My first discovery at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival was that people are very into their Daniel Day Lewis-esque method acting. If they are appearing in a period drama, they will approach you in the street as if you are part of said drama, which is kind of sweet but a little unnerving. Some of the costumes were pretty fantastic, though, such as the woman in yellow, above (only shattering the image by talking furiously into her mobile phone about meeting her friends). The attention to detail is admirable, down to her bag and hat, but the dress does remind me of those strange crinoline lady dolls or the equally bizarre loo roll cosies featuring women with generously-bustled dresses. Maybe that would explain why I saw her, an hour later, still trying to meet up with her friends. They obviously didn't want to be seen with her...
The second image here was taken right in the middle of the festivities, truly demonstrating the determination of a drag queen. I will never understand how anyone can wear heels when walking on cobbled streets, but here the feat (excuse the pun) looks like a small one. Drag queen style is particularly fascinating because it ignores most conventional boundaries and then sticks two fingers up to them. Here we can witness the combination of fake fur and disco leggings in August, without batting an eyelid.
The third image is a piece of performance art on the Royal Mile. Nope, I have no idea what it was about, either. I saw the simplicity of the basic white dress as a kind of blank canvas for what would follow, allowing you to perceive events for yourself. In a festival full of gaudiness and shouting and some very worrying dancing, it was great to see something gentler take shape.
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