You'll catch your death dressed like that!

What is it about the older generaration which compels them to dress for arctic weather even when it's baking hot? Today was a gloriously warm, sunny day in south London, and yet as I walked to the park to sit amongst the first sun-worshippers of the season, I was given cause to whip out my camera phone and take a snap of this monstrosity.

I just don't get it - it's hot, it's sunny, it's humid - why would anyone layer themselves up and add a big quilted jacket with matching hat on top? I dread to think of the buckets of sweat which must have been pouring off her underneath there. I for one would not have wanted to end up standing anywhere near her in the post office queue.

What is more shocking is that she had somehow managed to twin the outfit with a pair of Deirdre-Barlow-esque sunglasses. I suppose she was trying to cover all eventualities.

A call for solidarity on fashion faux pas

I felt duty bound to make a second urgent posting on the blog today. The time has come to say enough is enough. I am frankly shocked by the complete disregard for general fashion principles which are being flouted on the streets around the capital of late.

To testify to my case, I present two textbook cases of fashion faux-pas, both snapped on my phone while out and about in Central London. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I give you Exhibit A - the tangerine dream. Lord God and all heavens above can only wonder at the thought processes which lie behind such a fashion faux pas. What earthly compulsion could make a middle-aged woman select such a motley array of assorted orange garments and try to combine them into one single outfit? And to select such a skin-tight orange top which flaunts every overhanging inch of excess. It may be merely of small consolation, readers, but the camera angle is actually quite flattering to her, for you cannot pick up on her bushy ginger head of hair which was so angrily clashing with her Tangoed costume. Believe it or not, it's hard to get a good picture when you're breathlessly in pursuit of a target down Oxford Circus tube platform. A steady hand is always the mark of an accomplished fashion faux pas hunter.

And as if this isn't already compelling evidence enough of crimes against fashion going unchecked on London's streets, I give you Exhibit B - the fur-hatted flibbertigibbert of South-West London. As you may see, I have taken precautionary steps to protect the identity of this fashion faux pas. I am certain that in her position, I would never want to be recognised by anybody I knew wearing such disgusting attire. But as yet, I haven't managed to think of a scenario or event for which a leopard-spotted, wide-brimmed, floppy fur hat is suitable. Again, the question we must ask is why? What drives such members of the public to commit such heinous crimes against fashion?

If you feel strongly that these fashion errors are unacceptable, I urge you to post a comment on this page. And at this point, I must also request your assistance, readers. Keep your fingers on your camera phones at all times and be prepared to snap your own fashion faux pas at any time they may strike. Should you manage to gather any photographic evidence, please email me it at londonboy79blog@yahoo.co.uk. I would be only too pleased to feature it here for us all to roundly condemn.