I
would like to start with a memorable quote from The Little Prince:
“I
have serious reason to believe that the planet from which the little prince
came is the asteroid known as B−612.
This
asteroid has only once been seen through the telescope. That was by a Turkish
astronomer, in 1909. On making his
discovery, the astronomer had presented it to the International Astronomical
Congress, in a great demonstration. But he was in Turkish costume, and so
nobody would believe what he said. Grown−ups are like that...
Fortunately,
however, for the reputation of Asteroid B−612, a Turkish dictator made a law
that his subjects, under pain of death, should change to European costume. So
in 1920 the astronomer gave his demonstration all over again, dressed with
impressive style and elegance. And this time everybody accepted his report.”
This
little view of dress codes always amused me.
Do
you watch the Sunday morning news shows?
The studio is very sleek with electronic screens all around and a glass
desk. The men presenting the news always
wear a suit and tie, with impressive style and elegance, and even more, the
lady presenters always wear a fashionable dress, and high heels. Extremely high heels. I am not just saying this, I noticed the
cameras invariably focus on these high heels…
What
is it about high heels? I remember an
article about shoes in Oprah’s magazine. She categorizes shoes as sensible to
walk in, and as those that you just can stand on. Sometimes, only for a short time.
I
received a zoom link to an especially important event:
2020
Balkans Forum Against Anti-Semitism
In a historic act, the Parliament of the Republic of
Albania, in partnership with the Combat Anti-Semitism Movement (CAM) has taken
an important step in the fight against anti-Semitism and bigotry, when it will
host the "2020 Balkans Forum Against Anti-Semitism" on October 28th,
2020.
This event was over 3 hours. Some speakers were in Albania, but many
speakers were seen on the screen from all over the world. The presenter was a tall, good looking lady,
standing in the room facing the screens on two walls. She was wearing an elegant pants suit with
high heels shoes. I was wondering how
long she could stand on those high heels.
In the last half hour, she indeed got tired and walked over to a bar
table in a corner and sat on a stool.
Another TV encounter that struck me this past summer was
President Trump’s interview with Chris Wallace.
It was the president’s choice to hold the interview outdoors. Both men were sweating so profusely, you
could see drops of sweat steaming down their foreheads. But they were very proper, sticking to the
European dress code!
Why do we need dress codes?
Historically you could be able to tell who royalty is, who is clergy,
and who is a famer, just by the way they dress.
But these days when you attend conferences, you may see young men with
T-shirts and jeans. That was before the
pandemic. Now in zoom meetings the rumor
is that most people stay with Pajama bottoms, and just change their tops…
