Fashion must acknowledge placement.

What I’ve noticed about fashion is how placement is so important. Putting a pocket too high or too low creates discord, civil unrest, if you will. It grates along the visual nerves. Placing a dart up or down, deep or narrow, creates a very right or a very wrong silhouette.

The teenagers wear their box pleated mini-skirts mid-thigh, which is the look of youth. An older woman can wear that same skirt and look youthful, if (Big if, here) she is slim—so slender as to be mistaken for a teen. Wearing that same skirt just an inch or two lower, sill provides the look of youth, and doesn’t’ make the woman look ridiculous. Even plumper teens may have trouble with that thigh-high hem. Placement depends so much on body type. I’ve seen rounded bottoms and plump thighs pull off a short hem. But again: Placement. One inch too high or too low just kills the look.

I love watching “Making the Cut” with host Heidi Klum. Her fabulous fashions tell us she is a model as well as a host. And, she is not afraid to share her fabulous body with the rest of us. She wore an amazing dress on one of the last shows of “Making the Cut, Season 1“.  It was a mini-skirted dress, I thought was white brocade, but apparently it is silver lame. The sleeves are capped, but the cap is lower, to create cuffs around the upper arm. Then a shock of fabric rises out of that cuff to create a splash of standing fabric. The bodice is small. So short, in fact that much of her breasts are revealed. They plump out of the bodice, like a baby’s butt. When I watched the show, it seemed like she was mooning us with her breasts—it was a veritable breast-mooning. Again, placement of the neckline. I would have made that bodice neckline two to three inches higher—still the breast reveal, still the fabulous sleeves, yet no mooning. Or, I would have placed the edges of those sleeves closer, in order to meet, letting the breasts peek at us from a divided neckline. See, placement is important for modesty and fashion.

Those flowing, draped dresses that my body never looks good in, can and do look really fabulous on some body types. Yet, the length seems to be a factor no matter who wears them: placement of the hem (or hems) creates a fabulous look or a frumpy one.  Me—I’m a jeans and T-shirt type.  Dress me up and I’m an up-tight fright, only because I haven’t found the dress that places my middle in a good light. Throw a pair of Jeans on me and I’m good to go.

But, there too, placement of the waist, the pockets and hem are all so important. I went looking for a new pair of shorts and could not find what I wanted. The tailored, two-pocket, front zipped looks best on me. I have short shorts and they feel good. But, now in my “mature years” I feel protocol dictates a longer pant length—closer to the top of my knee than the top of my thigh. Call me old fashioned, if you choose, but older women should cover up a bit more.

I would get a capri, but they need to hit just below my knee. So, there it is again—placement of the hem just above, or just below my knobbly knees is the best for me. Okay, five foot, three inches isn’t the shortest person in the world and my legs are long, but many capris sold today look like high-water pants on me. They are just too long. I need that hem to land higher on the calf. I wanted something in a light-weight fabric, but ended up getting the jeans style in a light green, even though the pair I purchased were as long as pants, not capris. When I got home, I turned the hem up to just below the knee and re-hemmed.  A higher placed hem looked so much better. It’s amazing what two inches can do.

Perhaps you care nothing for my wardrobe troubles. Perhaps you care nothing for pockets or pants hems, or bared breasts. And, I don’t blame you. Yet, I’m talking placement, so let me turn our attention to something we all contend with: Facemasks.

Most of us began wearing facemasks just a year or so ago, beginning with the blue folded paper variety and a couple home-made versions. I myself, made almost two hundred masks; first the pleated ones, then the two-piece rounded ones. I tried ribbon ties and elastic, but I’ve seen Velcro closers, too. I think those using elastic are the most common and the easiest to use. Teachers and health care workers wear a clear plastic face shield in addition to the mask over mouth and nose. And there are the masks with filters and air vents, those that pull up like a cowboy’s kerchief and some that float gracefully from the nose to create a scarf around the neck.

 Here again, placement is the key for wearing a facemask. It has to do with three issues:

1. where the mask hits on the nose

2. how the mask fits behind the ears

3. how much air escapes to steam up glasses  (this is the most important)

I see folks wearing their masks down, nose exposed, up with the chin and lower lip exposed, eyes covered, too loose or too tight. I see folks with three to four bands of ribbon or elastic around the back of their head to keep the thing on. I see guys (mostly) with ears stuck out from the pull of elastic.  It’s all about placement.

In some cases, the mask is being worn almost correctly, yet not really there. Here are a few ways not to wear your mask, or some ways to make a statement with them.

What look are you going for? Remember, it’s all about placement.

Think also about where you keep your mask. My spouse and I recently traveled via airplane and we made sure to carry two masks each. Just before we left, I suggested he find his mask and put it in his vest pocket so he would have it at the ready. We searched through his carry-on, the table, counter, couch and bathroom, only to find it . . . . already in his vest pocket.

When we go out, we have one more thing to keep track of: keys, ID, wallet, sun glasses, cell phone and now, the mask. I suggest placing them all together in an accessible spot. However, I also recommend that you have extras in your car, your purse, your jacket pockets (or in your husband’s vest pocket.)

In a world where we are trying to survive COVID, Global Warming, Crazy Politicians and the normal chaos of daily living, adding this small niggle about Placement for fashion may be the straw that breaks your (camel’s) back. I sure hope not. But, if it helps you make a decision about an article of clothing, or new face mask purchase; or if reading this gave you a chuckle, then my job is done here.