“is just an accident of history, isn’t it?”

Should be “Or is it?”

You’ve heard this domestic phrase:“The Man is the HEAD of the household but the Woman is the Neck and she can turn the head anyway she wants….”

I assume that the dress will protect the wearer’s privacy no matter what activity the wearer engages in during the course of the evening — because from the side-view it appears that there might be a metal-based lining that locks the drape on the breasts. It must have taken a great deal of thought and effort to come up with the material, the folds, and the locking mechanism so that the wearer’s breasts remain hidden while giving the impression that at any moment — at the slightest breeze or at the slightest movement — the folds will move away to reveal everything. The top gives the wearer full freedom for action — it looks like she would be able to play tennis wearing that top and yet maintain her privacy at all times!

The purse, the bracelet, the earrings, the arms, and the forehead-emphasizing hairstyle form an upward pointing arrow-head that is parallel to the draped covering of the upper body. This helps draw attention to the entire upper feminine form while emphasizing the scantiness of the covering and the challenge of the revelation.

But the rest of the dress is a disappointment. It is just a shapeless, heavy chunk of fabric. The human form is not emphasized — one can’t see any shapely behind or legs (buttocks, thighs, calves or feet) — everything below the waist is just one big shapeless blob.

It looks like the person is balancing precariously on a single point of contact with the ground (like standing with both feet tied together at the ankle — trying to keep erect like a vertical mermaid would have to). Also, the bottom of the dress looks like an unhygienic, heavy mass that the wearer has to drag along — the bottom acts like a ball and chain.

While the top gives the impression that the wearer could play tennis while preserving her privacy, the bottom gives the impression of static death — of a person who might topple and fall due to being erect on a single point of contact and of a person who can’t even budge an inch because of the ball and chain.

(In case the links to the pictures do not work at the time you are reading this comment, the pictures are of Jennifer Lopez at the 2009 Golden Globes Awards. An in case it helps, here are the expanded links: http://c.getbackimages.com/uri/w514_h676_cfalse/jennifer-lopez-2009/image/4/0/6/5/4065911.jpg and http://socialitelife.celebuzz.com/archive/2009/01/11/jennifer_lopez_2009_golden_globes_awards_red_carpet_photos.php?img=0&gfmt=e )

–Hs4Mm

Great point about the Hebrew origin!

-Paul