CHICTIONARY by Clare Press

(I speak, you speak, we all speak...FASHION)

F’row Word of the Fortnight

Gaga. (gar-gar) adl. slg. Raving fashion lunatic cum wearable art fan inspired by the outlandish, talking point getups of popular musician Lady GaGa.

The lady in question is really a nice Italian-American kid called Stef, and back when she was a piano-playing student at N.Y.U. she used to wear recognisable jeans and dresses just like her peers.

Everything changed though when she signed a record deal and her single, "Eh, Eh", became a hit - despite sounding like Bulgaria’s entry to the Eurovision Song Contest for 1994. Perhaps it was the way Stef tied her Donatella locks into a Minnie Mouse bow? Who knows?

But before you could say platform moon boot, GaGa-the-model was born, leaving drag queens and Alexander McQueen to dream of armadillos. For every designer who refused to dress the ballsy singer (hello, Canadian knitwear king Mark Fast) there were six desperate to call her muse.

Whether she’s frocking up in Louis Vuitton ruffles to play a witch for US Vogue’s December Arts Issue, or slapping on the red glitter for a thoroughly inappropriate audience with the Queen, the style groupies are going gaga for GaGa. But is Gaga an insult or a Chictionary term of endearment? You decide.

In conversation. Hints and tips for daily use:

“Cripes, my flatmate’s gone Gaga. Is that a colander or a hat? And I wondered where my laundry basket went! She’s wearing it as a hoop skirt.”

CHICTIONARY CREDENTIALS: In case you didn't know (where have you been?), Clare Press is a former fashion director for Vogue Australia and has her own fashion label, the wonderful vintagey Mrs. Press. Pretty and witty, she's also a really lovely lady, so I'm delighted that she'll be gracing this here blog on occasion to impart some words of sartorial wisdom. Visit her frolicking blog here.

Pic credit: Starpulse

Yours truly,
Girl With a Satchel