It was all the rage in the late 18th century, and now it’s back
Goodbye, cleavage. Hello, décolleté. There is one style of low neckline that looks modern, right now, and another shape of low neckline that doesn’t. Oddly, the more modern shape is the square neckline, which was all the rage in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, while the plunging V-neck, which is 20th century, looks old-fashioned by comparison. Strange, but true. You could blame Netflix’s Bridgerton, with its feast of pastel-coloured, squared-off necklines. You could point to the demise of lift-and-squeeze Wonderbra-esque engineering that backlit old-school cleavage. Or you could observe that a square neckline is the perfect foil for that staple of modern fashion, the puffed sleeve, and has come into fashion for that reason.
Maybe you don’t care at all, which is entirely your prerogative. It’s your neckline, your skin, your body. The square neckline is a mindless diversion, nothing more than that. A summer frippery, like a new flavour of Magnum or a new song on the radio. It is entirely non-essential, harmless fun. Personally, I’m very much here for it on that basis. A year that has been decidedly lacking in novelty value has reminded me of how cheering a little novelty can be.
Continue reading...