Pish Posh
By Glinda
In my Monday Teeny Poll, I included Victoria Beckham as one of the selections for a parental “Needs Improvement” award. Apparently, gentle reader Cristina took issue:
Why is Posh even on the list with open drug-users? Because she wears heels? I mean, come on! It sounds like the second you pop out a baby you have to become a frump… Why not be fabulous? I say down with the fricken sneakers and sweats already, they’re ugly and they’re making us ugly and it’s depressing. Better to be Posh and decked out in green feathers – at least it looks like you tried.
Well, so much for trying to be funny. It seems that the Cult of Posh takes offense quite easily.
Upon further reflection, I have to say that maybe I do have a personal problem with Posh, and that is why I gave her a place on the list.
Every time I see the woman, she is wearing towering heels. Whether it be on the soccer field, at a baseball game, or at the airport, her shoes are a minimum of three inches high. And really, I actually do admire her ability to seemingly walk almost anywhere in shoes like that. If ever Posh’s husband gets fired from his job, she could easily make up the lost revenue by holding classes and sharing her knowledge of how to navigate Disneyland in stilettos. I might even sign up for one myself, because I really want to know.
But when I see her lofty heel choices, I ask myself, when she is out in public, how does she have any spontaneous fun with her boys? Because my son wants to run and play tag with me, not listen to me explain why mommy can’t because her shoes will sink into the grass. I look at the picture above and wonder what would happen if one of her sons asked her to kick around that soccer ball with him.
It seems to me that she places fashion and her image above opportunities to have some fun with her kids. Because kids can find the fun anywhere, anytime. However, the minute my fashion choice means that I can’t climb up the slide with my son because I am afraid I am going to break an ankle, then my priorities are a bit misplaced.
And who said that moms have to be frumpy? I don’t remember saying that, and I don’t believe it either. But I do think that when a mom has had a sleepless night taking care of a baby or sick child, she shouldn’t be judged for choosing the yoga pants over the Versace. And it is certainly possible to look polished and cute while being comfortable and wearing, gasp, flats! There is a time and place for high fashion, no doubt. But balance, my friends, it’s all about the balance. To say that it is couture or nothing at the park playdate certainly smacks of an alternate reality to me.
Although perhaps if my husband was pulling in the millions while never helping his team win any games, I too would be able to have a nanny watch my son for hours while I made sure I looked perfect and every hair was in place whenever I walked out the door.
And as soon as that happens, I promise you, I will be all over the green feather display when I drop my son off at preschool.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:27 am
hehehehe.. I feel sorry for her. and I feel sorry for her kids. Last century, when I had my children It was ok to play in the mud. I wonder if there is a special little thingy attached to her stiletto heels, sort of like a flotation device????? cheers kim..
November 20th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I have to agree. But my problem is not with Posh in heels, it’s with Posh getting *this close* to exposing her children to cameras 24/7 on a reality show. Maybe it’s just me, but using one’s children to keep one in the public eye is icky.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I’d say that she was the least offensive of the choices. I’m not a fan of hers. I also don’t like her constant exposure of the kids. Oh, pure cattiness on my part now, I also hate her tan.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:38 am
When Posh tried to put heels on Ellen Degeneris, she became a humorless joke, and she looked a bit like a fool, style or no style.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:20 am
I’m really not that offended by her. The heels are a personal choice. I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt and say that perhaps she slips them off to play with her boys. Or perhaps she pays someone else to play by proxy…the rich are weird, they do stuff like that. Either way, I dont think her boys are lacking for anything, including attention. And I dont think she exposes her kids as much as other people. If we never saw them we’d start to gossip about that too. “What’s wrong with the Beckham kids? Why dont we ever see the Beckham kids?” She just brings them where they need to go and if cameras are there then so be it. I’ve actually seen her flip out on photographers that intrude on her kids’ space.
I’m not saying she’s perfect or anywhere near as fully functional in the mothering department as she would be without the constant fame and attention. But she’s not all bad. She’s just a person doing what she does.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:21 am
OK it’s me. I’m sorry I offended people. And I’m not a member of the cult of Posh; I just got pretty passionate about the sweats thing. Maybe irrationally so, but I just got back from a vacation visiting family in Italy where I got an earful about how N.Americans (including me, I suppose) underdress and greet the world basically in our pyjamas or work out clothes. I suppose by ranting like a crazy person I was trying to fight this… but if you’re writing for the Manolo, I’m quite sure that you are anti-slob and pro-sartorial splendour. I just really hate this image of the North American mother who doesn’t care what she looks like once she passes a certain age, with the ‘practical’ hair cuts, the oversized sweatshirts, and the mommy jeans/khaki capris/leggings.
AND, incidentally, you didn’t say flats! You said sneakers and sweats. There’s a BIG difference between sneakers and sweats and a cute pair of jeans (not the mommy kind), a sweater, and flat boots or Hogans.
And last thing – maybe Posh CAN run after her boys in heels. Who knows? She’s probably had enough practice. And we only see her when she’s photographed.
Sorry I offended people. But I will never stop shouting: down with sweats!! North Americans can be fabulous too.
Now I have to go change out of my pyjamas.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:24 am
oh and I hate her tan too. I told my Italian relatives that you can pinpoint the Italian (from Italy) because they’re usually orange. See: Valentino and Cavalli.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:30 am
I agree with you. She’s a little too old to be caring so much about her image. It’s really silly.
November 20th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I think I’ve got idiot disease. Please disregard the thing about Italians being orange, Valentino, Donatella V. and Mr. Cavalli notwithstanding. And I know most North American mothers are not frumps.
But I do disagree with Captain Corky: if the Captain means she’s too old to care so much about looking good, I say phooey. Why? Looking good is not only for the young. If the Captain means she’s too old to care about the public’s perception of her, I say that doesn’t really make sense. She’s in the public eye, regardless of her age, and while we might not agree with her taste or her methods, it does make sense for her to want us to think well of her.
Is Posh really that old? I feel like a dowager.
November 20th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
You would have to be pretty good to be able to run in those heels in the picture. That off shoulder number would be really annoying when trying to push kids on the swings at the park.
November 20th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
But what I rally want to know is this: how the heck can she walk on grass in those heels with a kid on her hip and not sink 2 inches into the turf?
November 20th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
kim- I think shoe designers need to get on that concept, stat.
LauraH- Agreed, her kids are much too young to be in a reality show.
Patois- What? She has a fake tan? I thought that her shade of bronze was so natural.
Robyn- I missed that cultural gem, maybe I’ll see if YouTube has it.
Cristina- I don’t think you offended anyone, but your life certainly does change when you become a parent, and obviously, your fashion choices do too. Except for Posh.
Captain Corky- It speaks of a bit of desperation, which is silly seeing as how she could throw hundreds of dollars a day out her car window and still be extremely rich.
Cristina- I think CC meant more about the fashion diva image being more important than anything else, but I could be wrong.
AM- Yeah, I kind of need a bra, and the off the shoulder thing would so not work for me.
Phyllis- I have always wondered the exact same thing.
November 20th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
Oh Glinda, you are so cruel. Don’t you know Posh Has to wear those high heels? It helps her balance all the silicone sitting on her chest. It’s physics, Glinda.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Believe me, the Poshsters are nothing compared to the Claymates. I’m DYING to find a way to blog about Clay Aiken here, but the chances he will ever parent a child are slim, for reasons we needn’t go into.
I don’t hate Posh because she always wears heels and ridiculously fashion-victimy outfits. I hate Posh because I have it on very good, personally acquainted authority that she is “a pit viper.” And that comes from someone who is used to working with big egos.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Maybe she kicks the heels off when she runs and plays with her boys?
I could never walk across a field wearing shoes like that. Practice makes perfect?
November 21st, 2007 at 12:34 am
Even if I had a full-time maid and absolutely nothing to do all day, I could not bear those shoes. But she’s the kind of person who will wear those when she’s 80. And how cute is that going to look? 🙂
November 21st, 2007 at 3:16 pm
I’m with ya, Glinda! You hit the nail on the head!