The Symbolism of Penny's Dopey Gold Belt

In a previous post, Penny Johnson's Gingham Halter Dress With a Gold Belt, I criticized Penny Johnson's dopey decision to accessorize her gingham dress with a gold belt.

Penny loses style points with her dopey belt. With the dress's gingham fabric, the belt too should be made of fabric.

You can see for yourself in the below image that my harsh judgment is correct.

Penny wearing her gold belt with a gingham dress.

Gingham is a fabric pattern that evokes the concept of a plain woman living and working in a rural setting, whereas a gold belt evokes the concept of a glamorous woman luxuriating in an urban setting. Penny's dress and belt commit a conceptual clash.

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Unfortunately, Penny wears that same garish gold belt with her red leotard.

Penny wearing her gold belt with her leotard.

Again, this combination commits a conceptual clash. The leotard is made of stretch material that fits her body tightly, and so the belt does not serve a functional purpose. A belt's functional purpose is to tighten the clothing to the body, but a leotard already is tight to the body.

If Penny wants to highlight her narrow waist, then she should buy leotards that include a stripe for that purpose.

Leotard with a waist stripe

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Penny's compulsion to accessorize foolishly with this gold belt is a psychological means of compensating for her impoverished youth and for her feelings of social inadequacy. She was kicked out of her home by her mother at the age of 16, and she surely dropped out of high school.

In her mind, the gold belt projects an image of achievement, high social status and glamorous wealth.

If Penny had continued to live with her mother for a couple more years, then her mother surely would have had enough time to complete Penny's understanding and application of clothing style.

Thus, Penny's clashing gold belt symbolizes her inadequate upbringing.

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Penny's clashing gold belt gives the movie audience the same subliminal message of low-class culture that Johnny Castle's leather jacket does.

Johnny Castle wearing a leather jacket.

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The following images illustrate tasteful accessorizing with a gold belt. Of course, you will not see any gingham dresses or dance leotards.