Analogue Chic

Posts Tagged ‘shopping’

Hey, just a note to let you all know, I recently set up shop at Cosa Verde, kind of an online showroom of environmentally- and socially-conscious designers and crafters.
And they picked 2 of my items to be featured today!
Check it out!

image via DevPunk Studios

You can meet me and see my wares at these upcoming events:

Jewish Summer Festival

Sunday, August 23, 2009,12:00 – 6:00 pm

Congregation B’nai Israel, 193 Clapboard Ridge Road, Danbury, CT

Taste of Danbury

Saturday, Sept. 12 and Sunday, Sept. 13, 2009

12:00 – 7:00 pm both days

On the Green (Ives St.), downtown, Danbury, CT

Hope to see you!

I have been working part time in a women’s clothing store for a few months now, trying not to spend my paycheck before I leave the premises.

No joke, there are very few women under 50 that I have stopped as they were looking around to compliment them on their ensemble.  Most of the customers are in jeans and Ts.  But if I’m lucky, about once a week, I encounter a woman of a certain age who just has it together with some flair.  There have been a few ladies in on their lunch breaks from the nearby corporate offices who have these very creative monochromatic outfits: a seafoam green skirt suit with matching shoes and coordinating accessories, for example.  Today there was a lady in a very lovely outfit of shades of khaki and white, with a lovely straw hat and coordinating bag.

My love of older women’s style just culminated in this ‘Sartorialist Blog’ for the AARP set: Advanced Style.  Thanks to Dress A Day for the link.

Lots of hip ladies and gentlemen just racking up fashion points.

Image copyright Advanced Style

This blog discovery fits perfectly in with a concept I’ve been pondering for a little while, at least.  I love being the "greeter" and working the floor at the store, helping people find what they need.  I take a lot of mental notes, observing and listening to people.  The way I get through this job, which would otherwise be menial, degrading, and draining, is 1. I love clothes, and 2. I make it a game, pretending it’s my store, and I’m doing personal fashion styling for the customers.

Most women, of any age group, have difficulties with fit, especially in dresses and jeans.  Middle aged women have very little selection in ready to wear, and don’t even get me started on the ugly, poor quality clothes that are offered for senior ladies… There is a sort of average standard sizing system, but clothing brands don’t all use the same measurements – and not every-BODY is a standard size.  For so many people, shopping is a frustrating and demoralizing experience.  It seems obvious, but it’s still mind boggling that clothing retail and the fashion industry aren’t doing a better job of getting in touch with their customer base. 

UPDATE: Here’s a link to a rant on plus size style from another favorite blog, DC Goodwill Fashion.

So, I’m not going to lay out my whole concept here, but clearly there is a market here with steady income that needs to be satisfied, not to mention an exciting, challenging field for fashion design.

There is at least one person on the vanguard, designing chic, flattering, feminine clothes for women of the ‘third age’, without resorting to the Talbots/Chicos, preppy-meets-bohemian rut — that is Fanny Karst of The Old Ladies Rebellion.  Brava!

UPDATE UPDATE: An MSN.com piece on the search term "muffin top", aka women’s hips.  (Recently at the store, I was unpacking a shipment of undies, and one brand was featuring their power to eliminate muffin top.)  Really, since when is it a bad thing for a woman’s body to curve out from her waist?  Where else are you going to put your hips?!  The only reason this might look awkward is because your jeans are the wrong size.  This is not a newsflash… Next Analogue Chic project: a book on how to buy clothes.  Please…