Mini-Michelin Men

   Maybe people would be more apt than men, but I'm in the mood for alliteration.

  One of the first things you should know about Egyptians is that when it's winter, the coats go on. And stay on. All day. Inside or out. Of course under the coats there's usually a jacket (maybe two) a sweater or two and a vest. Of course this makes sense to a degree, unlike in Europe there's no central heating or insulation and all buildings are designed to stay cool and keep the heat out. Great in the summer, not so much in the winter.

   It's not the fact that people wear several layers that gets to me, it's the fact that once inside they will not take anything off! Coats or jackets stay on indoors and then people complain that they're cold when they go outside again! Of course you're cold, you've got warm inside and then gone outside without adding an extra layer!! Grrrr!!

  Nor does this look to be a generational phenomena that will die out as the next generation grows up, in class students more often than not, refuse to take off their big winter jackets 'because my mum told me not to'. The result is that they sit in class looking like mini-Michelin men and can barely move their arms!

Fashion and Style.

No, they're not the same thing! As Coco Channel (or Yves Saint Laurent, I'm not sure which) said; ''Fashion fades, only style remains the same.'' Oh how I wish some women here would follow that!

Now picture this if you will; it's your child's sports day at school and the theme is water sports so that means that -if you deign to go and support your child- you will be poolside for most of the day. A hot, Egyptian summer day. Ok, got that image in your head? Good. Now I'd like you to imagine what you would wear for such a day. Jeans and a light weight top? Perhaps a hat and flipflops or trainers. Well not if you're an Egyptian mother of a certain class. If you are then you wouldn't dream of leaving your house without at least one designer item of clothing. Of course, why stop at one when you could be decked out in designer clobber from head to toe? How else will people know that you can afford it?! And don't forget your diamonds dahlings, you are only as impressive as your ring's ability to blind someone at  ten paces. Not to mention your earrings and bracelets. Don't get me wrong, I like diamonds and nice things and sometimes the things I like come with a designer label, but I try to be subtle about it. I've been wearing a silver Tiffany necklace for nearly a year and although I've received compliments on it, no one has noticed that it's Tiffany because it's not emblazoned all over it.

The thing is, and this is only my opinion, the more you bombard people with labels, the less they are likely to actually see them. The more styles you try to include into a single outfit, the more complicated, uncomfortable and ridiculous it looks. Think about where you're going and what you're going to be doing when you get there, wearing high heels to just go grab a coffee with friends or, as one mother did today, to watch your child swim is ridiculous. Comfort doesn't just feel better, it looks better too.

Myself.