Jezebel: Fast Fashion

The History of The Cheap Dress

Elizabeth Cline — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 18:45:00 EDT

Everywhere American consumers shop — from outlet malls to department store sales racks — deals flourish. But where can one find the cheapest dress? "Fast fashion" purveyors like Forever 21 and H&M are known for their low prices, high volume, and rapid turnover of styles. It's amazing to think that a hundred years ago, at the birth of ready-made clothing as we know it, women would drop six hundred dollars for a Parisian knock-off. Today a fashionable dress is cheaper than a bag of dog food. How did we get here? More »

Did The Gap Steal This Image From Flickr?

Dodai Stewart — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:17:00 EST

In February 2009, Chris Devers took a picture of an old Jaguar, and posted it on his Flickr photostream. Yesterday, someone contacted Devers, writing: "This photo is on an outfit my wife bought at Baby Gap." More »

Minnie Mouse Gets "Leggy And Glamorous" Makeover From Disney & Forever21

Sadie Stein — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 10:45:00 EST

Says the ominous press release, the line, Minnie Muse, "portrays Minnie Mouse in a whole new way—leggy, modern and glamorous." Uh oh. More »

Levi's Sizes Up Your Ass

Jenna Sauers — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 11:34:00 EDT

This makes so much sense! Levi's sizing system is now taking into account one very important metric: your ass. Because bodies are three-dimensional, and sometimes people with the same measurements are very different shapes.

Dress Code: How To Shop Fast Fashion With Your Sanity Intact

Sadie Stein — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:45:00 EDT

There's a terrifying new Forever21 flagship in Times Square, which is intimidating to even the most seasoned shopper. And since a couple of people have asked for a Dress Code that tackles fast fashion, here we are. More »

Abstaining From Crappy Clothes (Let's Not Say "Diet" More Than Absolutely Necessary)

Sadie Stein — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:40:00 EST

There's a terrific post today on the NYPL's blog, inspired by a 1941 college girl's "wardrobe survey" and the contrast with today's collegians (and I'm not even talking Pi Phi) couldn't be greater: More »

You Can Look Chic At Penney's! (If You Have To.)

Sadie Stein — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:20:00 EDT

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Renata Espinosa: "Sailor striped knits paired with the slouchy denim-very Jean Paul Gaultier. A tie-dyed vest half wrapped around my neck like a scarf, layered under another long black knit vest over rubberized leggings? A little Rick Owens, maybe." [DailyBeast] More »

When A Fashionista Turns On Fashion

Sadie Stein — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:20:00 EDT

"By snapping up rack after rack of cheap, mass-made clothing, we're making ourselves all look alike, trashing the planet, and mistreating our fellow humans." Well, when a person puts it like that, it sounds bad! More »

Topshop Takes Over The World, One Gladiator Sandal At A Time

Sadie Stein — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:20:00 EDT

Their generals? The elite team of "style advisors," many imported from the UK for extra coolness, who will literally dress you. More »

DVF, Presidential Ski-Bunny; Pam Anderson's Vivienne Westwood Ads Debut

TatianaTheAnonymousModel — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 11:40:00 EST

Diane von Furstenberg attended the inauguration with her oldest African-American friend, André Leon Talley. She hobnobbed with Oprah and David Axelrod, then dressed up in, um, a ski suit to watch the swearing-in. [Financial Times]

Do You Know Where Your Clothes Come From?

Sadie Stein — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:00:00 EST

In researching his new book, Where Am I Wearing? A Global Tour to the Countries, Factories, and People That Make Our Clothes author Kelsey Timmerman, who traveled all over the world visiting centers of garment productions, came to one conclusion that, to our ears, sounds shocking: he's not "always opposed" to child labor. As he says in this audio interview for US News & World Report's "Alpha Consumer" column, the issue is a "more complex" one than we care to acknowledge. More »

Slow Hand: Native American Dresses, Forever21, Kilts, And The Recession

Sadie Stein — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Take a look at what you're wearing right now. Chances are it's not gonna give many clues to your personal history; for my part, Levis, American Apparel tee and a thrift store cardigan mark me as anyone working from home on a Wednesday. In this era of fast fashion, whose sartorial history doesn't go much beyond last week's ripoff of last month's runway trend, made somewhere across the world under circumstances we'd rather not consider from animals we don't want to think about, we have little connection to what we wear. More »

Heidi Montag Will Marry Spencer In A Style Of Her Own Design

Sadie Stein — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:30:00 EDT

"Designer" Heidi Montag to design own dress for "wedding" to "fiance" Spencer Pratt. How much cleavage will she show? [Just Jared]
Further evidence that Project Runway's going down the tubes: LiLo's gonna guest-judge on Lifetime. [NY Mag]
Dolce & Gabbana make bff Naomi "Siddhartha" Campbell their official muse. [Mail on Sunday]
WTF? Why is Juliette Lewis walking in Milan? Granted, for a label called "Miss Bikini Luxe." [WWD]
Cavalli, watch your back: Paris Hilton's latest line has hit Milan. Apparently it featured "baby pink, dog print T-shirts and sequins." [Daily Mail]

Jonathan Saunders For Target: The Thinking Woman's Guide

Sadie Stein — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:00:00 EDT

So I've been thinking long and hard about the whole fast fashion thing: as we all know, it's not all good. But as we also know, it's an economic necessity for a lot of us, especially in the current climate. One of the things that's worst about fast fashion, of course, is its disposability. So the trick, of course, is to buy stuff — even if it's cheap — that we don't want to throw out. In other words, not just buy fun, trendy stuff, but "invest" in things like the new Jonathan Saunders line from Go! for Target, out in October. Cause the British designer's got some gems in there — if you shop carefully. (And even if he does use that really young-looking model who always freaks me out in the Lyell look book.) Accordingly, I've rated all of Saunders' pieces on the criteria of Timelessness, Cuteness, Funness and whether or not it's obviously from Target — suggestions for other criteria welcome! More »

Snoop Dogg's Fashion Blitz

Sadie Stein — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 11:30:00 EDT

Snoop Dogg takes cross-marketing to a whole new level: He's promoting his clothing line, Rich and Infamous, via his reality TV series Snoop Dogg's Father Hood, on his concert tour, through placement in movies and videos, on iTunes, through a Web series, and, natch, on the packaging of his new CD. [Variety]
It's easy to believe Kate Moss is a crappy neighbor, but it does seem like this would be the least of the problems: "Neighbors at her Oxfordshire summer home have complained to the local planning authority about Moss’ two 15 feet teepees erected in her backyard. Their complaints are that the tents are an eye sore on the 17th Centrury home... and also obscure the view of the Cotswold hills." [Sassybella]
Albert Hammond, Jr. is going into menswear. The Strokes guitarist, solo artist and Agyness Deyn fiance explains: “A lot of people hate suits, because when they fit terribly, they feel strange inside, like they’re going to a bar mitzvah and they’re 30,” [NY]
Rememeber those Russian faux-lesbian school girl sorta-pop singers who were big for like two seconds five years ago, t.A.T.u ? Yeah. For some reason Marc Jacobs is featuring them in an ad. [Perez Hilton]

We Love Shelly-Ann & Shawn Like McAdams Loves Gosling

Jessica G. — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:30:00 EDT

More Olympian ovations! This week we crushed on Shelly-Ann Fraser's gleaming braces and Shawn Johnson's balance beam dominance.
You sent in your retro sports photos, which won the adorable Olympics.
We audibly squeeeeeee-d when we discovered that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were back together. Squeee!
We did not squee over P.U.M.A.s, Will Bower, or any other mouth-breathing, politically destructive a-holes.
International Male from the early mid-80s. Fringe and short shorts and spandex oh my!

We Love Cheap Stuff, But Fast Fashion Is Hard To Defend

Sadie Stein — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:00:00 EDT

As you may have read, England's House of Lords recently passed judgment on the culture of "Fast Fashion" as epitomized by chains like H&M and Forever21, stating that it fosters a culture of irresponsible waste. While the high-handedness of a group of peers making such a pronouncement has been roundly denounced - and indeed, is in danger of obscuring the message - the truth is that this is a real issue that can stand a little exposure. The current trend towards ever-cheaper and more disposable wardrobes is not merely bad for the environment and the sweatshop workers who turn out that $14 Marni knockoff, but is probably, ultimately, pretty bad for us as a society, too. Melodramatic? Maybe. But valuing things is, paradoxically, a luxury. More »

The Betsey Johnson-Anna Nicole Makeout Session Is A Bad Mental Image

Sadie Stein — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:30:00 EDT

We love Betsey Johnson, but we're kind of weirded out by the revelation that she made out with Anna Nicole Smith, like on a Monday in 10th Grade when you hear about some really random hookup from a party over the weekend. "She was wearing one of those dotted net see-through things with roses on her bullet bra underneath . . . It was when she was doing TrimSpa, and she looked really beautiful." Okay, but wouldn't that be around the same time she was doing eating contests on her reality show? Again: to each her own. [Page Six]
Janet Jackson's apparently unironic lingerie line, Pleasure Principle, is out. "The legendary hip-hop and R&B diva teamed with Bruno Schiavi, the Australian lingerie designer behind Dr. Rey’s Shapewear line (named for “Dr. 90210” fixture Dr. Robert Rey), for her debut fashion duet. The 18-piece line is named after the hit single from Jackson’s 1986 multiplatinum album “Control,” is designed to be comfortable for a range of sizes — 32A to 44G, and is crafted of mostly satin and lace." [WWD]
It seems like celebs are always lying about how they're going to wear Project Runway designs, but after guest-judging the Australian iteration, Kelly Rowland's actually making good. "Wearing the custom-made, scalloped outfit on stage at a concert in Cannes, France, a few nights ago, the diva strutted her stuff - which almost brought a tear to the Brisbane designer's eye."She was so lovely and the fact that she has worn my design makes me so proud," Juli Grbac gushed. NB: from the pic, we can kinda see why they usually back out. [News.com.au]

Karl Lagerfeld And Claudia Schiffer: Divas Separated At Birth?

Jennifer — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 10:05:31 EDT

After shooting her for a Dom Perignon campaign, Karl Lagerfeld expressed amazement at Claudia Schiffer's ability to play the diva at the heart of the campaign's storyline. We further express amazement that Karl got over his own whopping diva attitude to actually compliment someone other than himself. [WWD, 1st item]