Dress Mania!

Today, I decided to focus on finding the latest coolest selections on maxi dresses, cocktail dresses and go-t-work dresses. I found these amazing dresses at IGIGI.com and some from Vince Camuto. Both brands carry a beautiful assortment on dresses with a variety of prints and shapes that cover the entire spectrum of must-have- dresses in your wardrobe. Price points seem to be competitive and as far as quality and handfeel, I haven't got the opportunity to feel these dresses but by reading their product description, you can see that poly, elastine is a very comfortable fabric content, especially for dresses. It's the very flowy soft stretchy type of fabric that tyou see in stores. Before we show you the selections, I have posted the color trend for the 2012-13 below. As we see below, the brighter the better. So, what does this mean?, this is the year for you to spice up your wardrobe the boldest colors you can think of. By bright! be bold! don't be afraid! Check my latest selections. 

Pantone reported that bold Yellows, Mauve, Rust and Midnight Navy's will be "IN".

          

These dresses are great for work, especially the yellow one. The green one might not work for everyone depending on the work environment, some companies are really conservative with their dress code. However the the yellow dress could be worn with a nice blazer on top to make it look more professional. Then when you are ready to hang out with your fellow co-workers on a Friday, take the jacket off.

Ready for that Hot Date? This dress has the perfect cut. It has a nice surplice neckline giving it a nice sexy look. Pair it with a pair of cold or even silver accessories and you are good to go.

What about florals? how big should you go, big prints or small? Like mentioned in one of my previous posts, focus wearing that are defined, instead, wear dresses with prints that are scattered and less defined. This distracts the eye from looking at a certain area. One example are the dresses from Vince Camuto. 

Going to the mall with friends? Feeling casual? maxi dresses are so confortable and easy to wear for daily casual occasions. The beauty of these dresses is that you can dress them up as the night approaches. If you  don't have time to go home and change, you can belt it up, wear it with high heels versus sandals. Below is an example of a dress that I believe has potential to be casual and more dressy depending on the accessories, shoes and layers that you add. Take a look a these Vince Camuto form Nordstrom.

A little Research

rAs I was doing some research on brands that have introduced themselves into the plus size market, I learned by a New York Times article, that many brands just stop producing sizes higher than 12 because of proper space to carry the entire existing inventory and the extended sizes. Another reason is the psychology behing the women when shopping. Plus size women do not like trying clothing in the fitting rooms where the smaller petite women are trying stuff on. This explains a lot. Women in this size range tend to buy and not try on, which creates an opportunity to the e-commerce sector. However, companies such as Gap had only sold in their sites as these sizes would leave their stores with not space.

With that 28 percent of the adult population being obese last year, the highest percentage yet. Almost two-thirds of American women are either overweight or obese, according to the most recent CDC figures. According to NPD Group, a market research firm, the plus-size market increased 1.4 percent while overall women’s apparel declined 0.8 percent in the 12 months leading up to April 2010 versus the same period a year earlier. However, the fashion industry has decided to embrace what is going on with the women's body in America and capitalize on it. Even thought like I mentioned above, carrying more sizes means more stock and sales floor space, brands such as Ellie Tahari has expanded their offerings to more sizes as well as lower end retailers like Target.

One of the strategies that these companies are following, is that when buying online, they need their customers to buy the right sizes as the more extended the sizes are, the more challenge it is to fit the best.  What I found interesting was that in order to acces the fit issue,  a professor at Cornell who studies the body and fit of humans, created a three -dimensional scan which make the process of style selection an easy one. Customers will view their own 3D image, where they can rotate and see all angles, styles and that fits that are the best for the customer. See picture below. I also have included a YouTube video of this amazing system to virtually try on anything.

This system is offered online by Lands' End, Levi Strauss, H&M, and Sears. However, these systems are designed for style selection, not sizing.

Sources
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/19/business/19plus.html

Is there a gap to be filled with plus size brands?

As I work on my business plan of carrying several brands that cater the plus size industry, I decided to look into what consumers are looking in brands and what are their most important concerns when purchasing a new suit to go to work or a comfortable dress for the next vacation. Getting your opinions is critical for this process. I have posted a couple of key pieces from different brands. Which brands do you buy most on a yearly basis? Do you think brands might be missing something about plus size women? If, so is it design, new prints, or fit? Feel free to share any thoughts and favorite brands. Below are a couple of brands that I found had some interesting stuff. 

Looking to hear some suggestions :D

This dress from Torrid.	Love this dress from DKNY.	This suit from Lane Bryant.	Adorable swimsuit by The Miraclesuit

Feel free to participate in my Poll

Plus Size Brands

Do you like what apparel stores offer for the plus size market?Do you think plus size offerings are as trendy as regular sizes?Do you spend more than $100 on plus size apparel on a monthly basis?

Another amazing actress!

Any of you have watched The Bridesmaids? Well, if not, please go ahead and rent it this weekend, you will laugh like there is no tomorrow. Melissa plays the role of  Megan, a mysterious, weird friend not typical skinny bridesmaid friend, with a truly atrocious wardrobe. She is hilarious! Kirsten Wig who plays Annie, was also hilarious. One of my favorite scenes is the part where there are all in the table brainstorming for ideas for themes for their party, and Megan suggests Fight a Club theme LOL. She is completely out of touch with the world and people's expectations. I think she did a great job at playing the funny weird girl in the group. In 2011, Melissa McCarthy won the  Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Acress in a Comedy Series. Below I have posted pictures and a video of her latest award. This reminds us that their are many plus size women out their with some amazing talent. I would love to hear comments on any of you. Please feel free to comment below.

                                        

Read More http://www.gq.com/entertainment/movies-and-tv/201108/melissa-mccarthy-gq-august-2011-bridesmaids#ixzz1oZaSKS39

Octavia Spencer one amazing winning actress!

Talking about great actresses and artists that represent the plus size women, made me think about how happy it made me when I saw that Octavia Spencer, won the Oscar for best supporting actress in the Academy Award on Sunday Feb 26th of this year.  I have to say that her role as Minny Jackson in "The Help" was my favorite as well as  Hilly's character, who is fixated in starting the The Home Help Sanitation Initiative in the neighborhood. She believed that black people spread different deceases and starts a bill to require that every citizen have a separate bathroom for the people their maids. Love when she ate Minny's poo-laced chocolate pie!. She refuses to be cowed and who wreaks revenge on Hilly's bad  by serving up this disgusting pie.

The Help was adapted from the Kathryn Stockett novel of the same name which became a sensation in the box office sensation. This movie grossed more than $200 million at the global box office. Check out this scene below when Octavia Spencer was called for her award. She seemed so excited and humbled to win this award.