Safe or Smokin': Dressing for strength and presence
A New York Times feature on American women's pro (WNBA) basketball players delighted me: athletes in their prime, dressed to celebrate their draft night in diverse designs from Louis Vuitton to a dress "from a mall store". When one is over six feet tall and strong as a concrete pillar, presence is wired-in. I loved the shots of women of various ethnicities, many wearing pieces made of repurposed fabrics, and the jewellery was fantastic. They were dressed by stylists, friends and their mothers, but all had specified what they wanted, from razor-sharp trouser suits to sexily-slashed gowns. The vibe was fly, not flou ; the rising star, Dallas Wings' Paige Bueckers wore a custom-made trouser suit studded with 200,000 tiny crystals: Then a girlfriend came for a visit, and as we hopped around Montréal in our sensible sneakers and dined in jeans and neutral sweaters, I thought, We're still strong enough, but do we look strong—not athletes, but relatively energetic? D...
