Nothing's Changed

On Saturday I went into town. I'm always drawn like the protagonists in Close Encounters to the big urban UFO. I always spend a disproportionate amount of time in the architecture section of the local bookshop. Anyway, whilst meandering around town I was struck by the bright and vibrant displays of fashionable people showing their stuff in the metropolis. What is it about our identity which makes us want to stick out in the crowd? When pondering about our need to be individuals in this contemporary age it struck me that this fashion craze isn't just applicable to today and not just to people. Look at the typical traditional timber framed house of the medieval period. Full of crazy designs and supernatural patterns intended to strut the wealth of the owner across the medieval stage. The design above (I took this in Stratford upon Avon, UK) could be the pattern on a Mary Quant dress? I think it is remarkable that over 500 years ago people were plagued with the same urge to peacock themselves.


Now where did I put my Calvin Kleins?