Who? What? Wear?..WHY?

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Fashion's Worst Finds

There comes a point when you have to ask yourself if something is really fashion or if it’s just plain hideous. Odds are if you even have to ask that in the first place, it’s probably not. It seems like designers now-a-days are trying to push the envelope so much that some of their pieces are losing taste (and for others it’s long gone.)




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Not only was I unsure of what this was at first, I didn’t even think it was a piece of clothing. Come to find out it’s a jacket/scarf. But figuring out what it was can’t be half as difficult as putting this on. This…thing…is by Bless and priced at a penny-pinching $931- what a steal!

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Incase you’d like to look like you’d just gotten attacked by an animal we bring you the Dion Lee silk blazer, complete with cut-out elbows. Perfect for the workplace! This piece of chopped up fabric will set you back $823.

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Comme des Garcons is typically known for flawlessly constructed couture, well, until now at least. This piece is from the new Fall/Winter collection. I am really at a loss for words when it comes to this, considering it is a bunch of small rags tied onto a large brown sack. The good news is that it’s half wool so maybe it can keep you warm….if you’re willing to pay the $1280 to purchase it.

Just when you thought they couldn’t put a price on ugly...it got a little more expensive!

Juicy Airports

Like most other luxury brands, Juicy Couture has been struggling through our current economic times, resulting in 13% decline in the 3rd quarter. But don’t let that fool you… Juicy is still willing to drop the big bucks in hopes of making it. While other companies are cutting back, the designer brand now owned by Liz Claiborne is going forward with a plan to set up shop in airports across the world.

With locations including JFK International Airport, Athens Airport, Taiwan TaoYuan International Airport and Miami International Airport (where they will launch) Juicy hopes that these new spots will be perfect for reaching their target market.

Senior VP of global marketing at Juicy Couture, Ellen Rodriguez commented on the brand’s new strategy saying:

“We know that our customer is traveling and she’s in the airports. Women are always wearing our tracksuits, especially to travel in. We just don’t think she’s being targeted by other retailers in these airports, so there’s a real opportunity there for us.”


Sounds great, aside from the fact that if they’re traveling in a tracksuit, odds are the customer is probably already wearing it when they get to the airport...

But Juicy must be doing something right- they managed to keep sales up to $600 million dollars last year and like all other designer brands, hope to come out of the recession thriving as they were before.

Representatives of the brand told WWD that the new airport shops will be designed “to showcase the best of what Juicy is known for” including watches, charms, baby gear, sunglasses, and the almighty tracksuit. Selective stores will also feature specialty city-specific merchandise, like their newly-designed shirts with the slogan “Choose Miami.”

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Skeptics say these new airport shops will make or break the company because of the magnitude of their cost in such tough economic times, but it seems like Juicy has the utmost confidence!

I think they might be onto something..and if all else fails, Juicy Couture has some of the most loyal shoppers of any brand out there. I mean, who else could sell the same pair of pants and jacket at $200+ for over ten years now and still have customers begging for more? Best of luck, Pam & Gela!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Gossip Girl Downgrade

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Gossip Girl star turned “singer,” Taylor Momsen has gone from semi-cute to completely trashy in the blink of an eye. This season on the show the sixteen year old plays the recently turned “badass” Jenny Humphrey. The new look is NOT working for her. Mind you, on set it’s a little more fashion-forward and a little less grungy hooker. No wonder why Gossip Girl ratings are down this season. Lose the cheap extensions, prostitute wardrobe and pounds of eyeliner and maybe we’ll reconsider.

Sorry Little J, definitely a downgrade.

Real Life Fashion Police

A recent article reported that police in Flint, Michigain are “saying no to crack”... and they’re not talking about the drug. Police Chief David Dicks announced in late June that the city of Flint would begin arresting people whose pants were “too baggy”. Apparently Flint finds baggy pants extremely offensive. With the implementation of the laws, Chief Dicks released a statement saying: "This immoral self expression goes beyond free speech; it rises to the crime of indecent exposure/disorderly persons." This is considered a misdemeanor and is punishable by three months in jail and a fine of up to $500!

Just recently representatives from Flint’s police force issued this guide to remind its citizens to obey the law when getting dressed in the morning!

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Personally, I think the embarrassment of walking around with your butt exposed is punishment enough. Plus, what about girls? Obviously this crackdown (no pun intended) is aimed at younger men. I’ve seen way more girls guilty of this “indecent exposure” and not for baggy pants.

Naturally, many citizens of Flint are outraged, and argue that Dicks and the rest of the police force are violating the First Amendment. Which brings us to the question: should the law be able to say what you can or can’t wear?? Most say no, claiming that there are more important issues that police should be dealing with. I couldn’t agree more. Here’s a thought- maybe the Flint police should focus on its murder rate, which is 3 times the national average just a few years ago. Or maybe a separation of fashion and state is in order?

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Lessons In Photoshop From Ralph Lauren

A recent Ralph Lauren ad has sparked plenty of controversy in the fashion world. This excessively retouched image of one of the brand’s models, Filippa Hamilton, made its way into the media. The model had been Photoshopped to an alarmingly thin size. Her head and shoulders were airbrushed to be significantly larger than her hips, and the image was overall extremely distorted. It was clear that Hamilton, who is 5’10 and 120 pounds-a size 4- was not this freakishly frail.


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Ralph Lauren denied responsibility for the retouching of the image and attempted to sue the website that published the “unapproved image.” After further investigation had ensued, Lauren released a statement saying




After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.


Then, just when the brand thought their troubles were over, Filippa Hamilton finally spoke out against the brand. She revealed that she had been fired months before the incident due to the fact that she was “overweight.” One hundred and twenty pound Hamilton, who had been working for Ralph Lauren since 2002, said she received a letter saying she was being let go because she would no longer fit into the designer’s sample sizes.

Representatives from the brand merely denied the accusation, saying that Hamilton’s firing was a “result of her inability to meet the obligations under her contract.” As if they could be any be any vaguer. And to top it all off, this new outrageously Photoshopped ad featuring model Valentina Zelyaeva turned up in a window display in Sydney, Australia. Zalyaeva, who is also 5’10 and a size 4, has not yet been dropped by the brand but I’m thinking this spells trouble for Ralph!



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Since these distorted ads have surfaced, many esteemed members of the fashion industry have commented on the issue. Most feel that what the brand did was inappropriate, not only for the extreme airbrushing, but the firing of the “overweight” Filippa Hamilton. But do these people have any room to talk? The majority of high fashion brands only use skinny models, and justify this by saying that thin girls are the only ones who will fit into sample sizes. These usually range from size 2 to 4 and are the garments that designers send down the runway. As of recently, size 8 and above is considered “plus-sized.”

Though there is always talk of how plus-sizes are discriminated against in the fashion industry, they have come a long way. Huge designers like John Galliano and Mark Fast have caused a stir by plus-sized models in their London and Paris shows. But with that being said, it makes you wonder- why should using bigger sizes on the runway be the cause such controversy? According to a study done by the Los Angeles Times, the average woman is a size 14. A recent New York Times article also reported that although it varies based on race, height and other factors, a “healthy” women’s’ measurements average at around 41-34-43. On the runway you will find models with a 35-inch bust, 27-inch waist, and 37.5-inch hip.

It's ads like these controversial Ralph Lauren ones that cause women, men, and even naturally thin models to have a skewed self-image.

In a recent interview Grace Coddington, creative director at Vogue, expressed her concern about the effects of the incident and what the magazine is doing to try to help matters:

It is a big problem in the fashion industry. And you go to meetings to discuss it, and you think it's kind of futile, because it's such a big thing, and in the end, people are always asking for more and they're always asking for thinner…. [Models] have to be a little thinner than you and I because you always photograph a little fatter, but you don't have to go to the extremes they go to. And because they're kids, they take it too far and they can't regulate their lives, and next thing you know, they're anorexic, and it is tragic.

And I don't know what the answer is, except to keep on it, which we're all trying to do. Anna’s trying to do it. Personally, we're not allowed, at Vogue, to work with girls who are very thin, but you never know, because you could book them and think they're a certain size, and they turn up on the shoot and suddenly they've spun into this anorexic situation. And you're on the spot and you have to get the job done and you have one day to do it, and what do you do? But you try to be responsible, as Anna is.



Hmm..if Vogue can start to break the mold and not use pin-thin models, than anybody can! And as for Ralph Lauren, what’s next? Will this incident be the downfall of the world-renowned brand or will our society and the fashion world turn the other cheek?? And who should take the blame? I say, enough excuses Ralph, time for an apology!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Aubrey O'Day: The Epitome Of Class!

Just when we thought it couldn't get any worse than Heidi Montag....somebody reminded us that Aubrey O'day exists. After being kicked out of Danity Kane, Aubrey clearly took plenty of time to work on her style…

I couldn't bring myself to choosing just one of her fashion tragedies to marvel. We really could fill up page after page with all of her hideous ensembles. I’m beginning to wonder if these are cries for attention, or just actual bad taste. You be the judge:


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I can't decide whose outfit is worse- Aubrey or the dog. I'd say she's to blame either eay, considering that she dressed them both. Aubrey wore this dress by an "unknown designer" (yeah...no wonder..) to the Sheiki Collections fashion show in LA. She may have used some of the tissue paper behind her to stuff under the bottom, but if she was going for the whole pageant-child-on-crack look, I'd say she passed with flying colors.




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At Bravo's 2009 A-List Awards, Aubrey went "conservative" in a dress by ChloƩ. Now this is just a MESS. The top is too big, and the bottom is just all wrong. I definitely wouldn't be surprised to find out she'd cut the huge hole under her chest before she left the house.


Scarier than Aubrey's style is the fact that she just came out with her own t-shirt line called Heart on My Sleeve. The shirts feature sayings such as, "my sex tape comes out next week," "I'd make good babies," and of course "I love dirty texting." But DON'T WORRY Aubrey did't forget the children. Heart on My Sleeve also sells kids clothes! Because who doesn't want to dress like Miss O'day?!


Oh, Aubrey, what a classy lady you are!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Fashion As Art

There's a saying that in fashion, "anything goes.” Season after season, designers push the envelope with each collection that comes down the runway. While to the average person it may seem pointless, fashion enthusiasts consider each piece a work of art in itself. With that being said, the largly debated question comes to mind: is fashion art?

In his recent article TIME Magazine, Jeff Chu explains that though fashion and art can co-exsist they will never coinside. He declares:



Emulation, of course, is the greatest form of admiration, and fashion loves art. Design houses these days are giving artists new canvases (or cottons or leathers) to work on and making them fashion stars. Museums are devoting exhibitions to the craft and its craftsmen, sometimes looking at fashion alone, sometimes juxtaposing it with art. It hasn't always been this way, but the dialogue between the two worlds is stronger than ever. This interaction creates debate and friction; in these creative realms, that's a good thing. But while fashion may be artsy, artistic, artful, enjoying an
art-infused moment and even (gasp!) influential in certain art circles, it's
not art.
Chu explains that there are plenty of museams that merge the two worlds but still believes they should not both be catagorized as forms of art. He justifies this position by asking the age old question "what is art?" and a new inquiry of what fashion has that art does not. His conclusion: fashion has function and art does not. Chu believes that this is the sole reason it would be wrong to consider fashion as art.

It is merely a matter of opinion to look at art as functionless, as some is interactive and can be used in daily life. Some fashion, on the other hand, is avant-garde and merely created to be pleasing to the eye or express an aesthetic. Clearly, you will not find an ordinary white t-shirt in an art gallery, but there are elements and pieces of fashion that can be considered artistic. It's all a matter of preference, and it's safe to say that art is in the eye of the beholder.

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