Classy vs. trashy

Derek Blasberg's "Classy" book struts the runway

The fabulous were out in full force at the recent launch of NY-based “international man of style” Derek Blasberg’s new book,  Classy: Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady at the very classed-up Room the other night at the Bay, where the theme of the night appeared to be the age-old conundrum of Classy vs. Trashy.

My nomination for least classy word of all time may be ”classy”.

But what the pretty people are into right now appears to be lots of Michael Jackson “Bad” 80s looks from zippers and grommets to hair with attitude.

This bag is “Bad”

Note the metal chain and heavy zipper action (even on the shoulder) on this woman’s happening handbag.  The young woman on her left also sported another very au courant and trashy look: tiny shorts worn with vertiginous bondage heels–a sure indication of how far fashion has fallen for stylings previously worn only by professional strippers, and a visual manifestation of how much porn has become  mainstream. Which was kind of funny given the topic of Blasberg’s book.

Tu Ly's trashy chic

Which is not to say all trash should be avoided. HBC designer Tu Ly’s t-shirt, for instance, which he picked up on his travels in Asia, was the wonderfully trashy wearable equivalent of those cheap paintings of Indian idols wearing real silk saris–a photo silkscreen of a runway model with stitched-on sequins and hair.

A family brand

And fashion writer Sarah Nicole Prickett’s imprint of  the names of  each member in her immediate family, tattooed on her arm in her own cursive script is perhaps classy and trashy at the same time.