Wallis Simpson- Lobster Dress

The image conveys a surreal but old fashioned moment in time. It makes me thing from a voyeuristic perspective, like I shouldn't be watching her. Because of the colour of her dress it seems so innocent. The image seem slightly blurred and posed to be amateur. Although it is meant to look natural and a moment in time, her pose is very forced. The composition of the image suggests that it is two contrasting ideas. The idea of a well dressed woman in a wedding or posh dress roaming around the forest is a strange concept. Because of the way the trees are layered around her and in front of her she seems lost in the picture. But in other way she stands out. Her expression suggests that she in herself is lost, which is quite prominent. Despite the fact it has undertones of being sinister because of the fact there is women in a strange environment; there is a lot of light shed in the image. Her dress is such a clean white that it appears to reflect light, this could have the connotation of inner light or purity. This image reminds me a lot of Ophelia from Hamlet because of the way she is dressed and presented in such a calm manor, as well as being surrounded by mother nature.

The image does pose the question, what is she looking at?

Having grown up in royalty and undergone several marriages Wallis Simpson appeared to be under a lot of pressure and restrictions. Based on the period of time in which she was alive there would have been an urgency for her to be responsible and grow up therefore I feel this image surpasses that. Although the outdoors and mother nature is taken for granted in our era we still enjoy a day out to take our mind of things. I feel like this image is Simpson letting go of her responsibilities and duties and just being carefree. The contrasting idea that she is looking back but stepping forward suggests that she is between her past and future. Her lobster dress became very iconic and her choice of clothing in the image suggests a frivolous fashion sense, not forgetting that fashion can be fun. It also shows that outrageous fashion had only just begun and there was more to come.

I feel like this image is a question and answer to some people. It questions the idea of why is Wallis Simpson daydreaming in a forest surrounded by vegetation. But also says that despite the constraints of living in the public eye you can still let go. It also puts the lobster dress that she became so famous for in a completely new surrounding. Having been photographed mostly in public places at events or more urban locations, this image contrasts with that by saying you can wear a beautiful dress in a field. This reminds me a lot of the prom dress and trainers trend in which Lily Allen was seen doing because it is taking two opposing ideas and throwing them together.

This image was iconic during the time it was published because it said something about fashion and its ability to do anything with different ideas and I think it is the same about fashion today. More and more ideas are being juxtaposed and it always seems to stick. But this image says something about the hierarchy of royalty and that it was meant to be a certain way and this is different.