Category Archives: Shopping

Walking through town this morning I was horrified by some of the outfits I saw on people. “Unflattering” doesn’t even begin to describe what I was seeing.

This has very little to do with weight or fitness (though it never hurts to have the figure of a super model). What it’s really about is the crappy clothing we let manufacturers get away with.

A Fit About Fit

Women’s clothing used to come in many sizes. Sizes like 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16. Now even jackets and pants are sold in small, medium and large. Buy a medium and it fits like an 8 — way too small. Go with the large, and it fits like a 14 — and you’re swimming in it.

Of course, one brand’s “medium” is another brand’s “large.” The new sizing (or lack of it) means that a very high percentage of what you try on in the fitting room makes you look like you’re wearing someone else’s castoffs. If you’re in a hurry and you buy it…ugh.

Construction Zone

There used to be these things called darts. The darts shaped clothing along the shoulders, bust line, and hips. Almost no clothing today has darts — unless you are shopping in a vintage boutique.

Lining also seems to be a thing of the past. Linings in jackets and skirts prevented clinging and bunching.

Darts and lining are both expensive, adding time (and materials) to the clothing construction process. Lined clothes require dry cleaning, which most women don’t want to be bothered with.

So, we have cheaply made clothes that look like we slept in them.

Material Failure

Stretch fabric for women’s clothing emerged in the 1960s, and a lot of it was bulky and sweaty (the dreaded polyester!). Today Lycra and other high-tech stretch fabrics get combined with cotton and wool and rayon in comfortable and attractive blends. Well — at least they start out attractive. Part of the problem with stretchy clothes is that they look great for a while and gradually began to bag, sag, and wear thin. The rayon blends are particularly vulnerable to sagging and pilling.

People tend not to notice this gradual degradation of their favorite dresses and pants and thus don’t realize they are soon running around looking like slobs. Sadly, there is little that’s uglier than a pair of designer yoga pants that are now wearing thin in the butt.

So there it is: Contemporary clothing sucks and we run the risk of looking ghastly in it. Don’t even get me started on the shoes that are crippling our feet.

Naot Reserve

Naot shoes are unique in their ability to combine comfort and European-style fashion. This year their Vinyard collection sandals, with a mid-to-low heel, are hot. The Cabernet has the gladiator look; the Chianti a very classic style that would work beautifully for dressy  occasions. The Muscat has a rather aggressive fashion look, and the Reserve is perfect for an office sandal. I just got the Reserve from Online Shoes, and am wild over it — the front band (as well as the strap) adjusts (via hidden velcro) making it perfect for my wide-in-front feet.

Look to Naot’s Impulse collection for dressier black wedge sandals. The Deluxe,  with lacy cut-out leather, comes in metallic black (as well as in some astonishing colors). It has a deluxe price of $190. The less-expensive Gallus is sturdier and has a tiny elastic inset in the back strap.

Be aware that to get traditional Naot support and comfort, you need to stick with collections that have sturdy soles. I tried the Cheer from the Avante-Garde collection (with a thin footbed) and it was just as painful and miserable to wear as most high-heel sandals from other brands.

There’s been a distinct lack of frivolous fashion in the blog recently, but I can do something about that. My trip to Florida included several visits to high-end malls. One mall, Coconut Point, is a combination mall and apartment/condo complex. You live (or vacation) at the mall. What an idea.

I’m back, with a couple of cheap hoodies (from a beach store), a beautiful gray belted sweater and a long denim shirt (from Chico’s), and two princess-seamed long-sleeve t-shirts (from Coldwater Creek, my mom’s favorite store). I’d wanted to include a link to the sweater, but can’t find it on the Chico’s website. I tried on their Elizabeth dress, a classic “little black dress” with 3/4 sleeves, but unfortunately I was right between their medium and large sizes.

We also visited the Fossil store, which continues to have the best collection of bags around. They’re beautiful, the colors are stylish without being garish, and they’re affordable. I suspect that last reason is why you rarely find them on sale. But that standard pricing worked against them because, when I found two bags I liked (Sasha Large Top-Zip), I had no motivation to make a decision on the spot — I can see the same bags at the same price at Macy’s or at eBags and figure it out later. Note to Fossil: Use a colored lining, rather than black, on your black bags and you’ll have my undying loyalty. At the moment, I’m trying to figure out if your beautiful black Sasha bag is worth it if I’ll have to root around in the darkness to find whatever I put inside it.

I’ve added a new blog to the Food, Fitness, Fashion blogroll: No More Frump. The writer is a fellow fan of Kut from the Kloth jeans.