An Addendum, a Little Bit of Powdered Water & TeethBraces

Its snowing here in BritLand...and the world as we know it has ground to a halt. Not too much of a hindrance to your's truly - I don't actually do much in any case. Besides, I'm able to press on with adding the final touches to the book...well in theory at least, although a chunk of today was used up helping the other half with a bit of fashion research - as it was in to lingerie trends, I have to admit to being not too reluctant. Then I quickly turned my attention to the blog and to Judith's tale that I posted up a couple of entries ago (See: a Well Deserved Regime?...or click here). I remembered Judith from the 'White Socks' dress discipline discussion board that I used to read for inspiration and that I have mentioned more than once in the past on the pages of this site. Anyway, today I had the chance to look up the original posting I made of one of her letters...well worth reading if dress discipline is your thing - and it is part and parcel of so many forms of disciplinary regime as applied to recalcitrant young ladies after all...click here to read.

Finally, as regards young ladies in teeth braces - something I have mentioned before in connection with the deliberate induction of stammering and the erosion of the subject's self confidence - some time ago someone was kind enough to send me the following series of ideas for plot directions etc. I have somehow divorced the main meat of the email, as it were, from the email itself and thus from the writer's identity - so to the writer...my apologies and of course my assurance that I'm more than happy to credit you with this if you make contact. Meanwhile I'm sure it will stimulate many more ideas out there:

"I was interested in your post on braces. Adult braces are an emerging trend, and more and more young professional women are wearing them. It certainly can make a woman look younger, which can be both a pro and a con. Have you ever considered a scenario involving an adult woman who got braces BEFORE visiting the institution?

Perhaps a young woman in her late twenties is persuaded to get braces by a scheming uncle, who then uses the change in her appearance to undermine her authority with the household staff and at her job so he can steal her company and her inheritance.

Or perhaps a young woman working on her PhD is distressed to learn that with braces none of her students take her seriously. Her academic adviser suggests a place where she’ll be free to write her dissertation without looking out of place: the academy.

Image a fast track assistant Principal being demoted to a teachers aid when students and parents refuse to take her authority seriously. A number of the female teachers, eager to pay her back for her haughty manner, suggest that it might create less “confusion” in the classroom if she wore a school uniform.

Or perhaps a successful stock broker looses the key to her locker at her health club. No one believes her true age, except a fellow club member who’s had her eye on her for some time…and offers to take the troublesome young delinquent wearing nothing but braces and a towel off the securities staff’s hand by whisking her off to the academy.

I think these sorts of scenarios are more dramatic because the adult woman makes an active decision that results in her own downfall. Indeed, it’s her arrogance and boundless self confidence that allows her to convince herself that the braces won’t matter and that she’ll be able to maintain her total control over things regardless of her appearance.

When things start to fall apart, she blames herself for her stupid mistake, but that only undermines her confidence more. She is surprised when her dentist refuses to take her braces off, and dismisses her complaints as “silly” and “childish.” Her loss of confidence feeds her loss of stature further, creating a downward spiral she finds impossible to break…"