The lesson of box-office flop The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)—besides "John Cullum is still alive!"—was that whatever magic had been behind the original Bettie Page phenomenon failed to last into the twenty-first century. We still like high-heeled boots, but, sometime between the moon landing and Madonna's children's books, innocence stopped being hot.
That's why I'm glad to see that Project Runway contestant and Bettie Page ringer Kenley Collins has thrown over decolletage in her Fashion Week collection. Her high-necked creations are sure to warm the hearts of modesty-lovers everywhere.
This particular self-consciously retro style goes beyond the boring justification for modesty—leaving a little mystery is sexier than spelling everything out—and gets psychological, which is interesting. The woman who wears a very high-necked dress isn't just modest. She's prim. Prim is rare; prim has standards; prim is the opposite of mousy. What's going on between postmodern conservatism and vintage fashion? I don't know, but someone should find out.
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