OK, everyone knows I assiduously avoid most things political on this blog, with good reason. But this one also falls into the category of “Fashion Sense” so I’m throwing caution to the wind and including it forthwith. Read on if you dare.
In the semi-weekly conversation between Gail Collins (a liberal) and Brett Stephens (a conservative) in the NYTimes Opinion Pages, there was this hilarious exchange about the all-red Christmas Trees Melania has erected at the White House this year. Full account here. Excerpt to follow.
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Gail: … Speaking of trees, I have to admit I’ve never been more fascinated with White House holiday decorations than this year. Those blood-red pseudo-firs are truly memorable. And sort of perfect for an administration that so frequently makes the nation go, “Yipes!”
Bret: This is the new third-rail of American politics: Melania. And Melania’s taste. For reasons I don’t quite get, liberals and conservatives seem to have made some kind of tacit pact not to criticize her or her choices as first lady….
But here goes: That was the tackiest White House Christmas display ever. Of all time. It looked to me as if Derek Zoolander had been brought in as style consultant. And that he, in turn, had subcontracted the task to Imelda Marcos. It looked like a staging for an avant-garde version of Federico García Lorca’s “Bodas de Sangre’ (Blood Wedding). If looks could sing, it looked as if “White Christmas” were being performed by Ozzy Osbourne just as he bit the head off a bat. It looked as if John Bolton had been chosen to perform an exorcism – sadly, not on the president. Otherwise: Pure class!
Gail: OK, that is the best interior decorating critique of the year.
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I’m no fashion maven, but I know what I like.
Or, to quote Edward R. Murrow:
Good night, and good luck!