people can whine about whatever gayla's "taste" may be, but whatever it is, she's making profit, and people are buying and wearing what she makes, cache/chico's or not. it's not like gayla's going to design some ann demeulemeester looking stuff for plus size. baby steps, folks. baby steps.
what's fantastic and yet sad at the same time is that so many of the men on that panel were in the dark about how sizing in clothes works for women...and the whole "do larger women care about what their clothes look like" question was just a doofus move.
in the end, this is fantastic, and what's better, damon freaking john jumped on board because even he knows a great opportunity when he sees one. #sharktankgaylabentley
Yikes. I'm all for more plus-size fashion, but I had a look on her website, and it really doesn't seem all that fashionable. Some cute coats, but it all looks amateurish to me. Maybe fashion schools should have more courses on how to design for plus-size bodies...
I have met Gayla Bentley and spent a whole day with her at a store that I used to work for in NY. She's crazy. And her assistant is crazy (the lovely woman in the tan and black lace coat). Crazy crazy people.
They made us all put on the "signature" red lipstick and she followed me around all day until I tried on and modeled her clothes. It was...strange...
Though some of her clothes are beautiful (and some are crazy).
@LaFemme: agreed. it felt like a combination between amy zerner (without the mystical flair) & ... what was that eveningwear mall shop called? the one that always sold tadashi and chinese laundry... oh geez... i've drawn a blank. but anyhow - the fabrics were not in-trend, the cuts were too bulky and the models looked a bit dowdy. plus-sized clothing shouldn't need to cover up & hide - it just needs to fit & flatter.
I wish this burgeoning designer the best of luck but I also hope that she learns to design for a younger potential client base.
@4eyes: CACHE???? That's what I thought of. It's all like a cross between Chicos and Cache, neither of which say "hi fashion option" to me. The cuts don't seem very flattering (or like anything that isn't already available read: boxy tents) and the fabric choices are just very, very dated.
@LaFemme: Yes! Cache!
this is a sadder cache - - and it doesn't flatter! women buy clothing & fashion magazines because they want to feel inspired. the plus size industry has such potential - its designers just need to better navigate their canvas. And while the designer herself inspired, the above collection looked, as you said, dated.
everyone should have the opportunity to dress well without feeling like they're wearing discard from As the World Turns circa 1996.
If larger women are not as interested in fashion, I submit that it is possible it is for the same reason that tortured lab animals are not interested in food. It's learned helplessness.
@redqueenmeg: YES. This. I'm an 18/20 and am relegated to Lane Bryant and Old Navy online. If I could find super cute things in my sizes I would be SO much more fashionable than the basics I wear most of the time.
@serreca: I'm the same size, and I find cute things at Ashley Stewart, Macy's (especially the sale/clearance racks) and online stores like Kiyonna. Even Forever 21 has a plus-size line in select stores called Faith 21 and its not all teeny-bopper stuff either.
I'd agree that the options are much fewer than the mainstream, but its a lot better than it used to be.
@MsFab: Macy's is a good suggestion. I've never been in an Ashley Stewart but Google tells me there's one in my town. No Faith21, though, and I don't really like ordering online and not being able to try on first. #sharktankgaylabentley
Yep, he's got it. I love only having a tenth of the options everyone else does when I go shopping. I love choosing between glittery club skank and pleat-pants grandma when choosing looks for work. I love only being able to buy accessories when I shop at J. Crew or Urban. It's fucking GREAT.
No, I won't beat you with a stick. How about a two-by-four with some nails run through it? How stupid can you possibly be? People of all sizes do care about fashion; people of all sizes don't care about fashion. But it's certainly fair to say that the ones who do would like to look their best, and a sizable percentage of the ones who don't would like to be comfortable and flatteringly and neatly attired. What are things like on your planet?!
@TheFormerJuneBronson: But it's also like... okay, so you know there is "money" in the fashion industry, that there is income to be gained. That is a given in this equation, right? Who is spending that money? Only women under size 12? How can you even put that together in your mind, that just these few select creatures of a select size are spending money on clothes?
@JohanPaladin: It's kind of a feedback loop, isn't it? People who want what's out there spend money on clothes; people who don't want what's out there, or can't fit into it, don't. So people who don't spend money don't get market segment, but they don't spend money because they don't have market segment. Which just feeds into the fashion world's mistaken and vain notion that people who don't spend on fashion don't want market segment, and thank God, because designers don't want their clothes on fat people anyhow. #sharktankgaylabentley
I was so happy that she got the investment she was looking for. But I was also confused by her "Integrate the Sizes" campaign. If that's her goal, why is her line for sizes 12-28? Why not 2-28?
@Benevolent_Dictatrix (patently absurd): I think she means integrate in that she wants larger sizes included in the same area as the other women's sizes, rather than downstairs or upstairs like they often are.
@precipice: Is that what it means? My Fashion Bug recently started mixing plus-size and regular clothes, instead of keeping them on separate sides of the store. While it sounds nice in theory- no more segregation!- I hate it. It felt really nice having my own side, and I never had to feel that angry sinking feeling of rifling through clothes only to find that there are no more big sizes of them.
@abunbn: I certainly don't care about fashion as much. Not by a long shot. I LOVE SHOWING OFF MY TALL LADY ANKLES IN THESE "LONG" PANTS THAT FIT ME LIKE CAPRIS. RAAAAAAAAGE.
Last week I went looking for some new clothes at a Macy's near my house and the plus department was downstairs in the basement between housewares and luggage. It was the only clothing department on the floor. Macy's, could you make it any clearer that you do not want me in your store? I took my dollar elsewhere.
@rodmanstreet: It depends on the location, unfortunately. The Herald Square location is absolutely kick-ass, with great contemporary clothes and lots of 'em. Wander a few miles into Jersey, and suddenly you're back in 1982 with animal prints and muumuus. Inexplicable.
Oh, and the website has a totally different selection from the stores, so don't use that as a guide.
@limber: I concur with this. The Macy's 2 blocks from my office has the worst plus-size dept I've ever seen, whereas the one at the huge mall in another state (Pentagon City Represent!) is absolutely fantastic and where I buy the majority of my wardrobe.
@rodmanstreet: I think it's not that they don't want us in the store, but that they know we will wander nearly any distance, even through housewares and luggage, for a chance at clothes that fit. Cause we have very few choices, and are thus nearly a captive market. Sort of "dear plus-size customers, we'll make it so you have to have GPS to find your department...because we can and you have to deal haha so there."
@limber: Please bite your tongue on that jersey hate sandwich. Damn you! Because I just (as in last weekend) checked out a Macy's with my sister IN NEW JERSEY WHERE WE LIVE and the plus sized stuff for males and females was excitingly displayed on the upstairs "normal" level and the tweens and skinny adults were relegated to downstairs. So I've experienced the opposite of the OP.
@JohanPaladin: Curse you right back! I live in Jersey too, and my closest Macy's (Jersey City) is always a depressing visit, with horrible clothes and a Dress Barn ambiance. And yet merely a PATH ride away there is an entire floor of attractively-displayed fashionable stuff in Herald Square. Like I said, it's variable.
@JohanPaladin: the plus size department at the flagship macy's in herald square is abysmal. ABYSMAL. the selection is ridiculous and the only thing remotely good was the stuff by michael kors that was all way too large to begin with. the selection at lane bryant is a million miles better. #sharktankgaylabentley
A smart Jezebel summed up the lack of plus size fashion as America's love of the dollar and America's abhorrence of body fat meeting toe to toe and America's lookism winning out. It is insane to know that there is something people want more than money....thinness.
@Vivelafat says Sweep the leg, Johnny.: As Brit, I find it crazy. Lots of our most popular chain stores have integrated sizing and/or plus-size ranges (including tights, underwear etc). I just... don't know why US clothes stores do this. (I'm not denying the fat hatred over here, but I can buy a suit, a bra or a dress for a party in a normal shop.)
@Plum-Pie: See, H&M in Germany carried my size and were not at all high fashion (I would compare them to a fashion Target) but here in America.... I'm lucky if I can find something over a size 12.
10/15/09
what's fantastic and yet sad at the same time is that so many of the men on that panel were in the dark about how sizing in clothes works for women...and the whole "do larger women care about what their clothes look like" question was just a doofus move.
in the end, this is fantastic, and what's better, damon freaking john jumped on board because even he knows a great opportunity when he sees one. #sharktankgaylabentley
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They made us all put on the "signature" red lipstick and she followed me around all day until I tried on and modeled her clothes. It was...strange...
Though some of her clothes are beautiful (and some are crazy).
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I wish this burgeoning designer the best of luck but I also hope that she learns to design for a younger potential client base.
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this is a sadder cache - - and it doesn't flatter! women buy clothing & fashion magazines because they want to feel inspired. the plus size industry has such potential - its designers just need to better navigate their canvas. And while the designer herself inspired, the above collection looked, as you said, dated.
everyone should have the opportunity to dress well without feeling like they're wearing discard from As the World Turns circa 1996.
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I'd agree that the options are much fewer than the mainstream, but its a lot better than it used to be.
10/15/09
In other news I seem to have lost my star. I guess this was the wrong thing to say. #sharktankgaylabentley
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If market always served demand, Mr. O'Leary, you wouldn't be on television because I *certainly* have no demand for your asshat commentary.
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Oh, and the website has a totally different selection from the stores, so don't use that as a guide.
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