NURSE STYLE

LE STYLE INFIRMIERE

I have made stops in one or two hospitals in my time like most people. I have had great doctors and surgeons to take care of me, and some fantastic nurses who made all the difference between utter drudgery and something very tolerable. 
And there were some dragons too...

But this is not the subject of this post. Rather, I will talk of style. Of nurse's uniforms and my, how they have changed in the last century. From cinched waists and stiff caps to less cinched waists and stiffer caps, to the current fare by way of red crosses, veil-like headdresses and all sorts of aprons.

In the movies a cute uniform lead to all kinds of good things. Notice the stiff collar and cuffs, and the saintly veil. A gal has got to do what a gal has got to do to catch her dashing officer...I wonder if much nursing went on in this surely captivating motion picture.

And since we are on the subject of make believe, this number might make some patients better or it might make their hearts race a little too fast for their own good. The good news is, as I said, she also is make believe. Dream on gentlemen...and be careful what you wish for.

Back to reality for a minute please and we have the sweet nurses of Japan: very prim and schoolgirl like. What is it with Japan and that obsession with  the sweet little innocent girl look.

French nurse uniforms, on the other hand, are just plain disappointing; in spite of a little color and  some detail work the boxy cut makes them surprisingly plain. Surprising for France I mean. Health care is great in France but maybe we can do a little better on the fashion front. Air France did a great job on THEIR uniforms. Messieurs Jean Paul Gaultier and Christian Lacroix, where are you?

American nurses smile a lot in spite of the fabric box they wear.  That's professionalism. A good nurse is not concerned with in-hospital fashion statements, of course. After all she needs comfort and functionality to give comfort and care. She runs up and down corridors. She does not strut down catwalks. I know. And there is a need for one size fits all; I know. But,still...

Having said that, I encountered a nurse with GREAT STYLE last week while shopping. She inspired this post, in fact.

The turned up collar, the cute tight hairstyle, the platform clogs, the pose when I took her picture. She said she would love to be a model. Well, she IS a natural.

And if you have to land in a hospital, having this sweet, happy and stylish nurse would help ease the pain don't you agree?

Thanks to all of you kind nurses wherever you are.
And, no, thankfully, I have not needed one in a while.

au revoir.