TresSugar

Look Who Will Be at Fashion Week: The Snuggie!

TresSugar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 12:00:00 -0700

Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, and Rodarte are going to have to save some space on the runway during New York Fashion Week, because the folks who brought you the Snuggie - you know, the blanket with sleeves! - are going to stage a runway show of their own “to showcase the latest colors, fabrics, and patterns” and “to dish about the sexiest looks in blanket-wear.”

That’s right - blanket-wear. Not only are the Snuggie peeps considering comfort when designing for women, they’re thumbing their noses at the size barrier that keeps some models off the runway. Their models aren’t all statuesque and size zero; in fact, they’re not necessarily even human! In addition to male and female adult models, the Snuggie fashion show will feature children and even dogs on the runway.

I wonder if Anna Wintour is going to get a front-row seat at this show!

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Retailers Offering More Options For the "Woman of Size"

TresSugar — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:00:00 -0700

"When you’re fat you stand out anyway. It’s really important to go all the way and do something fun or even outrageous with your clothes."

- Annie Maribona, founder and part owner of Fat Fancy, a boutique in Portland, OR, that sells modern and vintage clothes up to size 24. (Pictured is Emme, one of the most famous plus-size models.)

Retailers are increasingly providing plus-size fashions to teens and women who wear sizes 14-24. Singer Beth Ditto, complaining to trendy London-based Topshop that they had nothing for women her size, is now designing a line for the Arcadia Group, Topshop's parent company. Forever 21, Kmart, and Lord & Taylor also provide their fashions in plus sizes. Some stores, like Old Navy and Ann Taylor, no longer carry plus-size clothes in their stores, but still have them available online.

One interesting thing I noticed in this news story was the variety of words used to name women who are not thin. Some, like boutique owner Annie Maribona, have reclaimed the word "fat," as have women who advocate what they call fat acceptance. Then there's plus size, "woman of size," big girl and curvy. The only person in the article who didn't use these euphemisms was Andrea Marks, a specialist in adolescent medicine in Manhattan. She simply calls women who aren't thin "overweight."

What do you think about the idea of "fat acceptance," and what is the best term for a woman who isn't a size 12 or under?

Dear Poll: Do You Dress Sexy For Work?

DearSugar — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:00:00 -0800

I like to think I look cute when I come to work, but my dress is pretty modest and laid-back. Some women, on the other hand, use coming to the office as an excuse to look their best. I love seeing style around the office, but knowing your audience is incredibly important - seeing your co-worker's provocative side could be slightly uncomfortable! Since we're all different, tell me, do you dress sexy for work?

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Dear Poll: Do You Enjoy Shopping?

DearSugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0700

Sometime in the last couple decades shopping has become a tongue-in-cheek euphemism for therapy, at least as far as ladies are concerned. If you’re sad, it’s nothing a quick trip to the mall won’t fix, or so Cher from Clueless taught us. But even though I'm a fan, frankly, I think it’s just silly to assume that all women get a kick out of shopping. In fact, some women I know find themselves feeling more down than ever after a few minutes in a dressing room. So ladies, let me ask, do you enjoy shopping?

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Want Cheap Clothes? The Cotton Industry's Not 100% Fit

CitizenSugar — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:58:32 -0700

The global economy is about to hit your Saturday morning shopping spree. As we've seen food prices grow in response to higher crop prices, fashionistas should be ready to see their clothes prices follow suit, and it's a two-piece problem.

People watching their purse strings are causing garment makers to see a rapid decline in their own bottom line. Demand is down wildly. US cotton consumption alone is set to fall 6.5 percent from last year.

And you can partially blame the environment on the ever-spendier tee. More cotton farmers are swapping to more lucrative crops - soybeans, corn, and wheat - whose market prices are rising even faster. Why are these crops more enticing? The prices of these crops have been pushed higher by a mixture of subsidies and growing demand from biofuel producers.

It's not just shrinking cotton crops: energy, wages, the oil to transport goods, all make the shirt on your back cost more. Manufacturers, just like us, are hit by XXL oil prices, making their factories more expensive to operate which means pricier shipping to foreign markets. To see the human cost of the cotton trade, and how BBC sent six fashion-plates to work in an Indian garment factory, read more.

On Indian cotton farms, farmers facing strangling bills and held at the mercy of the global market and crop hardiness, has led the country to see more than 20,000 suicides by debt-ridden farmers in the last ten years. The numbers are rising. Currently about six farm suicides are reported daily.

BBC has made the garment trade in to reality (television) with a mini-series called Blood, Sweat, and T-shirts. Here's how they describe the show which sounds fascinating:

Six young fashion addicts experience life as factory workers in India, making clothes for the British high street. In this four-part series, the six work in the mills of India’s cotton belt and stitch clothes in cramped back rooms, sleeping next to their sewing machine. See how it changes their attitudes to cut-price clothing.

I might move abroad just to catch this show.

Have your shopping habits changed? Is it an issue of cash or global consciousness? Do you pay attention to what a garment is made of before you buy? Does it surprise you that the focus on biofuels has had such an impact on the clothing market?
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Group Therapy: What Should I Wear?

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:00:00 -0800

We all work for different companies who all have different dress codes so what do you wear to work everyday? Casual or smartly dressed? I can never decide what to wear. I work at a travel agency and we don't wear uniforms so sometimes I just wear a nice shirt and belt to do it up a bit so I don't look too "casual" but at times I feel I am not fancy enough. What can I do just to add that little extra umph?

Clothes can be so expensive and I don't earn the biggest salary. I have a unique fashion sense but it seems like I never have anything to wear, especially for work. Going out to party is never a problem but getting dressed for work seems like an huge unnecessary ordeal. Any advice would he extremely helpful.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: To be involved in more GROUP THERAPY, click here]

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Are You Into Sharing Your Clothes?

DearSugar — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 10:47:55 -0700

When I was a kid, my Kindergarten teacher had to make a special call to my mom to say, "Your daughter has a hard time sharing." It was so true. I coveted the princess gown in the dress-up area, I never wanted to give up the swing at recess, and I never let anyone borrow my crayons. I knew other kids weren't as careful as I was, so I put my 6-year-old foot down and vowed never to share.

I grew out of that as I got older, when I realized that if I borrowed my friend's clothes, my wardrobe almost tripled. We'd even go shopping and plan our purchases based on what we all liked, so we'd have one of each.

I still continued to share occasionally, but I learned that certain friends weren't very responsible with my stuff so now I only share with a couple of close friends who I can really trust.

So what about you? Are you into sharing your clothes? Will you only let certain people borrow from you? Will you only lend away stuff you don't really care about? Or are you done with sharing altogether?

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Group Therapy: Caught In A Clothing Crisis

Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:00:00 -0700

Help! I don't know what to do or what is my problem. As of late I am having a lot of trouble deciding what to wear. I spend like an hour standing in front of my closet each night agonizing over what I am going to wear to work tomorrow. It's not that I have no clothes because I have 2 whole closets full its just that I hate them all. I feel like this is affecting my life because I obsess about it during the day and look at other girls and feel inferior and think that they look cuter. I waste time at work looking at websites like fabsugar and shopbop. Then I feel guilty for being so caught up in something so materialistic. I've always been a very decisive person but feel like I cant decide anymore...what is wrong with me? How can I get my head out of my closet?

Caught In A Clothing Crisis

[EDITOR'S NOTE: To be involved in more GROUP THERAPY, click here]

10 Worst Male Fashion Offenses

TresSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:00:25 -0800

Sometimes a man's fashion sense can get in the way of his natural sexiness. And apparently, bad fashion can also cause violence. Last week we heard that a popular nightclub in Australia banned certain clothing (think Ed Hardy tops and popped collars) because that style of dress was causing bar fights. I asked all of you to share the styles you'd like to ban, and you guys reached a consensus that a variety of trends had to go. Based on your suggestions, I've rounded up the top-10 worst male fashion offenses.

View Slideshow ›

Where Do You Stand? Guys Buying You Clothes

TresSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:00:00 -0700

On a list boldly titled 25 Skills Every Man Should Know, the May issue of Esquire offers advice for men looking to buy clothing for women. The tools required: a credit card and a woman's clothing size. The steps, according to the article:

Don't.

Ha! Clearly the mag has a pretty immovable position on whether guys should buy women clothing as gifts, but is it justified? I'll admit, I've gotten some pretty terrible gifts from guys that I then felt obligated to wear, but I've also had boyfriends who were great at picking out my style. So what's your take? Is it always a terrible idea for men to buy women clothes?
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