Women in Fashion - Lessons learned from The Devil Wears Prada - 5 Must Know Tips from Movie Fashion

'I think that high heals were invented by a man, he wanted to slow women down so that he could catch up with them'.

For those in the fashion world, whether it is by greater or smaller degree most likely were riveted to the fashions in the movie The Devil Wears Prada, 2006, staring Meryl Streep. Now that it is out on DVD, you might enjoy an evening of just drooling over each and every fashion as it hit the screen. But this time take out your notebook. There are lessons here about fashion that every woman can learn from.

Warning: If you are a great lover of this movie, you can stop here. I don't want to get into a fight but I warn you - I have accessories and I know how to use them.

First, I loved Meryl Streep's in The Devil Wears Prada. I appreciated every definitive movement of Streep's, from the sweep of her hands, her expressive eye movements( that could freeze water into ice and serve them to you in cubes), her majestic walk and her heads up - first in the class attitude. Now in the real world I rather she be nice to people - but that would make a boring movie. Streep in each and every fashion outfit she wore was the epitome of elegance, style and class in this distressed-denim-drenched fashion deprived world. How I watched each scene with envy, appreciation, anticipation and delight.

I bet, I was not alone in the hero worship of one of our favorite bedecked movie icon. Wow. Her silver white silky tresses alone made me reconsider my next bottle of dye. And let us not forget that across the country big girls were hopping up and down - please don't imagine that - celebrating the fashion blessing that Ms. Streep was no size 4.

Ann Hathaway, on the other hand, in the number two role as the much put upon junior assistant, sails through the movie going from Cinder Maid to Cinderella. The majority of the outfits were pin up and "cut out worthy" from our favorite fashion spreads. Ms. Hathaway, sporting a slim trim body once again showed Hollywood's predilection to wafer thin women. At least we were not subjected to bones jutting out from ridiculously sharp collar blades.

Oh, what a delightful succession of fashions that just delighted the eye, inspired the imagination and caused us to dream.

Lessons Learned

Here is how we can take to heart some lessons we learned from the silver screen.

1. Fashion is designed to have you buy something that has the predetermined shelf life of cottage cheese. The scathing comments directed to Ms. Hathaway at the beginning of the movie, clearly indicate that picking your day's attire takes more than sniffing for what's clean and searching for something that doesn't need ironing.
2. That a designer will put a fashion combination on a cover of a magazine that you would never dream of coupling together. Remember the screen when we were stung with not knowing the "proper" belt accessory. Bah humbug. This should remind you that even in the fabulous TV's Sex in the City's there were wardrobe hits and misses. The designers can be experimental, after all, the fashion has a life span of a June bug.
3. That people can pay all too much money for a handbag - after all it is just something to put "stuff" into. Well, just think of a purse is another opportunity to be mismatched with your shoes.
4. Real women will die wearing high heals that are high enough to give you a nose bleed. Be comforted in the fact that you may avoid being crippled later. I think that high heals were invented by a man, he wanted to slow women down so that he could catch up with them. The good news though for those who do not heed my words, that any pair of those shoes could double as a lethal weapon in case of emergency.
5. Even designers have off days, and seasons for that matter. Learn how to just walk away from anything you can't describe what color it is. I believe that one of Hathaway's dresses could best be described as the color of thawing frozen spinach.

But rejoice. Revel in a few moments of pleasure when you were transported to a better place, before your feet must touch down once again to the bosom spilling, acid rubbed, liquidly tight jeans and T-shirts we are forced to see on the streets today.

So maybe, you can forget the plot, turn off the sound, hold on to the remote and fast forward though the movie, to lovingly feast your eyes on "the wardrobe of our dreams". Welcome to fashion heaven.