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I first heard the expression in The Devil Wears Prada, announced by Stanley Tucci’s character as the movie’s title character, Miranda Priestly, enters the Runway building. Though I didn’t look it up, I took “gird your loins” to mean “prepare for danger”, “be afraid”, “get ready for trouble”, etc., and have since repeated it to myself regularly–when I hear my name called by a certain fashion photographer at the same time I realize I forgot to remove a tag on a piece of clothing, when my caller ID says the name of a store contact five minutes after I drop off shoes that have been worn outside,…basically, whenever I think I’m about to get it.

In actuality, it means “prepare for action”, and originates from the Roman Era when soldiers would pull up and tie their lower garments (loincloths) between their legs in order to increase their mobility in battle. I go a more modern route; I squirm instead.

For SS10, designers ventured from military jackets, boots and breeches and incorporated loincloths (most so short, there would be no need to tie them) into their combat-ready collections. Christophe Decarnin debuted suede, leather and metallic versions (as seen on Demi Moore on the controversial cover of W, December 2009) at Balmain; Rick Owens dropped narrow pieces of black, white and grey fabric between his runway models’ legs and Blouson Noir’s Melanie Ward and Graham Tabor gave the trend a more traditional “skirt” shape, with full coverage and fringe.

With designers “girding their loins” in anticipation for their FW10 shows, it will be interesting to see if loincloths make the cut. Personally, I would love to see the look–preferably paired with a few pieces of armor (hot!).

Images via style.com, fashiongonerogue.com, refinery29.com, fashiontoast.com

balmain.com
rickowens.eu