"What happened to the Australian girl that used to run this shoe store?" She's gone, sir. They've all gone. They've all been driven out. And we're back. "Who?" The incredibly intimidating and aristocratic people who still unaccountably sell pointy shoes.
Not so cool when you're sprawled face down on the floor after over confidently bounding up the steps of the theatre foyer where you're meeting your new paramour's friends for the first time. For example. I never wanted to see bloody "Cats" anyway.
and what's more impressive, also listened. as it happens at that particular point in the video I was doing neither, which made this comment of at least some minor value. cheers.
I was walking to Uni the other day, begrudgingly wearing my nice new jeans with fake pockets. Without thinking, I slid my keys into my back pocket like I always do (unless you're a pickpocket stalker, in which case I never do that. But I digress). I then realised that the back pockets were fake, and panicked that I'd dropped my keys on the floor. But no; there were HIDDEN pockets BENEATH the fake pockets. A flap that led nowhere, but an open pocket behind. Madness, but better than nothing...
I noticed the pointy shoe thing! It is the same with jeans and button flies. I had a stressful experience when I last went jeans shopping as I had to go to about 5 different shops before I found jeans with zip flies. Zips are simply easier and better how can having buttons on flies be fashionable WHEN THE FLY IS COVERED UP.
It's like all jeans (and most slacks as well) being skinny (at least in Korea and the rest of Asia over the past 2+ years). There are very few people that look actually flatters.
This has also happened with women's waists. Where the waist is considered to be, has moved. Now 'normal rise' jeans measure your waist fractionally above your hips in an attempt to expose more midriff, and actually waist high jeans are considered 'superhigh'. I prefer jeans from the 90's (or what we're now calling 'mom jeans'). I know where my waist is damn it, and it isn't skimming my pelvic bones.
Funny, it seems to me like waistlines have only gone up since the end of the 90s. So much so that a lot of jeans are back to the 80s waist; or the Sexy Urkel, as I'm going to start calling it.
I find a whole lot of jeans are getting higher and higher. What does seem to be happening though is that the shirst are running away, exposing ever more for the jeans to cover! Lol.
@@kitube14 Low cut jeans are an abomination. I do not want to see someone's underpants, nor someone's arsecrack that looks like you could plant potatoes there.
Thankfully, we don't have to deal with this States-side. But what we are being forced to buy athletic shoe wise are overly brightly colored, very thin, excessively breathable things. We're not all running marathons, thanks. Some of us want something more modest in design and appearance, that doesn't cause us to daintily avoid puddles, sprinklers, and gentle rainfall, for fear of soaked socks.
ancilodon... this. A full year later and still so bloody relevant. I want my tennis shoes to be mostly white, mostly leather/pleather/vinyl/etc just as God intended them to be. Away with the neon green mesh abominations!
They're either flimsy, excessively breathable things that are entirely useless in winter or they have 2" thick soles and the maker's name in fluorescent garish 3" high lettering on the sides. Trainers don't look like trainers any more, they invariably look like something that dropped out of the mother ship. Bring back old skool hooves I say! Adidas have brought back some 80's designs in recent years but even they aren't the same, not made as well as the originals. I speak from bitter experience...
Last time I went to by a pair of sneakers (trainers) I discovered that most of them had orange somewhere in the design. Either orange stripes or orange laces or orange grommets. Even the ones I finally got, which were different shades of dark brown, had little orange triangles on them, and orange striped laces. I hate orange.
It annoys me so much because I am over 6 foot, and therefore have big feet, and in order to find shoes that fit me I have to go for rediculous sizes like 17 because the size 13s are getting so thin it's like they imagine that people have sticks for feet.
As someone who has fat feet (the kids scales always used to measure me as UK H+ width, which was basically short for "off the scale") I am wearing shoes about two sizes larger than I need and it causes me to stumble on stairs and get my feet stuck.
Feel for me, I'm a woman who has to wear men's sneakers. And size 11 men's sneakers at that. Which are designed for man feet not my skinny narrow long (arguably) lady foot
Have you guys tried Clarke’s wide fitting? I think the trend is slowing dissipating and have seen some round toed shoes at Fat Face and Ecco. I take size 4 but every ladies show is so narrow in design that my ‘rounded toes’ ache. Another brand for us normal people is Hush Puppies and Red or Dead. You do not need to go a size (or 6) up.
I thought people started wearing powdered wigs because of head lice and other scalp diseases? Or at least, the person who popularized that fashion. But it did have a somewhat practical origin (as far as I know) Edit #1: According to the internet, it was due to a syphilis epidemic in the 1500s which caused partial hair loss Edit #2: And I fully agree about the pointy shoes. I bought a pair a while ago and kept tripping over things and knocking into low surfaces because of the extra 2" at the end of my foot. utterly impractical
The powdered wig bit reminded me, Cracked does a sketch about the last guy in America to have been peer pressured to shave his Charlie Chaplin mustache. Presumably in the early 40's.
The shoe designers must have been related to the people who decided that women's jeans should no longer sit in the hips that nature provided for the purpose, but must instead be clamped on lower down, to be mainly held up by the blot clots they probably caused. Or that women's shorts can not be worn in polite society (by which I mean at all), unless they cause a serious case of camel-toe.
and how come nothing but bloody jeans are being sold nowadays? Only thing I can find is either some jogging pants or jeans... there must be something else
The wigs started out with King Louis XIV's long flowing dark curls and that becoming an ideal. Later when people started truly adopting this fashion, the only practical solution was to have a wig instead of trying to meticulously take care of a full head of hair and curl it and put it in a fashionable method once or twice a week. Then as Louis XIV came to be grey the wig phenomenon was a requirement as formal wear and the powder was introduced. The fact that it continued was to identify class.
***** I know, and it's not just jeans. I was trying to find a straight pair of suit-type trousers for two funerals the other month, and they were *all* skinny fit. And I was looking around the shops and suddenly noticed that *everything* was skinny fit...jeans, trousers, jogging bottoms, pajama bottoms. It's madness.
Wait? Men are having this problem too? Damn it...i was going to switch to men's pants. All women's jeans seem to be painted on at this point, terribly uncomfortable. I was hoping I'd be safe in the men's section cause men need extra room in places...
Remember the rapper jeans fashion of the 2000's? When jeans were extremely wide and were designed specifically to hang so low that it exposes your buttocks? Ah, those were the days. :)
I hear what you're saying on the wig front. In terms of pointy shoes, I don't think he's saying they're new in themselves, but that non-pointy shoes' becoming unavailable is new and ridiculous to him. I'm fairly anti-points myself...find it much harder to get up a flight of stairs :)
Small spectacles (glasses) is another one that's been foisted on us - some years back all the specs available in opticians got smaller and stayed that way and I'm certain that wearers didn't all get together and campaign for smaller ones.
I have size 11 feet, so I feel like a clown in overly-pointy dress shoes. I usually stick to trainers and boots in everyday wear, and only slip on the pointies whenever they're needed.
This is a man I'd love to know, but I'd never want to talk to. He clearly has a rich personality and a well thought out view on a wide range of subjects, but if I were ever to join him in a conversation in a bar or on a casual stroll, it'd become apparent almost immediately he has exponentially more to add to the conversation than I ever would, and not only would he quickly become bored of my presence and leave, but I'd go home feeling enlightened but also incredibly dim.
It reminds me of women's skinny, low rise jeans last season. "You can wear them, I guess, but I'm a bit chubby so I'd rather... oh, that's the only kind of jean you have?"
It is true. "Are" is the plural tense of the verb "to be". The word "pair" is singular, hence it takes the relevant singular tense of "to be". It's like "group" or "team" - many people use the plural tense of the verb "to be" with the singular form of these nouns, which although common is completely false. For "one hundred ducks" the verb attaches to "ducks" (plural). For "a pair of shoes" it attaches to "pair", which we have established is singular.
Strange thing is, a lot of guysI have talked to don't like pointy shoes but buy them anyway. Same thing with skinny jeans/pants. I couldn't get myself to like them. When shopping for shoes, ask for Oxfords. When shopping for jeans, ask for boot cut.
if you're not familiar with the film, there's a clip on TH-cam of the scene under the title " You Think This Has Nothing To Do With You" it's pretty brilliant acting and writing.
My understanding was that wigs came in as part of the fashion for keeping one's hair cropped short to minimize habitat for head lice. Presumably, if this is true, then they faded out in response to the rising popularity of washing, particularly of the hair. I suppose I could have checked to see if there is any basis for this before posting it here, but I haven't, so please don't just go believing it just because you saw someone say it somewhere, like I did.
I knew what I was talking about and I just used the wrong word ("tense"). My last sentence DOES make sense because it is simply fact that you say "One hundred ducks are flying" and "One pair [of shoes] is expensive". It's ONE pair and the verb needs to agree with "pair" even though it means "two things". Yes, pair is EQUIVALENT to two but they are different words - two means the number 2 and pair is a collective noun. Group, team, selection all imply more than one but the words are singular.
As I understand, the powdered wig fad started with Louis XIV going prematurely bald and all his court sycophants thought it would be a good idea to turn the wig into a fashion statement.
I know it would be a radical departure for you, or at least your public persona, but you ought to do series 5 of the soapbox on things you really really like and adore. Things that just make you smile despite yourself.
When ballerina shoes and converses were everywhere. And I followed the trend (wanted to look cool at nursing school) and developed plantar fasciitis. It’s been over 9 years now and have to wear heals everyday even on the wards to prevent it flaring up again!
"Two" is an adjective. "Pair" is a noun. Although the meaning may be the same, they are grammatically different. With a collective noun, either singular or plural can be correct depending on the exact meaning within a sentence. Also, nationality plays a huge part in what sounds right, too. As an American, the singular form sounds more natural to me even in cases where plural makes more sense. British speakers tend to use plural even when singular would make more sense.
Powdered wigs came about due to an epidemic of syphil is, and one of the symptoms of syphilis is that it causes your hair to fall out and in some cases rashes and blisters on the forehead, so powdered wigs covered these up source: m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=31056
+lolXDrofl It was kind of a "comeback of the wigs" in the 17th century. Long (well-groomed) hair was always considered to be a sign of nobility and since King Louis VII. (the Saint) adopted that very phenomenon in the 13th century to be "a la mode", one can understand this self-endulgence of later catholic frenchmen - and of course they powdered everything, as water was considered to be smuttish and unhealthly,
I always thought it was something about dealing with lice and other parasites in the real head hair, like why the ancient Egyptians used to shave off all each other's body hair, and then wear those iconic wigs made of wool.
Jessica Lee Most information about ancient Egypt had no influence on early-modern Europe. A.f.a.i.k. (whatever that may significate): the bearer of the longest, most healthy looking hair was to be considered to be the most "godlike", virile and blessed individual since the early middle ages. Noblemen who could maintain a full-haired head would rather do so before taking the expensive wig-way. Lice, hygiene deficits, helmets or just hairloss stood always against the natural look but to my limited knowledge there are many long-haired personae until the early 17th century, who further my claim. Wigs had to be bought, maintained and held up to the newest trends ('alla mode' as a term for the allongé-'fever' has to be sided with). I would emphasize the french/frankish tradition in this case very strongly. Louis XIV. sought to be a new saint-louis or better: a new merowingian like the long-haired Childerique or better Chlovis!
The article mentions this at the end. They came into popular use due to the syphillis outbreak, but probably stuck around because they were an improvement over constantly ridding your head of lice. In a sense, they satisfy david's criterion for a "useful technology" in that sense, David probably wouldn't care about being bald, but I think he would freak out if he constantly had parasites on his head.
Simply not true. The reason had to do with balding and also lice - people (though chiefly men) would shave off their hair and don wigs instead. The syphilis hypothesis doesn't make any sense because 1) the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks wore wigs as a matter of fashion (especially the Egyptians), and they did not have syphilis or any other disease as an excuse, 2) the wig's revival in the 16th century happened in the upper classes, yet it was the lower classes which were affected the most by syphilis, and 3) if the wigs were popularized by balding syphilitic victims, then wigs would have become associated with the disease - and would never have caught on. "He's wearing a wig - he must have been consorting with prostitutes, tsk tsk." Besides, it's not as if syphilis was the only thing around which caused hair loss in men and women alike. Mercury was used as treatment for a variety of ills (including syphilis), and mercury causes hair loss. Lead was used in make-up, and lead poisoning can also cause hair loss. But it is particularly 3) above which is the strongest argument why syphilis is such a bad explanation. It is worth noting that the mentalfloss link doesn't cite any sources, and everyone out there who argues for the syphilis theory seems to be linking to that very site. That is quite telling.
Oh, too true. To be able to speak on his level in his presense would be quite an accomplishment. Though if given the opprotunity to prove myself, I think I'd still go run away and hide under a bush or something rather than risk embarrassing myself in front of him. Even then, he'd probably notice and make his next soapbox about "That one guy I noticed stupidly hiding under a bush that one time". Assuming the event was even worth mentioning at all, that is.
This is so much more of a problem with women's shoes for those of us who don't want to wear pointy high heeled things. Even the BOOTS are always pointy and high heeled.
David Mitchell is obviously a very intelligent and sensible guy. One would assume he is intelligent enough to figure out that men's clothing is adapting to suit the needs of today's fashion conscious men. Woman don't wear high heels because they're comfortable (or in any way practical), they wear them because they like the way there legs look while wearing them. To Zaxomio : If you have ever seen David Mitchell on the Show QI, then you would realize he is incredibly sharp-witted.
I love most of your comments, but I would like to point out that wigs did have a distinct advantage and so are not a fair comparison. First, wigs did not start off powdered, and were used to combat lice. Shaving your head and replacing the wig was a relatively effective way of dealing with lice. I have no idea why the powdering started.
Elizabeth Crist The power was scented. The wigs began to smell very much and if you didnt want to get a new one every week you would have to put scented powder in the fibers.
I noticed the shoe thing, as well. The only reason for it I can think of is so that you can use them as a weapon should you find yourself attacked or just a little annoyed in the lift.
If a collective noun represents the group as a single unit, then the verb used with it should be singular (which is a number, not a tense). On the other hand, if the collective noun is used for each of the group's members, the verb should be plural. In this case, the pair as a whole isn't really any shape, but both of the shoes individually are (or are not) pointy. Being British, David is also more likely to use a plural verb with a collective noun than an American speaker would be.
It is fucked. I needed dress shoes and they all looked like part of an elf-stripper wardrobe. The toes curled up a bit too... I'm in Mexico City at the moment so I thought it was a local thing (I found a non pointy pair but most were bizarre) i hate clothes and people who wear them
Yeah, those sound like Mexican pointy boots. David's just talking about standard pointy dress shoes taking over the shoe store... But I do think I could die happy if I ever saw David Mitchell walking around in crazy Mexican pointy boots, and complaining about it as he shuffles awkwardly along.
Actually, a psychology research paper was published about this just recently. Search 'What your choice of shoe says about you' and open the BPS research digest blog if you are interested :)
I haven't bought shoes in about 2 years so hadn't noticed, I'll have to keep an eye out for this when I buy new ones after the current ones finally die.
another thing the only ear phones you can buy now are those ones that you have to shove into the middle of your ear so they dethen you or keep falling out and fill with earwax either way.
johnotm ... hear hear... I agree. I can't for the life of me find "earbuds" (not "earphones" or "in ears") anywhere. And what's worse, online sellers don't use the proper terminology, so it's bloody well impossible to search for them!
I think it's a good word as well- the only thing I don't like about it is that I don't know what it means. Thanks, Mitchell- I feel obliged to look a word up because YOU'VE made me feel stupid...to the dictionary!
1:50 *Climbing chain link fences Wigs started because of fleas/lice.. People would shave their hair because of lice, then wear a wig to replace it. Then it just became the accepted style. Powdered I'm guessing to cut down on sweating. Not sure if any of that is accurate, just my conjecture.
I don´t like those fake pockets either. I have several jeans with more than six pockets even, but they are all real ones. Funnily enough they even can come in handy sometimes.
While we're at it, can we all agree once and for all that no one on earth wants jeans or shirts with fake pockets? I'm alright with them just putting no pockets on if they don't want them. Great. But I'm a man who likes his pockets, so when I see a pair of jeans with 6 pockets on them, I consider that a plus. Then once I've paid for them I realise that the 4 extra ones don't actually open. Some of them even have working buttons or zips. But they don't open. They should go the way of pointy shoes
It's just a funny little thing that TH-cam struggles with. Some newly-uploaded videos have such staggering numbers of views that the poor old site just can't quite keep up with them, but they're processing likes alright, so there's a bit of lag that causes a discrepancy. Sometimes, it gets ludicrous - on the more popular channels, you sometimes find thousands of likes on videos with just a couple of hundred views.
Thank you for saying so, but my problem isnt so much that I have nothing to say, but more that it's difficult to express one's full opinion on a subject and do so in a way that keeps the other person interested in what you're saying. Its much easier on the internet to form opinions and write them out as you see fit, as you can change wording without the other person knowing, but in person, it'd be much more difficult to verbalize such things in a single try to your own, and their, satisfaction.
The 80's is certainly making a bigger come back in Britain than it is here (mixed with a large 60's acid flashback). Personally, I don't mind, in part because I enjoyed the 80's, but mostly because I truly loathed the 70's, and the last ten years have been hard on me.
Just a quick online check of London shoe stores reveals plenty of shoe options with nice, traditional rounded toes. This rant would have been better directed at the men (mostly Londoners) who choose to wear pointy shoes rather than at shoe stores in general.
*obligatory comment about how right he is, how I agree, and therefore why we should be together* *post script commending and/or condemning Victoria Coren*
I'm just annoyed there aren't more types of slip on shoes. I want some slip on brogues in size 10 dammit and while we're at it where's a digital pocket watch when you need one?
What I hate are the baggy jeans. I for one have no intention of stuffing a 'boom box' into my trousers to shoplift. What in the world inspired a "look" where one's pants are literally falling off one's body? I see kids literally, chronically, holding their pants up. I don't mean pulling, I mean constantly holding. And even then the goal seems to be to have ones boxers totally exposed. Criminals have an impractical fashion sense.
The next logical step from pointy shoes will be pointy work-boots. The ones with the steel cap to protect the toes. And then someone has the brilliant idea to sharpen the steel cap, make it into a sort of spike to make the shoe even pointier. And I say we should embrace this change, because it might just be the beginning of the end of the current beginning of the end of the world which is more casually known as football.
"What happened to the Australian girl that used to run this shoe store?"
She's gone, sir. They've all gone. They've all been driven out. And we're back.
"Who?"
The incredibly intimidating and aristocratic people who still unaccountably sell pointy shoes.
I think I saw her in Dartmouth
David's foot is a hand
lol, but to be fair, I didn't get the impression from the skit that the Australian girl was an intimidating, posh or aristocratic type.
"hey don't speak to my wife in that way."
@@kaiman99919 You know what they say about down in Darty.
There's an obvious aerodynamic advantage to pointy shoes, makes you go faster while maintaining traction around corners
Hate Seeing Feet With Squashed Toes.Looks Abnormal.
Not so cool when you're sprawled face down on the floor after over confidently bounding up the steps of the theatre foyer where you're meeting your new paramour's friends for the first time.
For example.
I never wanted to see bloody "Cats" anyway.
You need all the downforce you can get in this day and age
@@zacmumblethunder7466 I was coming here to say "alan partridge could elaborate nicely on this".. you didnt disappoint
@@w8m4n Thank you.
"... Those nightclubs where the clientele don't wear jeans but carry knives"
and what's more impressive, also listened. as it happens at that particular point in the video I was doing neither, which made this comment of at least some minor value. cheers.
A joke from my youth: Pointy shoes are for squishing cockroaches in the corners.
Well they do also call them winklepickers
"Tessellating in crowded lifts"
Oooerrr, missus!!!!
I was walking to Uni the other day, begrudgingly wearing my nice new jeans with fake pockets. Without thinking, I slid my keys into my back pocket like I always do (unless you're a pickpocket stalker, in which case I never do that. But I digress). I then realised that the back pockets were fake, and panicked that I'd dropped my keys on the floor. But no; there were HIDDEN pockets BENEATH the fake pockets. A flap that led nowhere, but an open pocket behind. Madness, but better than nothing...
"Tessellating in crowded lifts?" That is why I love David Mitchell.
I noticed the pointy shoe thing! It is the same with jeans and button flies. I had a stressful experience when I last went jeans shopping as I had to go to about 5 different shops before I found jeans with zip flies. Zips are simply easier and better how can having buttons on flies be fashionable WHEN THE FLY IS COVERED UP.
It's like all jeans (and most slacks as well) being skinny (at least in Korea and the rest of Asia over the past 2+ years). There are very few people that look actually flatters.
I prefer some baggy ass flares.
I concede that they're not flattering, but they're nice and supportive for my half-century old knees... Feast your eyes!!!!!!
On the other hand, a rounded shoe *feels* foot shaped, which is probably more useful.
Not on your hand its not *badumtss*
How is more useful that a shoe *feels* foot-shaped?
This has also happened with women's waists. Where the waist is considered to be, has moved. Now 'normal rise' jeans measure your waist fractionally above your hips in an attempt to expose more midriff, and actually waist high jeans are considered 'superhigh'. I prefer jeans from the 90's (or what we're now calling 'mom jeans'). I know where my waist is damn it, and it isn't skimming my pelvic bones.
this comment has aged like fine wine.
Funny, it seems to me like waistlines have only gone up since the end of the 90s. So much so that a lot of jeans are back to the 80s waist; or the Sexy Urkel, as I'm going to start calling it.
Now high rise/mom jeans are back in 👍
I find a whole lot of jeans are getting higher and higher. What does seem to be happening though is that the shirst are running away, exposing ever more for the jeans to cover! Lol.
@@kitube14 Low cut jeans are an abomination. I do not want to see someone's underpants, nor someone's arsecrack that looks like you could plant potatoes there.
Thankfully, we don't have to deal with this States-side. But what we are being forced to buy athletic shoe wise are overly brightly colored, very thin, excessively breathable things. We're not all running marathons, thanks. Some of us want something more modest in design and appearance, that doesn't cause us to daintily avoid puddles, sprinklers, and gentle rainfall, for fear of soaked socks.
ancilodon... this.
A full year later and still so bloody relevant. I want my tennis shoes to be mostly white, mostly leather/pleather/vinyl/etc just as God intended them to be. Away with the neon green mesh abominations!
They're either flimsy, excessively breathable things that are entirely useless in winter or they have 2" thick soles and the maker's name in fluorescent garish 3" high lettering on the sides. Trainers don't look like trainers any more, they invariably look like something that dropped out of the mother ship. Bring back old skool hooves I say! Adidas have brought back some 80's designs in recent years but even they aren't the same, not made as well as the originals. I speak from bitter experience...
Paul Bennell I just wear my work boots everywhere
Trainers/athletic shoes are one of the biggest rip-offs of the modern world. Not quite up there with perfume/scent but not far behind.
Last time I went to by a pair of sneakers (trainers) I discovered that most of them had orange somewhere in the design. Either orange stripes or orange laces or orange grommets. Even the ones I finally got, which were different shades of dark brown, had little orange triangles on them, and orange striped laces. I hate orange.
It annoys me so much because I am over 6 foot, and therefore have big feet, and in order to find shoes that fit me I have to go for rediculous sizes like 17 because the size 13s are getting so thin it's like they imagine that people have sticks for feet.
As someone who has fat feet (the kids scales always used to measure me as UK H+ width, which was basically short for "off the scale") I am wearing shoes about two sizes larger than I need and it causes me to stumble on stairs and get my feet stuck.
Feel for me, I'm a woman who has to wear men's sneakers. And size 11 men's sneakers at that. Which are designed for man feet not my skinny narrow long (arguably) lady foot
Have you guys tried Clarke’s wide fitting? I think the trend is slowing dissipating and have seen some round toed shoes at Fat Face and Ecco. I take size 4 but every ladies show is so narrow in design that my ‘rounded toes’ ache. Another brand for us normal people is Hush Puppies and Red or Dead. You do not need to go a size (or 6) up.
New Balance reliably has shoes in EEEE (4 wides). You should try them if you get a chance.
I thought people started wearing powdered wigs because of head lice and other scalp diseases? Or at least, the person who popularized that fashion. But it did have a somewhat practical origin (as far as I know)
Edit #1: According to the internet, it was due to a syphilis epidemic in the 1500s which caused partial hair loss
Edit #2: And I fully agree about the pointy shoes. I bought a pair a while ago and kept tripping over things and knocking into low surfaces because of the extra 2" at the end of my foot. utterly impractical
I don't think the internet is right on this. Better check again.
The powdered wig bit reminded me, Cracked does a sketch about the last guy in America to have been peer pressured to shave his Charlie Chaplin mustache. Presumably in the early 40's.
"A pointy shoe always seems in search of an estate agent."
“And out of horsehair, you say?” That made me laugh. A lot.
1:55 all the trees turn into powdered wigs. Nicely done!
The shoe designers must have been related to the people who decided that women's jeans should no longer sit in the hips that nature provided for the purpose, but must instead be clamped on lower down, to be mainly held up by the blot clots they probably caused.
Or that women's shorts can not be worn in polite society (by which I mean at all), unless they cause a serious case of camel-toe.
good.
One of his best ever. Had me in stitches.
and how come nothing but bloody jeans are being sold nowadays? Only thing I can find is either some jogging pants or jeans... there must be something else
Kingstad corduroy feels effing amazing. It's a shame they're hard to come by nowadays.
I'll stick with my jodphurs...
@@GeonQuuin corduroy is back in fashion
Shops still sell proper trousers, you know.
It's so lovely to have your rants back (: I can relate so well to them
Yet again David Mitchell speaks my mind for me!
This is just the sharp social commentary i subscribed for
The wigs started out with King Louis XIV's long flowing dark curls and that becoming an ideal. Later when people started truly adopting this fashion, the only practical solution was to have a wig instead of trying to meticulously take care of a full head of hair and curl it and put it in a fashionable method once or twice a week. Then as Louis XIV came to be grey the wig phenomenon was a requirement as formal wear and the powder was introduced. The fact that it continued was to identify class.
What about skinny jeans? Getting so hard to find ones that aren't skinny I can only assume no one will be wearing them soon
***** I know, and it's not just jeans. I was trying to find a straight pair of suit-type trousers for two funerals the other month, and they were *all* skinny fit. And I was looking around the shops and suddenly noticed that *everything* was skinny fit...jeans, trousers, jogging bottoms, pajama bottoms. It's madness.
Wait? Men are having this problem too? Damn it...i was going to switch to men's pants. All women's jeans seem to be painted on at this point, terribly uncomfortable. I was hoping I'd be safe in the men's section cause men need extra room in places...
+Don Robertson At the risk of labelling myself an internet Luddite, THIS. .
Remember the rapper jeans fashion of the 2000's? When jeans were extremely wide and were designed specifically to hang so low that it exposes your buttocks? Ah, those were the days. :)
Remember trip pants? Those were the days :p
I hear what you're saying on the wig front. In terms of pointy shoes, I don't think he's saying they're new in themselves, but that non-pointy shoes' becoming unavailable is new and ridiculous to him. I'm fairly anti-points myself...find it much harder to get up a flight of stairs :)
Small spectacles (glasses) is another one that's been foisted on us - some years back all the specs available in opticians got smaller and stayed that way and I'm certain that wearers didn't all get together and campaign for smaller ones.
Dear gods, and still it continues. I have to buy shoes online now just to avoid looking like a psychopath-designed golf club.
My shoes are already huge due to being size 51 (US 14 ish), I really can’t add a point to that as well.
Club foot is already a thing. My childhood hamster had it, and he didn't even wear shoes.
Can we get more of these please?!
Oh, how my day lights up when I get to watch David Mitchell rant on about a seemingly unimportant topic.
I have size 11 feet, so I feel like a clown in overly-pointy dress shoes. I usually stick to trainers and boots in everyday wear, and only slip on the pointies whenever they're needed.
"Tessellating in crowded lifts?!" Ha!
This is a man I'd love to know, but I'd never want to talk to. He clearly has a rich personality and a well thought out view on a wide range of subjects, but if I were ever to join him in a conversation in a bar or on a casual stroll, it'd become apparent almost immediately he has exponentially more to add to the conversation than I ever would, and not only would he quickly become bored of my presence and leave, but I'd go home feeling enlightened but also incredibly dim.
The trees turning to powdered wigs... nice touch xD
0:25 - "... a new pair which aren't pointy..."
WRONG TENSE MR MITCHELL.
It reminds me of women's skinny, low rise jeans last season. "You can wear them, I guess, but I'm a bit chubby so I'd rather... oh, that's the only kind of jean you have?"
It is true.
"Are" is the plural tense of the verb "to be". The word "pair" is singular, hence it takes the relevant singular tense of "to be".
It's like "group" or "team" - many people use the plural tense of the verb "to be" with the singular form of these nouns, which although common is completely false.
For "one hundred ducks" the verb attaches to "ducks" (plural). For "a pair of shoes" it attaches to "pair", which we have established is singular.
One of the main reasons I love combat boots. No pointy Elvishness there
Aphoticon no just undertones of white supremacy groups and school shooters
that would be the most beautifully articulated rant ever!
Strange thing is, a lot of guysI have talked to don't like pointy shoes but buy them anyway. Same thing with skinny jeans/pants.
I couldn't get myself to like them.
When shopping for shoes, ask for Oxfords.
When shopping for jeans, ask for boot cut.
Ask for straight leg if you want normal pants.
Its a pity, I go barefoot on principle since I absolutely refuse to buy pointy shoes.
I curl the toes of my pointy shoes over and sew them to the rest of my shoe to make me look like an oddly tall business elf...
if you're not familiar with the film, there's a clip on TH-cam of the scene under the title " You Think This Has Nothing To Do With You" it's pretty brilliant acting and writing.
My understanding was that wigs came in as part of the fashion for keeping one's hair cropped short to minimize habitat for head lice. Presumably, if this is true, then they faded out in response to the rising popularity of washing, particularly of the hair.
I suppose I could have checked to see if there is any basis for this before posting it here, but I haven't, so please don't just go believing it just because you saw someone say it somewhere, like I did.
They were also a means of covering hair loss from Syphilis, which was sweeping through Europe at the time.
I knew what I was talking about and I just used the wrong word ("tense").
My last sentence DOES make sense because it is simply fact that you say "One hundred ducks are flying" and "One pair [of shoes] is expensive". It's ONE pair and the verb needs to agree with "pair" even though it means "two things".
Yes, pair is EQUIVALENT to two but they are different words - two means the number 2 and pair is a collective noun. Group, team, selection all imply more than one but the words are singular.
As I understand, the powdered wig fad started with Louis XIV going prematurely bald and all his court sycophants thought it would be a good idea to turn the wig into a fashion statement.
"Oh really? Fine, give me a sack of it."
Great stuff as always!
Tessellate! What a lovely word. Lovely David and his lovely words. Mmmm.
At least i've got this to hold me over till Peep Show returns.
I have size 12 feet, they already look long. Now that shoes are getting pointy - I look like I'm wearing clown shoes.
I lost it at "Tesselating in crowded lifts".
Classic.
I know it would be a radical departure for you, or at least your public persona, but you ought to do series 5 of the soapbox on things you really really like and adore. Things that just make you smile despite yourself.
When ballerina shoes and converses were everywhere. And I followed the trend (wanted to look cool at nursing school) and developed plantar fasciitis. It’s been over 9 years now and have to wear heals everyday even on the wards to prevent it flaring up again!
"Two" is an adjective. "Pair" is a noun. Although the meaning may be the same, they are grammatically different. With a collective noun, either singular or plural can be correct depending on the exact meaning within a sentence. Also, nationality plays a huge part in what sounds right, too. As an American, the singular form sounds more natural to me even in cases where plural makes more sense. British speakers tend to use plural even when singular would make more sense.
Fake pockets are, undeniably, the single most frustrating and inexcusable design feature in the history of frustrating things which are inexcusable.
"Tesselate". Thanks. I now have a new word. And a good chuckle as well!
tessalating in crowded lifts!!
Oh, Mitchell, I love you!
"Tessalating in crowded lifts" brilliant
Powdered wigs came about due to an epidemic of syphil
is, and one of the symptoms of syphilis is that it causes your hair to fall out and in some cases rashes and blisters on the forehead, so powdered wigs covered these up
source:
m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=31056
+lolXDrofl It was kind of a "comeback of the wigs" in the 17th century. Long (well-groomed) hair was always considered to be a sign of nobility and since King Louis VII. (the Saint) adopted that very phenomenon in the 13th century to be "a la mode", one can understand this self-endulgence of later catholic frenchmen - and of course they powdered everything, as water was considered to be smuttish and unhealthly,
I always thought it was something about dealing with lice and other parasites in the real head hair, like why the ancient Egyptians used to shave off all each other's body hair, and then wear those iconic wigs made of wool.
Jessica Lee
Most information about ancient Egypt had no influence on early-modern Europe. A.f.a.i.k. (whatever that may significate): the bearer of the longest, most healthy looking hair was to be considered to be the most "godlike", virile and blessed individual since the early middle ages. Noblemen who could maintain a full-haired head would rather do so before taking the expensive wig-way. Lice, hygiene deficits, helmets or just hairloss stood always against the natural look but to my limited knowledge there are many long-haired personae until the early 17th century, who further my claim. Wigs had to be bought, maintained and held up to the newest trends ('alla mode' as a term for the allongé-'fever' has to be sided with). I would emphasize the french/frankish tradition in this case very strongly. Louis XIV. sought to be a new saint-louis or better: a new merowingian like the long-haired Childerique or better Chlovis!
The article mentions this at the end. They came into popular use due to the syphillis outbreak, but probably stuck around because they were an improvement over constantly ridding your head of lice. In a sense, they satisfy david's criterion for a "useful technology" in that sense, David probably wouldn't care about being bald, but I think he would freak out if he constantly had parasites on his head.
Simply not true. The reason had to do with balding and also lice - people (though chiefly men) would shave off their hair and don wigs instead. The syphilis hypothesis doesn't make any sense because 1) the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks wore wigs as a matter of fashion (especially the Egyptians), and they did not have syphilis or any other disease as an excuse, 2) the wig's revival in the 16th century happened in the upper classes, yet it was the lower classes which were affected the most by syphilis, and 3) if the wigs were popularized by balding syphilitic victims, then wigs would have become associated with the disease - and would never have caught on. "He's wearing a wig - he must have been consorting with prostitutes, tsk tsk."
Besides, it's not as if syphilis was the only thing around which caused hair loss in men and women alike. Mercury was used as treatment for a variety of ills (including syphilis), and mercury causes hair loss. Lead was used in make-up, and lead poisoning can also cause hair loss. But it is particularly 3) above which is the strongest argument why syphilis is such a bad explanation.
It is worth noting that the mentalfloss link doesn't cite any sources, and everyone out there who argues for the syphilis theory seems to be linking to that very site. That is quite telling.
Oh, too true. To be able to speak on his level in his presense would be quite an accomplishment. Though if given the opprotunity to prove myself, I think I'd still go run away and hide under a bush or something rather than risk embarrassing myself in front of him. Even then, he'd probably notice and make his next soapbox about "That one guy I noticed stupidly hiding under a bush that one time". Assuming the event was even worth mentioning at all, that is.
This is so much more of a problem with women's shoes for those of us who don't want to wear pointy high heeled things. Even the BOOTS are always pointy and high heeled.
David Mitchell is obviously a very intelligent and sensible guy. One would assume he is intelligent enough to figure out that men's clothing is adapting to suit the needs of today's fashion conscious men. Woman don't wear high heels because they're comfortable (or in any way practical), they wear them because they like the way there legs look while wearing them. To Zaxomio : If you have ever seen David Mitchell on the Show QI, then you would realize he is incredibly sharp-witted.
I love most of your comments, but I would like to point out that wigs did have a distinct advantage and so are not a fair comparison. First, wigs did not start off powdered, and were used to combat lice. Shaving your head and replacing the wig was a relatively effective way of dealing with lice. I have no idea why the powdering started.
Maybe the powder was also a way of preventing lice an bugs? Perhaps they thought it would smother them?
Elizabeth Crist
The power was scented. The wigs began to smell very much and if you didnt want to get a new one every week you would have to put scented powder in the fibers.
+Elizabeth Crist In colonial America, men powdered their hair in order to pretend that they were wearing wigs . . . .
1:35 superhands might disagree with that
The "tessellating in elevators" line made it for me.
I noticed the shoe thing, as well. The only reason for it I can think of is so that you can use them as a weapon should you find yourself attacked or just a little annoyed in the lift.
I am now looking solemnly at my pointy shoes... I'm so sorry, David.
If a collective noun represents the group as a single unit, then the verb used with it should be singular (which is a number, not a tense). On the other hand, if the collective noun is used for each of the group's members, the verb should be plural. In this case, the pair as a whole isn't really any shape, but both of the shoes individually are (or are not) pointy. Being British, David is also more likely to use a plural verb with a collective noun than an American speaker would be.
What sort of people is "don't wear jeans but carry knives" supposed to convey? I'm having trouble picturing them.
I think they have returned to normal now. Thanks David I think they listened.
Tessellating in crowded lifts, that's the funniest thing I have ever heard.
It is fucked. I needed dress shoes and they all looked like part of an elf-stripper wardrobe. The toes curled up a bit too... I'm in Mexico City at the moment so I thought it was a local thing (I found a non pointy pair but most were bizarre)
i hate clothes and people who wear them
Yeah, those sound like Mexican pointy boots. David's just talking about standard pointy dress shoes taking over the shoe store... But I do think I could die happy if I ever saw David Mitchell walking around in crazy Mexican pointy boots, and complaining about it as he shuffles awkwardly along.
Weren't the wigs to cover hair loss from syphilis
"Stabbing pigeons in the street"
DMs of course
Actually, a psychology research paper was published about this just recently. Search 'What your choice of shoe says about you' and open the BPS research digest blog if you are interested :)
I haven't bought shoes in about 2 years so hadn't noticed, I'll have to keep an eye out for this when I buy new ones after the current ones finally die.
another thing the only ear phones you can buy now are those ones that you have to shove into the middle of your ear so they dethen you or keep falling out and fill with earwax either way.
johnotm ... hear hear... I agree.
I can't for the life of me find "earbuds" (not "earphones" or "in ears") anywhere.
And what's worse, online sellers don't use the proper terminology, so it's bloody well impossible to search for them!
said pockets are usually just sown up to look nice but even if they're not, slice the feckersopen and use the pockets you're paying for.
Tessellating - great word
I think it's a good word as well- the only thing I don't like about it is that I don't know what it means.
Thanks, Mitchell- I feel obliged to look a word up because YOU'VE made me feel stupid...to the dictionary!
but then that's really your fault as you get taught about tessellation when you're like 7
Torc Handsomeson
To be fair, not everyone went to school in a country that teaches your particular country's curriculum.
I looked it up and still have no clue as to what he meant. What does a mosaic have to do with a crowded elevator?
when the shoes interlock with each other
1:50 *Climbing chain link fences
Wigs started because of fleas/lice.. People would shave their hair because of lice, then wear a wig to replace it. Then it just became the accepted style. Powdered I'm guessing to cut down on sweating. Not sure if any of that is accurate, just my conjecture.
Oh, David... You're so right. You always are. :) xxx
I don´t like those fake pockets either. I have several jeans with more than six pockets even, but they are all real ones. Funnily enough they even can come in handy sometimes.
While we're at it, can we all agree once and for all that no one on earth wants jeans or shirts with fake pockets? I'm alright with them just putting no pockets on if they don't want them. Great. But I'm a man who likes his pockets, so when I see a pair of jeans with 6 pockets on them, I consider that a plus. Then once I've paid for them I realise that the 4 extra ones don't actually open. Some of them even have working buttons or zips. But they don't open. They should go the way of pointy shoes
Hehe, this nicely summarised the complete emptiness that I feel consuming my very being.
I LOVE YOU DAVID MITCHELL
It's just a funny little thing that TH-cam struggles with. Some newly-uploaded videos have such staggering numbers of views that the poor old site just can't quite keep up with them, but they're processing likes alright, so there's a bit of lag that causes a discrepancy. Sometimes, it gets ludicrous - on the more popular channels, you sometimes find thousands of likes on videos with just a couple of hundred views.
Thank you for saying so, but my problem isnt so much that I have nothing to say, but more that it's difficult to express one's full opinion on a subject and do so in a way that keeps the other person interested in what you're saying. Its much easier on the internet to form opinions and write them out as you see fit, as you can change wording without the other person knowing, but in person, it'd be much more difficult to verbalize such things in a single try to your own, and their, satisfaction.
The 80's is certainly making a bigger come back in Britain than it is here (mixed with a large 60's acid flashback). Personally, I don't mind, in part because I enjoyed the 80's, but mostly because I truly loathed the 70's, and the last ten years have been hard on me.
Come back to us, David.
Imagine how this went with codpieces.
Finally, someone else is aware of the normal/proper/sensible shoe shortage!
Just a quick online check of London shoe stores reveals plenty of shoe options with nice, traditional rounded toes. This rant would have been better directed at the men (mostly Londoners) who choose to wear pointy shoes rather than at shoe stores in general.
*obligatory comment about how right he is, how I agree, and therefore why we should be together*
*post script commending and/or condemning Victoria Coren*
I think the worst part about pointy shoes is that they may actually be bad for your feet in that they cause feet to deform and squish together.
This is exactly how I've always felt about the compulsory suit and tie for men...
I'm just annoyed there aren't more types of slip on shoes. I want some slip on brogues in size 10 dammit and while we're at it where's a digital pocket watch when you need one?
What I hate are the baggy jeans. I for one have no intention of stuffing a 'boom box' into my trousers to shoplift. What in the world inspired a "look" where one's pants are literally falling off one's body? I see kids literally, chronically, holding their pants up. I don't mean pulling, I mean constantly holding. And even then the goal seems to be to have ones boxers totally exposed. Criminals have an impractical fashion sense.
The next logical step from pointy shoes will be pointy work-boots. The ones with the steel cap to protect the toes. And then someone has the brilliant idea to sharpen the steel cap, make it into a sort of spike to make the shoe even pointier. And I say we should embrace this change, because it might just be the beginning of the end of the current beginning of the end of the world which is more casually known as football.
So true. It's so hard to find non-pointy shoes...