Saturday, October 19, 2013

Living Abroad, and Hopelessly Old Fashioned

There is a wonderful article about living in London (as opposed to just visiting - and feeling smug) by Sarah Lyall in tomorrow's New York Times.  It's witty and clever, full of thoughtful information.   Makes me want to book a flat in Firenze for a year.

My favorite quote:

"Many places (restaurants, dry cleaners) don’t deliver, and shopkeepers are either oleaginously sycophantic or icily contemptuous. I could not have been much older than 35 when I suddenly became known as “madam,” and no one says “madam” with more disdain than a 20-year-old working at Topshop, where, unfortunately, my teenage daughters loved to shop for clothes that would have looked more appropriate on prostitutes."

Oh yes.  Those clothes have crossed the pond.  Drive past any middle school  - it doesn't even need to be a warm day - and you don't have to be as old as I am to be startled.  I realize burkas are a bad idea, and wrist-to-ankle coverage went out before my grandmother was born, but I think parts that are part of an Ob/Gyn exam should not be on full display...especially in a place of learning.  Unless it's anatomy class.

Am I hopelessly old fashioned?  Is this the new norm, or just a look for the select few?  Is this what the popular kids wear, or the wanna-be-s?

Do these kids have parents?  They must...what do the parents think?  The administration?  Surely it's hard enough to get teenagers to concentrate.  How much influence does anyone really have?

What do you think?  

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