BY MING CAI

In print | Published September 11, 2008

It seems only fitting that the inspiration for my first Phoenix column would be a photo from The Sartorialist, the blog whose name I liberally used to make a not-so-clever pun for my column title. The photo/post was entitled “On the Street…That Girl! Paris” and featured a lithe young woman wearing a summer mini dress, bolero shrug, knee socks and peep-toe pumps. The length of the dress and her innocently nonchalant pose made her legs look miles long, and the structure of her outfit contrasted beautifully with the old and graying limestone walls in the background. But that wasn’t what people focused on in their comments.

The source of controversy lay in what she held in her hand — a cigarette, held delicately between her fingers in mid-tap. Readers bashed Sart for “promoting smoking” by featuring a picture of that same girl with cigarette in hand a couple of weeks earlier. Many commented that the girl looked cute, but would look better without the cigarette. Others disagreed and retaliated that smoking is a personal choice, or that it simply adds to the overall aesthetics and the attitude projected in the photos.

Given the percentage of people who smoke in Europe and the number of street style fashion blogs that photograph there, it isn’t surprising that cigarettes often appear to be the accessory of choice. While sometimes smoking completes the look (think chic fashion editor dressed in head-to-toe black), it seems to fit even more when there is a noticeable contrast. What could better balance out a ruffled girly frock than a lit cigarette? Or over-sized nerdy glasses and loafers? It sends the message that one may or may not have spent hours getting ready in the morning, but that it doesn’t matter anyway. It helps one to avoid that ill-fated trying-too-hard look, and ironically, it projects confidence, even if the habit may suggest otherwise.

Of course, it’s not just street fashion blogs that have pictures of women and men smoking. The most high-end couture labels have always had models smoking in their ads, and it was even seen on the runway during Jean Paul Gaultier’s Fall/Winter 2008 collection for Hermes. Cigarettes have been carefully placed and planned into the editorial spreads of various European Vogue magazines for years, and it’s no wonder that Yves Saint Laurent’s signature piece is the “le smoking” jacket (though the name really comes from the French word for tuxedo). Every time I see a beautiful old black and white photograph from the 1920s or ’40s with women smoking my immediate reaction is not distaste — the smoking only adds to the nostalgic feel and mystery. If there were one word to sum up the “look” that cigarettes project, it would be simply “cool.”

That leaves street fashion photographers in a difficult situation. Runway shows and couture ads may feature smoking, but street fashion shows people in everyday life. Would a photographer pass up a good photo opportunity if the person happened to be smoking? Does the cigarette complete the picture or does it ruin it? The Sartorialist has explicitly said that certain photos are not meant to “celebrate smoking.” Sometimes he also has to post a message telling his readers to direct their attention to the real focus of the photo — the person’s hair, their glasses, etc. — and not the cigarette hanging out the side of his/her mouth. This seems like a fairly responsible way to handle the often-touchy subject, but it does not mask the fact that there seems to be a spike in the number of comments every time a picture features a smoker.

Perhaps people are so concerned with photographs of smokers because it is something so easily visible. For all we know, that girl may have other unhealthy habits, like not eating enough fiber, but you wouldn’t be able to tell just by looking at a picture of her or seeing her on a street. But if the entire fashion community quit smoking, would that be more effective than those Truth commercials? Though it would certainly stop adding to the glamorous image of smoking, smoking is such a deeply entrenched cultural condition that it would be hard to remove it altogether. What’s in is in, so for now, smoking will just have to remain visually polarizing, no matter how hazy the subject can be.

Ming is a sophomore. You can reach her at mcai1@swarthmore.edu.

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