The English have a difficult and, generally speaking, dysfunctional(不协调的)relationship with clothes. Their main problem is that they have a desperate need for rules, and are unable to get along without them. This helps to explain why they have an international reputation for dressing in general very badly, but with specific areas of excellence, such as high-class men's suits, ceremonial costume, and innovative(革新的)street fashion. In other words, we English dress best when we are "in uniform".
英国人与衣服的关系很难，一般来说，这种关系是失调的。他们的主要问题是，他们迫切需要规则，没有规则就无法相处。这有助于解释为什么他们的穿着总体上很糟糕，但在某些特定领域却很出色，如高级男装、礼仪服装和创新的街头时尚，因此在国际上享有盛誉。换句话说，我们英国人“穿制服”的时候穿得最好。

You may be surprised that I am including "innovative street fashion" in the category of uniform. Surely the parrot-haired punks(朋克摇滚乐迷)or the Victorian vampire Goths are being original, not following rules? It's true that they, all look different and eccentric(奇特的)but in fact they all look eccentric in exactly the same way. They are wearing a uniform. The only truly eccentric dresser in this country is the Queen, who pays no attention to fashion and continues to wear, what she likes, a kind of 1950s fashion, with no regard for anyone else's opinion. However, it is true that the styles invented by young English people are much more eccentric than any other nation's street fashion. We may not be individually eccentric, apart from the Queen, but we have a sort of collective eccentricity, and we appreciate originally in dress even if we do not individually have it.
你可能会惊讶于我将“创新街头时尚”纳入制服类别。当然，鹦鹉毛朋克或维多利亚时代的吸血鬼哥特人是原创的，不遵守规则吗？的确，他们看起来都不一样，也很古怪，但事实上，他们看起来完全一样。他们穿着制服。这个国家唯一真正古怪的着装者是女王，她不注重时尚，继续穿她喜欢的东西，一种20世纪50年代的时尚，不考虑任何人的意见。然而，英国年轻人发明的风格确实比其他任何国家的街头时尚都要古怪得多。除了女王，我们可能不是个人怪癖，但我们有一种集体怪癖，即使我们没有个人怪癖，我们也会欣赏最初的着装。

You may be surprised that I am including "innovative street fashion" in the category of uniform. Surely the parrot-haired punks(朋克摇滚乐迷)or the Victorian vampire Goths are being original, not following rules? It's true that they, all look different and eccentric(奇特的)but in fact they all look eccentric in exactly the same way. They are wearing a uniform. The only truly eccentric dresser in this country is the Queen, who pays no attention to fashion and continues to wear what she likes, a kind of 1950s fashion, with no regard for anyone else's opinion. However, it is true that the styles invented by young English people are much more eccentric than any other nation's street fashion. We may not be individually eccentric, apart from the Queen, but we have a sort of collective eccentricity, and we appreciate originally in dress even if we do not individually have it.
你可能会惊讶于我将“创新街头时尚”纳入制服类别。当然，鹦鹉毛朋克或维多利亚时代的吸血鬼哥特人是原创的，不遵守规则吗？的确，他们看起来都不一样，也很古怪，但事实上，他们看起来完全一样。他们穿着制服。这个国家唯一真正古怪的着装者是女王，她不注重时尚，继续穿她喜欢的衣服，一种20世纪50年代的时尚，不考虑任何人的意见。然而，英国年轻人发明的风格确实比其他任何国家的街头时尚都要古怪得多。除了女王，我们可能不是个人怪癖，但我们有一种集体怪癖，即使我们没有个人怪癖，我们也会欣赏最初的着装。

Another "rule" of behavior I had discovered was that it is very important for the English not to take themselves too seriously, to be able to laugh at themselves. However, it is well known that most teenagers tend to take themselves a bit too seriously.
我发现的另一个行为“规则”是，对于英国人来说，不要把自己看得太重，能够嘲笑自己是非常重要的。然而，众所周知，大多数青少年往往过于认真地对待自己。

The Goths, in their scaring black costumes, certainly look as if they are taking themselves seriously. But when I got into conversation with them, I discovered that they too had a sense of humor. I was once chatting to a Goth in the full vampire costume-with a white face, deep purple lipstick, and black parrot-hair. I saw he was also wearing a T-shirt with "Goth". “Why are you wearing that?" I asked. "It's in case you don't realize I'm a Goth," he answered, pretending to be serious. We both burst out laughing.
哥特人穿着吓人的黑色服装，看起来肯定是在认真对待自己。但当我和他们交谈时，我发现他们也有幽默感。有一次，我和一个穿着吸血鬼服装的哥特人聊天，他有一张白色的脸，深紫色的口红和黑色的鹦鹉。我看到他还穿着一件印有“哥特”的T恤。“你为什么穿那个？”我问。“以防你没意识到我是哥特人，”他假装严肃地回答。我们都大笑起来。