This is a preview image from the November Burdastyle Magazine and when I came across it, I admit I did a double take.
The first thing was the cigarette she’s inhaling. I guess it’s a sign of the times that smoking is so rarely seen in print now that it seemed so odd. When I was 8 years old, a tobacco advertising ban came into effect in New Zealand, so I always find it strange to see cigarette ads in magazines, and whist this, of course, is not an advertisement, for me it fits in the same category. It’s not that I think a child will see this image and be inspired to start smoking, it’s just that it seems like such an antiquated idea to use it as a prop in their annual ‘formal gown’ section like it’s a sign of all things glamorous.
Is it just me who finds it weird?
On to the second confounding thing in the image – it doesn’t show you much of the dress now, does it? It’s a shame, really, because when you actually see it, it’s a stunner.
My favourite pattern in the November issue.
Not really done justice by the stylist making the unclad cigarette lady clutch it to her bosom.