愛麗絲的圍裙風颳進時尚界
Ever since Alice fell down the rabbit hole in her white pinafore, aprons have been something of a fashion statement.
自從愛麗絲(Alice)身穿白色圍裙掉進兔子洞，圍裙就變成了某種時尚宣言。That bib was her most identifiable accessory, a signpost of the seductive tension between traditional girlhood and rebellion, as embodied by the character herself.
那件圍裙是她最顯眼的配飾，是傳統的少女期和叛逆期之間誘人張力的標誌，而這個人物正是這種張力的典型代表。
This year is the 150th anniversary of the Lewis Carroll classic “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” And as “The Alice Look,” a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood in London, illustrates, the fashion world has been obsessed by her style ever since the book was published.
今年是劉易斯·卡羅爾(Lewis Carroll)的經典之作《愛麗絲漫遊仙境》(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)出版150週年。就像倫敦的維多利亞與艾伯特童年博物館(Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood)的新展覽“愛麗絲造型”(The Alice Look)所展示的那樣，自從那本書出版之後，時尚界就迷上了她的風格。
Alice showed that an apron, like a handbag or a pair of shoes, is a highly efficient conduit of individual identity. It can transform a look and change an expectation.
愛麗絲表明，圍裙就像手袋或鞋子，能非常有效地傳達個人身份。它能轉變一種造型，改變一種期待。And not only on the catwalk, but also in the kitchen. No wonder we have appropriated the once-utilitarian chef’s apron as our own. It doesn’t just protect from sauce splatter, grease stains and beet juice; it also projects personality and aesthetic choice, no matter the skill level or the ambition.
不僅在秀臺上，而且在廚房裏。難怪我們已把曾經僅具實用功能的大廚圍裙挪作己用。它不僅能防止醬汁、油點和甜菜汁濺到身上，還能表現個性和審美，不管你的烹飪水平有多高或者野心有多大。This perhaps explains why, just as there are aprons in fashion (see the tough smithlike leather aprons and apron dresses in last February’s Fendi show and the cartoonish 1950s pinafore styles at Miu Miu), there are fashions in aprons.
這也許能解釋爲什麼，就像時尚界有圍裙一樣（比如去年2月芬迪[Fendi]時裝秀上的強悍鐵匠風格皮質圍裙和連衫圍裙以及Miu Miu的20世紀50年代卡通風格圍裙），圍裙也有自己的時尚。There are workmen’s aprons, which are the culinary equivalent of streetwear: hardy leather and denim or selvage numbers with grommets and pockets that telegraph a tough-chef look, the better to carve up a goat and roast its carcass. The model might be the Stanley & Sons leather lap apron ($143), or the Search & Rescue split-leg apron (about $195). It’s expensive to look so hard-core.
有些是男工圍裙，相當於烹飪版的街頭服飾：結實的皮料粗布圍裙，或者帶有釦眼和口袋的織邊圍裙，傳達出強悍大廚的感覺，最好是穿着它宰羊烘烤。這類圍裙的典型代表是Stanley & Sons的長及大腿的皮質圍裙（143美元）或者Search & Rescue的分腿圍裙（約195美元）。它們看起來就是基本款圍裙，所以價格顯得有點貴。There are decorative sunny aprons, like the black-and-white check from MacKenzie-Childs ($78) or the diner-stripe from Kate Spade ($30), the signifiers of the playful nature of the kitchen. These are good aprons for the sweet set, and for those who are fond of giving tradition a tweak.
也有一些活潑的裝飾性圍裙，比如MacKenzie-Childs的黑白格圍裙（78美元）或Kate Spade的餐館條紋圍裙（30美元），它們表達出廚房玩鬧的一面。這些圍裙非常適合甜蜜的場合或者那些喜歡稍微改變傳統的人。(Note: There is a difference between the “fun” apron and the “funny” apron — you know, the ones with naked bodies superimposed on the wearer’s body, or other sort of faux trompe l’oeil prints. The latter is a joke item, like the novelty tie, and is best avoided lest the joke be on you.)
（提示：“有趣”的圍裙和“搞笑”的圍裙是兩回事。你知道，後者是把裸體圖像通過透視疊加在穿着者身上。它們就像新奇領帶，是用來搞笑的，所以最好不要穿，免得你自己變成笑柄。）And there are tailored, minimal versions that are the culinary equivalent of, say, a Céline bag, so understated that they demand a level of connoisseurship to be understood. Think of aprons like Hedley & Bennett’s color-blocked waist-tied styles (from $40, on sale) or the Marcy Butler Italian linen V-neck Carol ($118) as a piece of tied-on sartorial semiology that reflects a fondness for both Scandinavia and the chemistry lab.
還有那種精心裁剪的極簡圍裙，它們相當於烹飪版的賽琳(Céline)手袋，非常樸素，理解它們需要一定程度的鑑賞力。比如，Hedley & Bennett的腰部繫帶色塊圍裙（40美元起，特價）或者Marcy Butler的意大利亞麻V領卡羅爾圍裙（118美元），後者是一種裁剪符號學，反映出對斯堪的納維亞風格和化學實驗室的雙重喜愛。“Curiouser and curiouser,” as Alice might say? Not at all. You’d feel like a pretender in a chef’s toque or checkered pants, but in an apron of your own choice, you can feel like yourself. It’s simply a matter of taste. In more than one sense of the word.
這是不是像愛麗絲說的，“越來越奇怪了”？完全不是。如果戴着廚師帽或穿着廚師方格褲，你會覺得自己有點裝模作樣，但是如果穿着你自己挑選的圍裙，你會感覺更像自己。這只是品味問題。我指的是這個詞的多重含義。
