A new generation is coming. I’m not a dreamer, no, no. It’s real. We are one family, one human family!” (Marguerite Barankitse).

        Thank you for joining me on this trip. It may not have been fun but it gave me perspective. I will never forget the bad and the good – the smile on Maggy and the children’s faces. Sometimes all that seems to matter are the little dramas of our daily lives and we do not realize how shallow and self-centered we can be, me included. The fashion industry may be like that but as a profitable business with a voice it can and it is used to promote campaigns that support human rights.  Our choices and actions are important and it is up to each one of us to make a difference and to ensure that words don’t remain just words (but make sure you do that with stylish clothes on, oh! and red shoes, of course).

Red Shoes

"IT WAS ACCEPTABLE IN THE 80'S"

I just had the most extraordinary day. In the morning I woke up, ate breakfast, put on some clothes and red shoes and turned on the TV. That was the moment when the strangest thing happened: suddenly I wasn’t in my living room anymore but I could see it since I was inside of the TV. I tried to blink (because it has worked in the past) but nothing happened.  I looked around and figured I wasn’t alone. This how I remember it:

                I can recognize now the music that is playing very low -“Thriller”. And the people that I could barely see approach me. They are zombies and among them there he is – Michael Jackson. I’m in the middle of the shot of the music video in 1982. I’m witnessing the shot of the most successful pop video of all time! I couldn’t be more thrilled. Michael is singing and dancing and doesn’t seem to notice me. I wonder if he knows the impact of this video in the history of music (and also in the history of fashion). His red and black leather pants and jacket will be copied by teenagers all over the world. He is creating an iconic look right in front of me! His fedora hat, aviator glasses and glove (frequently fingerless) will also be a major influence in 80’s fashion. And right when I’m starting to absorb what is going on, the scene changes.

                I’m sitting next to the panel that will judge Alex’s performance of “What a Feeling” in the movie “Flashdance”. Jennifer Beals’ look is simple but I don’t think she is aware of how much this movie will influence fashion. Leg warmers became a teen casual trend and the same happened to ripped sweatshirts with their collars cut off that exposed one bare shoulder after the release of the movie in 1983. With the arrival of the “aerobics craze” of the early 1980's the classic leotard moved from the dance floor to the gym, accompanied by matching tights, legwarmers, and elastic belts. Dance-themed television shows such as “Fame” and the popularity of Aerobics created a “dancewear fashion craze” that was taken to street-wear and had its major inspirations in “Flashdance”, Olivia Newton-John's "Physical" video in 1981 and Jane Fonda's line of aerobic videos. Tracksuits would become popular in the mid-80’s with the birth of the Rap and Hip-Hop movement.The performance is over and I’m being carried over  to a whole different set.

               I’m in a busy neighborhood of a big city and I’m starting to realize what this is all about. I believe this is a trip throughout some remarkable events of the 80’s that have influenced fashion. It is funny how things changed since the 70’s when the silhouette tended to be characterized by close fitting clothes on top with wider, looser clothes on the bottom. In the 80’s the trend completely reversed as both men and women began to wear looser shirts and tight, close-fitting trousers. I can see that as groups of friends walk by me enthusiastically. The contrast between different styles is evident, from the exuberance and luxury of the French to the purity of the Eastern cultures, and from the romantic and baroque language to the expression of clothing as a form of art. This is the decade of designers and “brand culture” when Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein became household names due to the emerge of the “Preppy Look”. The New Romantic music and fashion movement had a major influence in both men and women’s fashion, especially in the UK and in Ireland, in the early years of this decade. Bands such as ABC, Duran Duran and Culture Club (especially Boy George) had an important role in the diffusion of this look that included pirate shirts, popped collars, baggy trousers and streaky and bold make-up. I still have time to recognize the type of trousers that are being worn by a couple: she is wearing “happy pants” (not to tight not too loose shorts that finished in length just above the knee) and he is wearing “Parachute pants” (trousers that were extremely baggy that became famous due to MC Hammer). She is wearing Keds that were huge at this time and he is wearing Converse. 

                The street where I’m standing is vanishing and the same is happening to people. I’m in Venice now in a gondola with Madonna! She is singing “Like a Virgin” and again the music video is being shot. She is wearing a short black skirt worn over blue leggings, a layer string of beads, crucifix jewelry and bracelets. Her "street urchin" look will be followed by women worldwide consisting of short skirts worn over leggings, rubber bracelets, fishnet gloves, hair bows, long layered strings of beads, necklaces, bleached untidy hair with dark roots, head bands, and lace ribbons. Her look also included brassieres worn as outerwear, huge crucifix jewelry, tight lycra or leather miniskirts, lace and fingerless gloves, tulle skirts, and boy toy belts. Madonna, along with Cindy Lauper and Freddie Mercury, defied conventions (before the mid-1980s it had been taboo to show a slip or a bra strap in public) and played with religious symbols. Imitating her style was both an assertion of sexual freedom and also a conscious rejection of prevailing androgynous fashion.

                After this wonderful trip to Italy I came back to the US and as it would be expected I’m in the middle of a shot. People around me are shooting “Dinasty”, one of the most popular soap operas of the 80’s. I know little about it except its influence in power dressing. Shoulder pads were worn by women in the Western World to show that they were equal to men. They were even adopted by Margaret Thatcher, the British prime-minister, and by Princess Diana of Wales. Power dressing often included glitzy jewelry, pointed toes and spiked heels. 

          Right in the end of my “trip” someone must have pressured the “Forward” button because in one minute I watched the influence of “Miami Vice” on clothing, the jelly shoes trend and the emerge of the 80’s subcultures such as Heavy Metal, Rap and Hip Hop and Rockabilly in London. And then someone turned the TV off and there I was sitting on the couch again like nothing ever happened. I love that the Red Shoes have provided me this trip, especially in a time when designers seem to have searched for inspiration in 80’s icons like Grace Jones, Boy George, John Taylor (Duran Duran) and Sade for their Spring/Summer 2013 collections, but it’s a shame I didn’t get to see the birth of the 80’s subcultures in detail. I’m sorry shoes but I just love leather and Guns N’ Roses and Bon Jovi’s, among others, influence on style. But again I think they have reserved that for another time. Well, just to conclude, I’m not crazy, I know I didn’t take a walk on the TV but they did. The Red Shoes certainly did and somehow they drove my mind along with them. 

 Red Shoes

                

BREAKFAST AT AUDREY'S- STORY OF AN ICON

        "Moon River" is playing on the radio. Eyes closed. I'm crossing the street. Tiffany's seem so close. And in a blink of an eye I'm dancing surrounded by diamonds. I look at the window and there she is, eating breakfast. She looks calm, clean, simple but chic. She is Audrey Hepburn.

Through her kind eyes I can see someone who trully appreciates life, who is trully happy. I would never guess that when she was my age she was starving in Holland hidden from the Nazis while studying ballet. I would never guess that she had became an actress almost by chance, as she used to say, when her dream of becoming a professional dancer had blown away. She kept accepting parts that she thought she couldn't do and that's how she gained experience and became a remarkable actrice. And there she is smiling at the storefront dressed as Holly Golightly from "Breakfast at Tiffany's", looking beyond ellegant.

Audrey loved clothes so it is no surprise that she had became a style icon. Her name is used as an adjective. We often hear "That is so Audrey!" to describe a clean modern look that is a major influence in the fashion industry. In a time when most actrices such as Marylin Monroe were known from their big skirts, long hair, big chests, she took advantage of her ballerina look. Very early in her life, Audrey became aware of what worked for her type of body. Once she found her style she sticked to it. She wasn't a fashion victim, she wore only what was right for her. She was truthful to her essence and she refused to wear eccentric clothes and high heels. Her partner, Robert Wolders, said that she felt more confortable with polo shirts and jeans, that's what she wore 90% of the time. For an icon she was very pragmatic: she wore shoes half a size bigger than her feet so that she could be more confortable. She always informed about new designers and that's how she found Hubert Givenchy long before he was a famous designer. All the clothes that she wore that were designed by him became iconic like the black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany's. They were very closed friends and there is no other muse like Audrey in the history of fashion that had exactly the same vision of the designer.

According to her son, Sean Ferrer, Audrey considered clothes a "armor of love" something that protected her and made her feel good. I think I have never heard a better description of how I feel about clothes. Like her, I believe that they are an extension of who we are. It may not be easy to explain why she stand out with her quite boyish look that was very feminine at the same time, it is something that you just feel when you look at her pictures and when you watch her movies. As she wrote about Tiffany's on a letter "Class doesn't age. A thing of beauty is a joy forever". This perfectly applies to her. As she grow older she didn't lost her sparkle and beauty. Altough she stoped acting she decided to do something more to help others so she worked for UNICEF in the last years of her life- "As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others", she said about that time.

I'm now in the outside of Tiffany's. There is no one in the streets except from Audrey. I'm having tea and eating a croissant and she is looking at me friendly with her big eyes. And in a blink of an eye, she is not there. I'm in New York wearing my favourite trench coat, jeans and red shoes. I try not to blink because it is still a pretty good dream but sooner or later I will have to get back to my room, writing in front of the computer.

        The Red Shoes

THE BRIGHT (AND DARK) SIDE OF FASHION

            When you are in love with someone you don’t seem to see his/her dark side. Everything is perfect. Life is beautiful and the world looks like the nicest place. Random things become special. You even make up excuses when your “love” does something wrong.  Everything is bright. That’s how I feel about fashion and I’ve got to admit: I’ve got it from the shoes. Not just any shoes, the red shoes!

                Yes, I’m in love with fashion (don’t laugh, there is still room in my heart for people…) so it’s easy for me to talk about its bright side. Fashion is style, charm, original patterns, variety of colors, simplicity, elegance, courage… I relate fashion to a fearless and daring attitude and that’s what I love about it. Clothes can express how you feel, who you are and who do you want to be. You can choose to have a unique personal style adapting the trends to your personality and type of body. You can choose to be different, to stand out or to be subtle. Although Miuccia Prada doesn’t consider fashion a form of art, I disagree. For me, clothes are wearable art pieces. I think a Dali’s painting is as creative as an Alexander McQueen dress. But street-style pieces can be artistic as well we just have to give them our personal touch.

                But as in everything in life there is always a Mr. Hyde, a side of it no one wants to expose, a dark side that tries to control and to surpass the bright one – the appearances. For me it’s hard to write about fashion’s Mr. Hyde. I know he is there but I don’t want to talk to him. Maybe if we fight him quietly he will surrender… It’s inevitable to talk about it, isn’t it? Ok, I confess there are a couple of negative issues related to fashion but they are mostly related to its industry and not to its essence. It’s a competitive business world, that’s true. I would say, extremely competitive. There is also a search for constantly youth (that is changing in the past few years with preeminence being given to older models) and the need for the perfect body that can provoke problems such as anorexia, bad nutrition and depression. These are serious issues and solutions are being created to fight them. But it’s not easy to get rid of the little devil that lives inside of you. You probably have to learn how to live with him and to control him to minimize its impact.

                Despite all the negative things that are related to the fashion industry (anorexia, drugs, futility, etc.) as a lover I don’t think that these issues have much to do with the essence of fashion as I see it. But I must refer Vogue’s Health Initiative that intends to fight anorexia and promote a healthy lifestyle. Magazines worldwide have committed to never work with models that have an unhealthy weight. That’s a great measure. Of course there will always be problems in this industry but I guess that’s inevitable. We just have to keep ourselves away from them. Besides, as I have already said I’m more interested in fashion in a creative perspective, in a form of expression. So, for me, my biggest problem concerning fashion (right now) is to look different from anyone. That is not that easy because I buy most of my clothes in the same stores as any other girl of my school. Fashion is accessible for everyone due to the Internet and street-style stores and that can be good but also bad. If we all dress the same, no one’s outfit will seem special and that’s not the point. Some say fashion is losing its magical side. I’m crazy about the past but I don’t agree. Today’s fashion is gorgeous. Reinvention is the key-word.

                Fashion makes me feel like a creator every day. I know that we are not always in the mood to pick and wear a great outfit. Sometimes (if not every day) we just want to wear jeans, sneakers and a sweat shirt (sure, I would complement this outfit with a cute bag and maybe some earrings, but that’s me). But that’s fashion too, because it expresses how you are feeling in the moment. It’s all about feeling comfortable, at ease with the clothes you are wearing. I respect other people’s style. I don’t think no one’s style is better but it should be considered the best one for the person who wears it. Clothes give us confidence to succeed and I like to play with this key of confidence. Fashion has given me the power to overcome situations that made me nervous and some clothes remind me of good memories. That’s why I’m always a bit reluctant in donating old clothes because I feel like they were part of me.  It’s not easy to let go things. Well, the shoes just gave me an advice; we should focus on the positive side of things. Let’s hold on to the present and wear who we are.

                The Red Shoes

               

ALL THE WORLD IS A RUNWAY

                And all the men and women merely models.  Our lives are a fashion show, they follow trends, they have their highpoints and revelations and in the end we only remember the significant moments.           

                We begin our fashion show wearing what our mother thinks we should wear. We don’t have any choice in the matter. We crawl and then walk through the catwalk in a naïve, relaxed and joyful manner, being constantly distracted by new toys and people and needing to be protected to not fall off.  We don’t care much about how we dress although girls usually start to get a bit vain by the age six.

                The second part of the show begins when teenagers walk in. Some already know what they stand for and others are still figuring out how to express their personality throughout style.   Their walk is apparently confident but hides many insecurities. They make a drama out of the smallest things and they have more fun that in those of any other parts of the fashion show. The preppies, the "sports”, the punks, the hippies… they all succeed each other having each one a short duration. They are trying to find themselves and to fit in at the same time and these purposes make it the most experimental part of the show. They end up by trying different looks until they find their own or just decide to mix them all.

                The third act is “te looking good”. It starts at the age 16 (not exactly, depending on the person) and ends in the early 20’s. This phase doesn’t apply to everyone. It is basically the stage where you wear what flatters you the most in order to get the opposite gender’s attention. These pieces are combined with what you think your peers may like, the trends and what you believe to be your “personal style”, the one you have found in the earlier phase (or that you are still discovering).

                And then comes “the adult”. This phase incorporates many years but often not many different styles. The collection reaches its maturity point. The models are confident, certain of their own style and aware of what they can and cannot wear. They understand that the looks are a complement of their personality and not the opposite. They are now capable of helping other models that are beginning the fashion show.

                Adults are more wisdom but they usually start taking fewer risks as well, ending up in the next and last stage – “the granny” or “the show must go on”. Nearly to the end, the show uses models that are not focused on their appearance any more, they just want to enjoy the last period of it after all that they have accomplished, living each day at a time, trying to walk further but slowly. Their show is in a balcony of a high building so that they can see the other shows they helped creating that are developing in different stages.

                Nearly to the end, the best creations walk again at high speed, showing the highpoints of the fashion show. Since we have dressed all the outfits that compose it, we remember wearing them, relating each one to a particular moment - happy or not so happy. When the show ends, the applauses stop and the lights go down. We do realize that all it matters is what we left on the catwalk, what we have done to make a difference and what we remember from it. All it really matters is that we lived, we found the courage to never stop walking.

                Red Shoes

                

            

           P.S: Yes, the Red Shoes are back on my feet. Do you think I could have written about fashion without them? No way! It’s better this way. We are both happy and I don’t think we will have another argument soon. I can’t wait to hear their new ideas!

We Bought...a Zoo

           (Before you read this post you should know that I and the red shoes had an argument. And now they are in the closet. Honestly, I don’t think I can live without them for a long time but they won’t interfere in this post. I can guarantee you that. They would probably make me write about “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and that’s not what I want. This text will not have anything to do with fashion. I want it to be the exception.)

A friend asked me the other day about the movie of my life.  I said I didn’t have one.  “Alright”, he said, “but what’s your favorite movie?”. I thought about it for a while and figured I still didn’t have one. “Maybe I’m too young for it”, I replied.  Later, when I was alone at home I kept thinking about the “movie of my life” and the truth is I love cinema and there are a lot of movies that I’m passionate about but any of them seemed to have changed my life. Maybe they all changed me in a good way and gave me new perspectives. Maybe I’m just too undecided to pick just one. It’s an unfair decision! It’s like having to choose my favorite outfit or maybe even harder than that (Sorry, I said I wasn’t going to talk about fashion…). There are movies that cheer me up and some that make me cry like a waterfall. There are movies that appeared in the roughest situations of my life and others that arrived in the happiest ones. But I honestly believe that we are not only what we do and what we eat but also what we wear (Oops, I did it again!, well but there is not always true) and what we love. When I watch a movie I’m looking for some laughs, crying, brilliant performances, an involving plot and specially an inspiring message. That’s why I picked a movie that has all that. It may not be an Oscar movie but it is one of the few whose trailer is enough to make me cry. Besides, it is based on a true stoy. I’m going to write about “We Bought a Zoo”, directed by Cameron Crowe.

               

                I personally feel attracted to characters that change their conventional way of living to do something risky that most people think is non-sense. Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), a few months after the death of his wife, quits his job as a reporter and decides to move to a dilapidated zoo with his two kids, taking the challenge of reopening it to the public. The rehabilitation of the zoo is a metaphor to the rebuild of his life and his family’s. Benjamin is finding hard to bound with his 14 year-old son, Dylan, that is suffering more than his younger daughter Rosie that despite the sadness she is feeling - «Their happy is too loud», she says referring to a party in the neighbors' house, is thrilled with the idea of moving to a zoo. Benjamin hopes the zoo can bring the family together and happiness to their lives. He would end up by helping many other people that relied on him to recover the zoo.

                «Why not?»

                Love is what moves the characters. They suffer out of love for someone that is not there anymore and they risk in the name of love: romantic and family. The romantic side of the movie is vital, at least to me. The history of how Benjamin first met his wife is just perfect - «Why should an amazing woman like you even talk to someone like me?”, “Why not?”. This sentence would guide his decisions throughout his life and helps explaining why he is braver to invest in something risky.

The love between Dylan and Lily, a girl that works in the zoo, is also inspiring. It is the typical first love story but it is impossible to stay indifferent to the scene in which Dylan finds courage to confess his feelings for her, while standing in the intense rain.

         «Attempt to start over. Sun light. Joy.».

                The movie is full of precious details that make all the difference to make it profound: starting with the soundtrack that perfectly suits every single emotion and also the lightning. The way the sun light hits on  characters’ faces is one of the most beautiful things I have seen happening in cinema that actually do happen in real life, creating a sense of hope and possibility of happiness that move us. There is a particular scene when Benjamin finds courage to watch the pictures of his wife. He starts crying but then he starts to feel the happiness of those moments and he laughs. His wife is now playing with his kids enjoying life around him. His living room turns into a park. The sun light is absolutely magical. His imagination turns the memory real to him. This a turning point when he overcomes grief and seems to take his brother’s advice to attempt to start over. He understands he doesn’t have to forget but he has to let it go, to save it in a precious place of his memory, so that the universe can give him what he needs.  

                 «I like the animals but I love the people»

                What appears to be a movie about animals is actually a movie about people and relations. The animals are there to show us humans the simplicity of feeling. Benjamin does everything to save an old tiger from death until he realizes there is anything more to be done, he has to go. The tiger embodies his fearing of forgetting and moving on. Animals are basically a serene and cathartic element. They seem to be the ones that need to be helped but in fact they are the ones that help the humans. Contacting with nature brings happiness back to Benjamin and his children.

                «Literally, 20 seconds»

“We bought a Zoo” was first presented to me on a plain when I was returning from New York City and a few days later I watched it again in the theatre. I was immediately in love with the movie. I don’t think I can explain why it means so much to me but I think you will understand it better when I tell you my favorite line of the movie. It’s an advice Benjamin gives to his son and is something that I always try to keep in mind. I think we should all try. «Sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it». 

                Just me

Elizabeth: The Golden Closet

                Surprisingly or not, the red shoes are not just into fashion. I thought they would be happy with a new fashion magazine, so I bought Vogue. Wrong. Then, I bought a beautiful black velvet skirt. Wrong, again! They are not that easy to please! Yes, they love fashion more than anything but they also seem to have dozens of other interests that I’m still figuring out. On the other night they wanted desperately to watch a movie. We sat down on the couch and watched “Elizabeth: The Golden Era”. I personally think it’s a great movie and they agree. But while I was totally absorbed with the plot and the characters they seemed to be emerged in Elizabeth’s dresses. As long as they give me power and confidence, I will do anything to satisfy them. That’s why I’m writing an essay on Queen Elizabeth’s dresses in the movie.

            I have to say that at first I didn’t want to do it. That was before I closed my eyes and pictured the movie in my head. I could see that every single dress was part of the intensity of each scene. Every color had a meaning.

                CRIMSON – THE COLOUR OF POWER

                Queen Elizabeth appears as a source of hope, power and elegance. She liked to dress to impress. The chaperones used to wear all the same tone so that Elizabeth could stand out in a different color among the court. In one of the first scenes the queen wears a crimson dress while the chaperones wear white and grey dresses. Red had the symbolic meaning of fire, power and importance during the Elizabethan Age and crimson was the luxury version of the color, worn by royalty, nobility and members of the Council. As a powerful and brave woman responsible for a great empire, I’m not surprised that she liked to wear crimson dresses.

                THE PURITY OF WHITE

                White, a color that she also wears mostly in the beginning of the movie is perhaps the one that illustrates the best the cult that emerged around her as the “Virgin Queen” which is still celebrated in portraits and literature. Only the wealthy could wear white, as it was expensive and difficult to produce, as well as hard to keep clean. White symbolized purity and virtue, contrasting with the dark colors worn by Philip of Spain and her cousin Mary Stuart, the queen of Scotland. While these Catholics are depicted as obscure, as people that are too affected by emotions, unhappy and somehow fanatic and insane, Queen Elizabeth is portrayed as a rational person, as a  source of enlightenment/ elucidation. This contrast is more visible in one of the last scenes when Elizabeth appears with a simple long white dress resembling an angel and Philip seems almost like he is possessed by the devil in his dark clothes, although he is more religious than her. The movie clearly shows Elizabeth’s perspective regarding the conflict with Spain. We can relate more easily to her than with Philip that represents the enemy.

                THE COLOUR OF THE OCEAN

                One of the most remarkable scenes of the movie is the one when Sir Walter Raleigh is giving Elizabeth a speech about his trips across the large ocean, about the magic of discovering and landing on the new world and freedom. She is wearing a stunning light blue dress. Blue symbolizes tranquility and eternity and in this specific scene, of course, the ocean as well. This dress is one of my favorite in the movie (sorry Red Shoes but I also love the red one!).

                SILVER, GOLD AND YELLOW
              Throughout the movie, the queen uses a lot of jewels and accessories with pearls which are another symbol of virginity. Most dresses have silver and gold applications and embroideries. Gold represents majesty, divinity and wealth. Silver is another rich color that can also be related to power and strength. Queen Elizabeth wears a silver armor in the battle when she appears confident speaking directly to her army - «Let them come with the armies of Hell, they will not pass!». The yellow dress she wears when she yells at the Spanish servants of the king - «I, too can command the wind, sir!» - also intends to symbolize courage. The color can be a symbol of revitalization, positivism and hope as well.

                TURNING POINT

                Love and emotions are basically the source of every problems/conflicts in the movie. Philip tries to invade Spain because he believes that’s God’s will, out of religious love. Elizabeth loses control and finds it harder to deal with conflicts when she falls in love with Sir Arthur Raleigh. When emotions almost take control of her life, her clothes change. When she is betrayed by her best friend, Bess, and the man she loves, Raleigh, and she is forced to condemn her cousin to death, her dresses become simpler and heavier. The colors also change. She starts wearing darker colors such as purple, dark green and dark blue (or indigo, also known as “royal blue”), reflecting her sadness and seriousness. Purple represents the change of something and it is supposed to combat fears and bring peace. The only people allowed to wear purple during the Elizabethan Era were the members of the royal family.

                After this difficult period of her life and after England wins the war, Elizabeth returns to the grandiosity of the white color, rich and elaborate materials and dresses, showing that her mind is clear again and that she was stronger to conquer the difficulties. England won the conflict due to her mental strength, due to her ability to control emotions. When she loses control the same happens to her country and when she becomes more rational again the conflict is solved.

THEY WERE RIGHT, AGAIN

Well, I must confess that I enjoyed writing this text. I learned a lot about the importance of  color during the Elizabethan Era. Different colors represented royalty, status, wealth and position. In the movie, as I have already referred, its symbology is extremely important to the intensity of each tension and conflict. A clear example of that is the scene of Mary Stuart’s execution. She is wearing an intense red dress that represents the blood that will soon be shed in the war.

I guess from now on I won’t question the red shoe’s ideas again. They seem to know me better than I know myself. (Firstly, they made me travelling in time and now this!). I’m impressed and they seem gleeful. Now is just like I’m walking barefoot. Again, I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant… They just feel more comfortable now, they suit me better. Since we are going to work together for at least a year I suggest we can be nicer to each other. Oh, they look as if they agree! Great, so how would they feel if I bought one of those magnificent necklaces that remind me of the Golden Age that are in stores right know? Would they like it? No answer. I think we have to work on communication but if you are trying to guess, yes, I’m already prepared for another trip. 

Red Shoes