Fads come and go, style stays

A few seasons ago, at an upscale store on Saint Laurent Blvd in Montréal, a salesperson complimented my footwear and asked, 'who I was wearing'. When I answered, "Costume National", the young and very trendy salesclerk snottily quipped, 'how surprising, because they're like, so irrelevant in the fashion world now'. Not that price alone dictates luxury boundaries, but it's not as though Costume is exactly a staple at mall outlets!

Recovering from my annoyance, I explained that Costume has proven longevity in an industry where many labels do not; they have a legacy of making well-designed, unique, comfortable and indeed, very fashion-forward footwear. The salesclerk had a point that most luxury label-toting twenty-somethings would rather wear an 'edgier' name from a label that may be nothing more than a trendy flash-in-the-pan, in one season and out the next. But for my money: quality and style go the mile, and not, what I like to call mere 'status apparatus.'

At the F/W 2009 shows that just happened in Paris, Costume National proved their style centric acumen in a collection which they claim was in part, inspired by David Bowie whose wardrobe has been worked on recently by Costume's designer, Ennio Capasa.

Ahh, if only every one of my male fashion styling clients could afford these duds. Comment est-ce qu'on dit, GORGEOUS?