Wednesday, May 28, 2008

From here to maternity



Imagine wearing this crazy getup during your pregnancy? I don't flippin think so.

Thank heavens the floaty silhouette is in this summer, or else I'd be up fatso creek without a paddle.

I am "in the family way" (isn't that the dumbest expression ever?) and let me tell you, finding cute clothes that fit isn't so easy.

Sure, you hear that it's easy, and in theory, you think, why yes, I can be a fashionable pregnant lady.

Um, no you can't.

Because:
1) Maternity pants fall down and make your ass look saggy
2) You can't wear really flat shoes or really high heels. In fact, experts recommend a two-inch broad-soled shoe. Right. Did you read that? Have you even seen a pair of shoes that match that description other than in an old-lady shoe shop?
3) All those well-shod pregnant celebrities are buying clothes at boutiques you can't possibly afford
4) Gap is closing down it's maternity sections in Canada. So you're stuck with Old Navy instead. I can wear Gap, I can't wear Old Navy. You can try. More power to you.

Luckily I'm still able to fit some of my sundresses and blouses from last summer, and the few things I did buy at regular stores are billlowy.

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Is this the world's cheapest dress?


This dress costs $8.98 at Steve & Barry's, the chain store that Sarah Jessica Parker designed her line "Bitten" for.

I read this story yesterday in the New York Times. How do Steve & Barry's do it? Nothing in the store costs more than $9, and we're talking jeans and shoes here, peeps.

I once bought a dress from Canadian discount clothes retailer Joe Fresh, regular retail price, $12. It had dainty working covered buttons on the side, adjustable spaghetti straps, and a considerable amount of pintucking below the bust. While I was paying for it, the dress boggled my mind. How could it only be $12? I decided it must be a loss-leader....like those sale-type items that stores promote just to get folks in the door, even though they don't make any profit, they get you buying other incidental goodies at full price.

But perhaps not. Steve & Barry's owners (it's a private company) say that they have slim margins and do everything budget-style, and use cheap labour (no kidding on that one).

SJP wore this dress out recently.

But the question is, should you?