What the F!

Wanna test the power of the human mind? Read this:
I cnduo't bvleiee taht I culod aulaclty uesdtannrd waht I was rdnaieg. Unisg the icndeblire pweor of the hmuan mnid, aocdcrnig to rseecrah at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mttaer in waht oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whoutit a pboerlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey ltteer by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Aaznmig, huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghhuot slelinpg was ipmorantt! See if yuor fdreins can raed tihs too.

Freaky, isn’t it? Well, in nutshell it says that the human mind does not read every letter by itself, but the word as a whole, irrespective of the order of the letters. In case you are wondering why I’m writing this on a predominantly fashion blog, that’s bcoz the brand in question has used this mind game to their advantage and created an extremely popular clothing line: FCUK!

If your mind is repeatedly reading this as the F-word, the branding is a success as it has served its purpose of grabbing enough eyeballs and creating a recall value. I myself fell into this word trap and the realization that it stands for French Connection United Kingdom dawned upon today after seeing a billboard with their latest advert of watches that read FCUK – French Connection for Time. Silly me! And I found this a reason good enough to blog about…

French Connection is a British fashion brand known for its edgy and high street styling. It has its presence in more than 1500 outlets across 25 countries worldwide. Though French Connection was found in early 70s, it was introduced in India only in 2007 and is available in over 20 stores across 10 cities.

Anything French has a stylish connotation, which could be the reason behind this fashion-forward brand’s name. Apart from churning out chic clothing, accessories and skin care products, French Connection has always created innovative campaigns – the controversial ‘fcuk’, Fashion vs Style and their latest offering The Man and The Woman through which French Connection unveils its new collection.

The key looks for ‘The Woman’ this season are dresses with sequins and corset detailing ; cropped military pants; cigarette pants with ankle zip for a more refined look ; ruffled shoulders, shorter cropped and clean collarless designs in winter wear and knitwear with beading, stripes, military shoulders and flowing styles.


Autumn Winter Collection 2010
Image Courtersy: French Connection Website

 Browsing through their website was as refreshing as their collection. Their official blog has interesting sections like trend alert, who wore what, outfit builder, best sellers, look book and the dish for you to rustle up a quick healthy low cal meal. Now that’s what I call a bagful of goodies!

Here a few of the recommended picks from their bestsellers list:

Image Courtersy: French Connection Website

As I wind up this post, I recall that I had bought a French Connection top in bargain shopping from Bandra last year. I had dismissed it as just another European brand and tucked it somewhere at the back of a pile of clothes in my closet. Now I realize that FCUK at that price was a STEAL. I can’t wait to go home and search for fish for my prized catch. Some days turn out be days of realization and how!