The Lemon Fool

For special days in the hunting field, some women still dress in full side-saddle habits: black, navy or occasionally (if out of ‘season’) tweed coat with a detachable apron - detachable for safety and not for speedy gratification of lusting males. A rider wears long boots but never shows even her right toe (tut tut!); she also carries a whip...

Hats are either a black silk top hat with veil, worn with a hunting tie (stock), or a bowler worn with collar and tie. Hair must be gathered into a tight bun. Sounds a mite masculine but is extremely feminine.

These ladies are dressing to please themselves and perhaps a little to outdo their friends. But they don’t just prance about as do some opera lovers (“Just look at me!”) or expose some alluring part of their anatomy; they will probably end the day with gnawing backache and covered in mud.

stewamax wrote: they will probably end the day with gnawing backache and covered in mud.

But hey, bloodthirst quenched.

Scott.

stewamax wrote:But they don’t just prance about as do some opera lovers (“Just look at me!”) or expose some alluring part of their anatomy; they will probably end the day with gnawing backache and covered in mud.

Speaking as an opera lover, one is always aware of an uneasy mix of two elements in an audience at the more upmarket venues. Those who are there to see the opera itself, and those who are there To Be Seen. The former dress down - whatever's comfortable. The latter dress up.

UncleEbenezer wrote:Speaking as an opera lover, one is always aware of an uneasy mix of two elements in an audience at the more upmarket venues. Those who are there to see the opera itself, and those who are there To Be Seen. The former dress down - whatever's comfortable. The latter dress up.

I have no problem with people dressing up either to please themselves or so as not to look out of place.
The ones I despise are the "Just look at me" ones who swan around or appear to be dressing so as intentionally to look out of place.

Never mind all that, surely no-one actually enjoys listening to opera, so they must all be going for some other reason!

Philistine? Moi?

Mike4 wrote:Never mind all that, surely no-one actually enjoys listening to opera, so they must all be going for some other reason!

Philistine? Moi?

Sorry, can't have my leg pulled. My back won't take it.

Rhyd6 wrote:I have several pairs of 5" heel stilletos left over from the late 1950s early 1960s which I just can't bring myself to throw away. I'm only 5' and a tealeaf but wearing high heels always made me feel elegant.

R6

'Tealeaf' must be a regional term, in my vocabulary it means 'thief'. Unless you did steal the shoes?

No I didn't steal the shoes but as I have very small feet my shoes are always a steal in the sales!! Round here 'tealeaf' used in conjunction with any measurement means a widge's nodge, a smidgeon, or any other local dialect expression that enriches the English language.

R6