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Real people. Real fashion. Real stories.
I hate this title. Because it shows up in magazines usually every other month or so-- just in time to tell you what new jeans to buy for a new season-- and it's always the same. Women are "petite," "pear-shaped", "boy-shaped," or "curvy"(synonym for plus-size). I, however, have figured out that I am a short/sorta petite/hourglass shaped/J-Lo bootie kind of girl. And they don't make jeans for me.
Well, not that I've found anyway. It's not just the magazines that exclude me-- it's the stores, too.
And I know I'm not alone in this denim dilemma. I've heard countless women complain about how they never find jeans that are long enough or big enough or small enough, and I've started to wonder who they really make jeans for, anyway.
But I've decided to suffer at the hands of jeans designers no more! I've done some research, and there are resources out there to help. But it takes some studying up and some careful consideration-- no just running into the mall and buying something off the rack. So check out these sites:
- Truejeans.com has you take your measurements even has a free tape measure that you can print out. It then shows you some designer jeans that, based on the ideal style/color combination for your body type, are supposed to look fabulous on you. I found it pretty helpful to look at the kinds of jeans that would be best for me-- but the only downside was that I hadn't really heard of the designers they showed me (and I don't think I'm that out of the loop!).
- Zafu.com is similar to truejeans.com, but without the measurements. It asks some personal questions ("is your seat shape flat, regular, perky or wide?"), and then gives you suggestions for what jeans and cuts are best to buy.
- Mejeans.com lets you totally design your own jeans, which is pretty cool. You get to pick everything: cut, color, length, hem style, little designy-thingies on your butt pockets... I just don't know if I have the $145-plus to blow on one pair of jeans.
- And of course, the Women's Health magazine site where I found all of this information is pretty useful. It has a GREAT jeans slideshow, where it rates the best jeans (who knew that Gap classic straight legs look good on 9 out of 10 women?) by style and fit.
Now that I'm armed with all this information, and I know what kinds of jeans to look for, I'm going to head out into that wild jungle of Columbia this weekend just to see if these jeans do exist. And if the service around here is decent enough. Not to be a princess or anything, but based on what I've read (and a few lessons from good ol' Stacey and Clinton), I'm on a mission for the perfect pair for me: Dark, bootcut, stretchy, mid-low rise, with very few embellishments.
Ready, set, GO!
Girl one: Ohmigod preggo shirts! I LOVE preggo shirts!
Girl two (eating popcorn): Ya me too. That way, when I'm at Harpo's, I won't look down down and be all like, Hello, Roll, thanks for coming out tonight.
Okay, okay, so Columbia, Missouri is as far away from high fashion as is Pluto from the sun (or from being a planet anymore, for that matter!). But Stephens College has a thriving fashion program, and this weekend it offered up its Preview Weekend Fashion Show for prospective students.
The theme, Marvel-ous, lent a superhero flair to work, active and swim styles.
Click on the slideshow on the right for a more close-up look at the fantastic fashion showcased!
Friday's beautiful and breezy weather brought out Kiersten's creativity. She's shown here wearing cowboy boots that she got for "super cheap" at a London vintage store. "I wanted boots this color, and I saw them from a distance, and I was like, 'Those are the ones!'" she says.
The rest of her outfit hails from the mother land, too. Her bright cashmere sweater-- which her brother outgrew-- is also from London, as is her patterned scarf. Turns out working for CNBC Europe last year added flair to more than just her resume.
But the jeans are totally American (as jeans out to be! Weren't they invented here?), and they hail proudly from the mother of places to find cheap style: Nordstrom Rack.
Reason 1: Because here is where Kanye got those sunglasses he wore for his performance of "Stronger"!
So I'd heard that Maude Vintage on Broadway was a cool place, but I didn't really know how cool. Not until I saw the collection of 80s plastic sunglasses, or the poodle skirts and disco suits in the "decade room," or costumes ranging from matador to army brat in the basement. This place is just fun.
And where does all this stuff come from? Customers, actually, says Carissa, who works there. They'll pay %40 of what they sell it for. Maude V, as its sign says out front, has been around for about 8 years, and has called 3 different buildings home.
Reason 2: Because you'll want to drape yourself, and your house, in everything.
But the place isn't just a dizzying amalgamation of the past-- the store features local artists who create pins, jewelry, t-shirts, backpacks, and all of those irresistible home d
ecorating knick knacks that you'd drop like 30 bucks for at Pier-1. You can expect to pay far less for such items at Maude's.
By the end of my brief trip, I feel like the childhood me would love to hang out and play dress-up all day. Okay, who am I kidding-- I do want to come back and play dress up all day! But it must be noted that Maude's isn't just for the little girl in all of us-- it's for the boys, too. The store boasts just as much menswear (we're talking everything from hats to pants to shoes) as it does ladies' fashions.
Reason 3: Because oooh it's so... shiny...
So instead of pretending to be Olivia Newton-John in Grease or M.J. in Thriller or an escaped inmate, I took pictures. Lots of pictures. Take a look at them on the right, and ogle away. You just might be inspired to find the inner diva (or, for the guys, divo?) in you.
