Last weekend, I wrote an email to the Globe and Mail Style contributor, Leah McLaren, in reaction to an article she wrote on Jeggings. It wasn’t so much the subject matter that caught my attention but rather the author’s less-than-kind comparison of Jeggings to mules. Mules, as in the animal.
You can read Ms. McLaren’s complete article here, if you’d like. Otherwise, I would recommend reading the passage below. It captures the content in question.
And no, she has not written back, yet.
“More important, [jeggings] are an astonishing reminder that, in the world of design, two rights can and often do make a wrong – in extreme cases, one so painfully incorrect that it denatures both itself and the wearer. Jeggings, in other words, are the fashion equivalent of the mule – ugly, indestructible and thankfully unable to reproduce.”
– From “Jeggings are About as Hip as Skorts and Sandal Boots” by Leah Mclaren, The Globe and Mail, August 14th, 2010
Here’s My Email to Ms. Mclaren
Dear Ms.McLaren,
My name is Theodora Lamb and I live in Vancouver, British Columbia. As per my Saturday morning routine, I read your article on “Jeggings” this morning in the Cafe below my apartment building. I couldn’t agree more with you on the latest fashion phenomenon. Although, here in Vancouver, you’re more likely to see a pair of Jeggings on 4th Ave, which is Starbucks mama and hot yoga central.
One thing you’re far less likely to see in the “wilds” of Vancouver’s urban streets are mules. From what I know about them, they are gentle, hard-working animals and totally helpless when it comes to their reproductive situation. Simply put, I see the mule as nature’s underdog, which is why I thought it was a little unfair that you used the mule as your comparison to a fashion faux-pas. Yes, I know they’re the perfect example of nature’s hybrid. But unlike the “fashionistas” in the world that wear Jeggings, a mule has little to no control over
the circumstances of which it finds itself in nature.
Can I suggest another animal, perhaps one more appropriate for your comparison: the Skunk. Yes, I know it’s not a hybrid but, like the Jegging, Skunks scuttle our city streets both night and day turning heads the way only a freak of nature can do.
Incidentally, if you enjoy Science Fiction from time to time, I highly recommend Isaac Asimov’s “Foundation” Trilogy. In particular, the second book in the series introduces a character called “The Mule.” Asimov quite cleverly embraces the animal’s characteristics and incorporates them into a character full of dimension and a story rich in epic suspense.
All the best,
Theo