it looks like all i do nowadays is write about clothes, huh? no more snappy, angry political criticism, no more feminist screeds...just clothes. well, clothes can be political, too: who gets them, who controls the industry and who decides who gets to buy what - these are 'political' issues. granted, they're not at big as reproductive health access, but for those of us on the margins, it's a fightin' time.
privilege is invisible; in other words, the thing that marks your privilege is the thing you can't see, or you take for granted. whether you buy your clothes from an outlet or a high end store like barneys, if you go in without worrying about leaving empty-handed, this is the manifestation of your privilege as a 'normal' sized woman. i can't speak for other women who have worn sizes 16-20 since high school, but i've never once been able to do that. whatever city i'm in, i am hyper aware that a shopping trip for me will be limited; i will have to shop in specialty stores, will have to compromise on style and quality and whatever i buy will be a begrudged compromise between what i want, what's popular and what other people make for me.
bouncing between what passes for cute in bloomies, and the pants that fit at old navy, shopping is an event that i don't want to share with anyone because the many steps to shopping is exhausting.
so along comes Bitten, sarah jessica parker's new line of super cheap clothes, that promises to give women affordable style. i was a little excited about the prices and the seeming cute clothes but what really got me was the size range: 2-22. but where can i get it? only through a steve & barry's store and where's the closest one? way out here.
and thus, the problem. no one ever gets it right. if the sizes aren't there, we can't buy clothes; if the sizes are there, but the price point is too high, we can't buy clothes; if the price point is ridiculously low, the sizes are there, there are issues with quality, and you have to drive to iowa to purchase it, we still can't buy clothes.
so here's a big soft girl's manifesto. here's what i frakking want:
i want to walk into a jcrew (because i'm secretly preppy like that) and i want to find my size just like everyone else. that's it. it's that simple. i want to find my size.
repeat it with me: i want to find my size. i want. to find. my size.
can you hear me, big retailers and buyers and designers and bridge label people? i want to find my size.
a great blog i stumbled across has her own take on Bitten: The Budget Fashionista -Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker on Oprah
7 comments:
Yeah, my blog's become all apolitical (to the casual reader) and domesticish too. On the clothing thing, for me it's just bras. *None* of my current ones seem to be fitting right any more, and I am pissed. off.
i think critical blogging comes and goes in waves. when the weather turns like this, and for the sake of my own mental health, sometimes i want to avoid the heavy stuff and just write about my stupid consumerism.
or boys. (but since that's not happening...it's clothes, people!)
i hear you about the bras. my latest bras are starting to go in the straps and so it's time again. bra shopping has become about as exciting as shopping for jeans or bathing suits, you know?
well hi!
thanks for the tip on this bitten thing. i did a search and there are a few locations west of the cities where i can go take a look at this line. and to think, i've never even heard of steve & barry. i'm a fashion recluse - no idea who "anyone" is. this clothing line looks kind of "gap-ish"; the price point certainly is nice.
as for size. . . i'm bigger than i want to be so it's either i change to fit the clothes or the clothes change to fit me. i'm working on the option that is most likely to occur first and it's a crapshoot either way. i really despise being soft in the middle. it gives me great angst.
Oh god, jeans and bathing suits. I need both and yet I fucking hate trying them on. Ugh.
jc: i think the clothes are simple enough that they'll make up for the so-so quality. i like that the lines are clean and simple. i like the fact that it means you can get whole, mixable outfits for under $100.
i mean, we're all busy people, right? who wants to spend a lot of time throwing a 'look' together? if we can find one that's affordable and easy to do, then i'm fine with it. i just wish we didn't have to treat this line like it was the second coming of fashion, you know?
bitch: my favorite jeans are totally hole-ridden. i need another pair and i dread looking for them. and i need a bathing suit. dude. the last time i bought a suit, i was in meijer last summer for the 4th of july and it was totally a last minute thing.
it had a skirt.
I feel the author is too much obssessed with clothes.Though she is got bored writing about his sartorial feelings but she could not resist herself praising those drapers.I feel she is on a shopping spree and is quite perplexed to choose the right kind of clothes for her.I am also very much concious about my dressing and feel much nearer to the authors feeling. After all, good designer clothes with a
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