I thought it’d be fun to bust out — I guess literally here — a full-on head-scratcher on this Friday afternoon of a very long, insanity-filled week. This is Frances Ruffelle, an actress and musical theater star in the UK whom I idolized when I was a kid because I saw her in in Starlight Express as Dinah, and then Les Mis as Eponine — both my favorite roles in those shows back then. (My vocal range is more of a Marius now, sigh.) I clapped when I realized it was Frances in this photo, just because it felt like rediscovering an old pal. It’s nice to see her! But, listen. The shirt. It’s the SHIRT, Marty, something’s gotta be done about the shirt. And how do the pants fit into this? Insert a hundred ellipses here. Is it a tube top over a bra, and then a… open-front pullover with… a random belt? Or is the belt connected? Is ANY of it connected? Is any of this also part of the pants? It’s like 2004 confusion all over again. She conceivably went to a tremendous amount of trouble to put on each and every demented layer of this thing, and yet, I love that she’s wearing it all so confidently. I am quite delighted by how delighted she looks… even if my recommendation is that she and the outfit soon find themselves, wait for it, U-N-C-O-U-P-L-E-D.
