I've always had my own personal theory about those who follow fashion religiously - to my mind, those who insist on keeping up with the latest trends at the cost of putting up with painful heels, impossible hair regimes, gravity-defying contraptions, and holes in their wallets, simply lack the self-confidence to just be.
Over the years, I've extended this theory to those who refuse to walk out of their houses with so much as a hair out of place, as well as those who are regimental about following social dress codes.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I would go to a wedding in a bathing suit, or a business meeting in a boob tube, but I will not sacrifice my toes for anyone's 'happily ever after', and nor will I risk catching pneumonia on any New Year's Eve.
There's a lot to be said about those who follow dress codes to a T, and in my experience their insistence is usually linked to a cocktail of OCD traits, a lack of free thought, a low presence of creative cells, and a lethal dose of superficiality.
However, then there's the other extreme – those who purposely go against dress codes and protocols, those who purposely defy established norms, either to stand out, to make a point, or just for the heck of it. When such people are heads of states, the warning signs of madness are loud and clear.
Of course I'm referring to the likes of Gaddafi, and of course I wasn't going to waste my blogging happiness for the Libyan people talking about mere fashion, but let's face it, even for the politically inept, his fashion sense was enough to let us know that he's a few clowns short of a circus!
Even as a child, when I saw our leaders kiss this man's hand and speak highly of him on TV, Gaddafi always gave me the creeps. It wasn't simply because he dressed differently because I remember admiring other African leaders who wore white robes in rooms full of men in suits, but to me, Gaddafi's overall appearance, his over-dyed hair, his silly costumes, and his look, screamed 'mad rapist' loud and clear.
A 2009 article in Vanity Fair takes readers through Gaddaffi's fashion sense ever since he took over the country when he was 27. It clearly shows that over the years, as he garnered more power and money, the more ridiculous and defiant his dress sense became. Watch the slide show here - http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/08/qaddafi-slideshow200908#slide=3
It is rumoured that Gaddafi has two personal tailors that make custom-made clothing for him upon his instructions, he obviously dyes his hair, and he's had several Botox treatment on his face, but Gaddafi's extreme vanity is not the only sign of psychosis, and if the Libyans' plight wasn't so sad and honourable, one could write a comical history book about his antics. So crazy were his ways, that when it comes to the world's crazy stakes, I don't think that Gaddafi has any serious competition.
Just a couple of years ago, in 2009, on a state visit to Rome, he turned up with a picture of the beheading of Omar Mukhtar pinned to his chest. Mukhtar had led native Libyan resistance against the Italian colonisation of Libya, and the Italians had captured and hung him in 1931. After such a 'warm' welcome which I'm sure even the suave Berlusconi struggled with, Gaddafi felt it appropriate to 'order' 500 girls from an escort agency. He insisted that they should be no less than 5ft 7inches tall and not older than 35. Bizarrely, whilst the girls expected to party and show the dictator a good time, all Gaddafi wanted to do was to lecture them about converting to Islam and briskly sent them away with a signed copy of his green book and a Koran.
When his son Motassim, 33, (Hannibal), was arrested in Geneva after being accused of assaulting a chambermaid, his father immediately boycotted all Swiss imports, closed down all Swiss businesses in Libya, and held all Swiss businessmen at ransom in Tripoli. He also filed a motion with the UN to abolish Switzerland.
Gaddafi's crazy list goes on!
He went from 'adopting' the small Italian town of Antrodoco which he only visited by accident, to the setting up of his Bedouin tents in city squares whilst on state visits. He also released 400 prisoners by bulldozing the prison gates in Tripoli, and invested millions in a car design which he claims can run for hundreds of miles with a punctured tyre. He insisted on the translation of brand names like 7 UP, so that it is now Saba' a Fauq, and he travelled with an entourage of 40 female 'virgin' bodyguards which it now transpires he is likely to have raped. Earlier this year he even claimed that Al-Qaeda spiked the Libyan rebels' Nescafe with hallucinogenic drugs, hence the riots!
From a distance it was fun to crack jokes about his weird costumes and exploits, but for the Libyan people this was a reality very close to home, a reality that they had to live with on a daily basis for more than forty years. It is now time that this man is fished out of his hole, and given a taste of his own medicine.
Perhaps the saddest thing about this forty year saga is that whilst the international community is now patting itself on the back for its contribution to Gaddafi's downfall, only Margaret Thatcher, with her comfortable dress sense, can proudly say "I never hugged him, I bombed him."