Saturday, October 30, 2010

The State of the Curvy Community at FFF Weekend LA

*photo courtesy of NOW
It was a passionate group who gathered to listen to a panel discussing The State of the Curvy Community as part of Full Figure Fashion Week, founded by Gwen DeVoe. Bold, beautiful and curvy Chenese Lewis, president of the Hollywood chapter of the National Organization of Women (NOW) moderated the panel.  Lewis recently made headlines when she posed nude with America's Next Top Model Whitney Thompson as a battle cry for Love Your Body Day, launched by NOW in 1998.
An eclectic mix of representatives from the Curvy Community included actress Sharon Quinn, Reah Norman, fashion director of Plus Model Magazine, Heinrich Saint-Germain from Judgement of Paris, R&B artist Kelly Price, and Judge Karen Mills-Francis.
The mostly African American audience was very vocal about the general lack of availability of quality clothing that fit and what they perceive to be the cold shoulder given to them by Seventh Avenue. The bloggers, retailers, reps from clothing companies, stylists, photographers and plus size models also in attendance, agreed with the consensus that there's a pervasively negative attitude towards being associated with "fatties." Fatty is the new N word, and a recent provocative Marie Claire blog provoked over a thousand comments, some of which were full of fat venom.
The glaring issues facing what is said to be approximately two thirds of the American female population,
are real. A recent Los Angeles Times story discussed the some of the daunting challenges designers and retailers deal with in serving women who wear a larger size.
Nothing's changed in the more than 20 years I've been a member of this club. We've come a long way baby, but the average woman, who allegedly is about 5'5" tall, weighs about 163 pounds and wears a size 14 is still struggling to get dressed.
The few "real women" ad campaigns haven't generated any growth in the use of models and actors who portray the more realistic image of the average consumer.
One of the biggest gripes voiced during the panel discussion was a dearth of plus size models used in advertising, yet no one could answer the age old question, 'how big is big?' Is size 14 representative, size 18, or larger? When I went to work for Big Beautiful Woman (BBW) as the fashion editor in 1991, it was hard to find clothing samples large enough to put on a real plus size model. Subscribers to BBW constantly wrote in to ask how to get companies to use larger models. The same holds true today, and perhaps even more so with the global economy squeezing manufacturers and retailers.
The Internet has fostered entrepreneurship in this lively community. If you Google, you can find just about anything you could ever desire in just about any size. Whether the quality is great, the price justified or the fit accurate, at least it exists. In order for these special size businesses to succeed, they will need the support of the women who say they don't have enough choice. Three specialty fashion magazines, BBW, Mode and It Figures (published by Lane Bryant),  have gone out of business in the last twenty years, all for lack of advertising dollars, indicating the sales at retail just didn't add up.
According to NPD, a retail and consumer behavior research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y., sales of plus size clothing account for only 17% of all women's apparel.
But that raises a question. How are the sales calculated? Is there an arcane method, like the Neilsen Ratings, where only a limited number of house hold viewing habits represent the entire country? The Neilsen Ratings, derived from people 18 - 49, only recently added college students age 21 and up living in college dorms, yet surveys indicate the average age of the TV viewer is 50.
As the two hour panel wrapped up, Lewis called for solutions to resolve the dilemmas of this vibrant demographic.
The usual meet and greet fest afterwards was warm and fuzzy.  I hadn't seen actress Kim Coles  in a few years, we met in the "green room,"at one of the many TV shows I've appeared on. The owners of Abundance, an elegant and chic, large size clothing boutique in Los Angeles were passing out copies of the LA Times article I mentioned earlier. One thing was clear, the Curvy Community is a dynamic and friendly crowd ready for action!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Scouring Paris for the latest in fashion via - latimes.com


Singer Beth Ditto walked the catwalk for Gaultier. It's not the first time he's used a larger woman as a muse and it won't be the last. Gaultier and others in fashion shock us with provocative images of the unexpected to remind everyone there are other creatures on the planet besides the skeletal, barely legal waifs that often grace the narrows of fashion's future.
This year's fashion formula combines a Louise Brooks' flapper bob, a Mae West meets Shirley Temple ensemble, and Kabuki meets Amy Winehouse make-up to astound us with the ultimate Kewpee Doll, Beth Ditto!

Booth Moore's coverage of the runways in Paris provides insight on what we'll be wearing next spring.
Some welcome relief comes with the update.
Three trends emerged as fresh:
Black is in the shadows for spring, except for the continuing detour towards punk. Colors we haven't seen in awhile are blooming in multiples on floral prints, and skirt lengths are going down, down, down.
But as Moore says, no one's a slave to hemlines, still, more options are always welcome.

*photo (Benoit Tessier, Reuters / October 1, 2010) via the Los Angeles Times

Survive a Role in Your Own Disaster Movie - Get HomeBody to Help!

Jillian Hessel is a friend of mine.  We met in 1994 after I almost starred in my own disaster movie.
 I was in my office at BBW magazine, where at the time I was working as an editor writing and styling fashion, fitness and beauty...and all of a sudden there was an earthquake.
It was the first earthquake I'd ever experienced.
The building started to vibrate, it was on rollers, common in California, so it was very subtle at first, but then the quake really kicked in and the building seemed to lurch and my bookcases were tipping over, stuff was sliding off shelves, furniture was moving across the room in slow motion and I dived under my desk.
The violent shaking didn't last long, but when I crawled out from under my desk to survey the damage, my legs were a bit wobbly.
I was putting everything back in place, when I picked up some press kits off the floor. As I shuffled through them, I noticed several of them were for fitness products and experts. I set them on my desk.
I realized I had just narrowly escaped some sort of disaster and that this earthquake stuff was for real! And unlike tornadoes, where you get ample warning most of the time, could happen again, anytime.
The little trembler had shaken me up but there wasn't any damage to the building...this time.
I got my office back in shape and started thinking about how I would survive an earthquake or any disaster for that matter.
I reached for the pile of fitness press kits and opened the one from Jillian Hessel, a Pilates expert. I had just recently heard something about Pilates so I put that one on the top of the pile. Pilates sounded interesting and different.
I was going to need help to get strong enough to survive a starring role in my own disaster movie. And this was before reality TV!
Imagine...you're in your office and the big one strikes. What would you do?
My mind quickly raced back to the moments of the biggest jolts and easily imagined the building coming apart at the seams. Or worse, how 'bout that de riguer move for every damsel in distress in action flicks, you know the one, where the woman is hanging on by one hand over the edge... of something, and just in the nick of time the dashing hero saves her. Yeah, how many of you can hang by one hand? I couldn't even do a pull up at that time, well I still can't really.
I mean I could picture myself trapped in an elevator with a bunch of scared and screaming people.  Someone would suggest we try to escape through the elevator shaft....you've seen that storyline too...well could you, would you, climb into the shaft to escape?
And while I was asking myself the same question, it got worse,  cuz it hit me the boyz won't be looking for me. Nope, Bruce, Arnold,  or even Claude, none of them would have me on their radar.  I was going to have to save myself.
So I called Jillian's publicist, Kyrian Corona, to thank her for sending me the information and made an appointment to meet Jillian. And that began my ongoing quest to save myself if in case I find myself starring in my very own disaster.
Sixteen years later I'm still friends with them both and still working with Jillian.
She's helped me find strength, balance and better posture among the benefits that are too many to list. I'm grateful for the other friendships I've forged as a result of Pilates. With Jillian's guidance  and understanding of the way a body works, I can say that Pilates profoundly and positively helped me through several illnesses, including a recent hip replacement.

Jillian has a new workout DVD called Homebody.
It's really fun and easy to do. You can do it anywhere and don't need anything special in terms of equipment or clothing.
I took a screener to Europe last year and one of my friends, a bona fide couch potato, was up on her feet, making the moves before she even realized it!

Jillian created Homebody for those of us who need help finding the time to exercise, and in these uncertain economic times, for those of us who can't afford the gym, the trainer or the weekly class.
Check it out. Jillian designed the movements based on her love and awareness of yoga, dance and Pilates. There are three options, standing, seated and floor work.
I do the seated arms and hands dance every few days at my desk!
Give Homebody a try,  next time there's something shakin' you'll be the star!
About dot com reviewed Homebody

Forever 21 Comes To Their Senses! Faith 21 Name Change

I always scratch my  head in wonder when a brand names their plus size division some stupid or irrevalent name. For example, there are a few of you who may remember Liz Claiborne's plus size line called Elizabeth!! So when Forever 21 launched Faith 21 I was surprised. Wouldn't you want the customers who couldn't shop with you because the size range wasn't "wide enough" hit the floors and the buy button online?
Seems they've come to their senses, and a name change is in the works.