Fur is for Beautiful Animals and Scary Hookers November 25, 2009

If you give a damn about ethics, you’ve already wondered why the hell it’s no longer taboo (enough) to do something as disgusting as wearing fur. This article from Sunday’s edition of The Guardian, which includes quotes from people who profit from the sale of fur and from PETA co-founder Ingrid Newkirk, definitely merits reading.

(I know many you don’t care for Ms. Newkirk, and certain PETA campaigns definitely leave a bad taste in my mouth, but considering that most media outlets are struggling to attract and keep advertisers these days – and believe me, fashion magazines feature fur so much partly to keep their fur-selling advertisers happy – at least The Guardian is presenting both sides of the issue. Take that, Vogue!)

Writer Elizabeth Day even outs the fur industry’s greenwashing, referring to studies conducted by Ford Motor Company AND the University of Michigan* that indicate the significantly higher amount of energy required to produce a real fur coat (vs. synthetic), though she doesn’t quite have all of her facts straight (leather is NOT a by-product, Ms. Day…please read your own paper’s archives!).

Particularly worth noting is this quote from Newkirk:

“These designers who are given junkets to Scandinavia and are given free material – I hate to call fur a ‘material’ – I suppose they must be desperate. If you’re truly creative, you don’t design with something someone hands you. Fur has lost all its cachet. It’s yesterday. I see prostitutes in Atlantic City wearing fur.“

Which has given me a fantastic idea.

Those who wear fur (and are not in immediate danger of freezing to death if they take it off) choose to do so because they (erroneously) believe it makes them look rich and beautiful. These people are completely self-centered; they rarely, if ever, care about animal cruelty or the environment. The logical thing to do is to remove every last trace of fur’s cachet by consistently associating it with precisely the same sorts of people for whom fur-wearers do not want to be mistaken.

Say there’s a new girl in your neighborhood with a rabbit-fur jacket. Under the guise of being neighborly (and you ARE a good neighbor anyway, aren’t you?), sweetly let her know that the hookers down on Broadway Street wear fur jackets similar to hers; she might want to wear her polar-fleece coat when she goes out.

Or, say a snotty mink-wearer in front of you and your friends at Starbucks yells at the barista. You might choose to say something like this just loud enough for her to hear you:

“God, what a self-entitled slag.”

“I know! Only an overgrown spoiled brat acts that way.”

“She’s probably a hooker. Tacky coat, lower-class manners – no one respectable presents themselves that way.”

“Totally.”

Or, say a fur-wearer is holding a coffee cup and standing outside. Wouldn’t it be awfully embarrassing (for her) if several people plunked loose change into her cup, “innocently” mistaking her for a panhandler? (If she gets bitchy, ask her why she’s dressed like a homeless person if she doesn’t want people to think she actually is homeless.)***

It goes without saying that, in all of these cases, your message will be MUCH more potent if:

• You are well-dressed. Remember, tasteful understatement unless you are a fashion plate!
• You leave the message gear at home (or at least strategically drape your scarf over the “Fur Sucks” button on your messenger bag until she’s gone). It’s counterintuitive for animal-lovers, but trust me, ridiculing fur hags is much more effective if they DON’T realize your true motive. Everyone loves to write off a “freak” or “extremist”, but no one likes being shamed or snickered at by someone they assume is in the majority.
• You are reasonably well-mannered (slightly snarky is okay).
• You have strong enough acting skills to keep a completely straight face (when “mistaking” a fur-wearer for a hooker, anyway).
• If you have an upper-class accent, now’s the time to use it. (If you do not have an upper-class accent, proceed with extreme caution should you dare imitate one; they can be very difficult to get exactly right!)

Ironically, many of the really upper-class people that modern-day fur-wearers seek to emulate rarely, if ever, wear real fur anymore. At a certain level, flaunting money is irredeemably vulgar, and what screams “I’m rich, spoiled, and proud of it” more loudly than a fur coat? Fur is for tasteless nouveaux riches. Truly rich people go for tasteful understatement (case in point: when she was young, Jackie O. wore a cloth coat when mink coats were all the rage, although she certainly could have afforded fur even then).**

Is this a slightly immature idea? Maybe. But it’s definitely far less immature than selfishly and unnecessarily taking another creature’s life without a second thought.

*Note to Ford and U. Mich.: conducting the study again to evaluate how energy-efficient a good fake is these days could bring in very valuable publicity. Green is in, you know. Ditto for compassion. Just don’t let the fur industry bully you into doctoring the results – if that happens, you WILL lose all your credibility when the public finds out.

**Exception: conspicuous outrage. If you come from a well-respected, prominent, and/or notorious family, you can generally wear whatever the hell you want without hearing too many jokes about Bubble or Lady Gaga. However, this only works if you are dressing to express yourself and have a good idea of who you are. Otherwise, you’ll look like you really ARE trying to imitate Lady Gaga…and failing miserably at it.

***Please treat actual homeless people with respect – they are human beings, and many of them have untreated mental illnesses. More than 80% of young homeless people are forced to leave home, often due to abuse. True compassion extends to disadvantaged people, too, so be nice.

Bridal Fittings 101 November 12, 2009

Now why would a blog about running a vegan shoe shop run an entry on gown-fitting etiquette?

I started this blog to share my knowledge of vegan fashion (and of what it’s really like to run a niche business) with the world. But, there’s a lot more to me than waxing poetic over Beyond Skin’s spring/summer line sheets. I worked in an upscale tailor shop for a while after graduating from fashion school, and assisted in a number of bridal fittings. As a result of this experience, I am aware that most brides don’t know what to expect when the time comes to buy the dress and have it tailored. Since I’m now planning my wedding (oh yeah…did I forget to mention I got engaged last week?), I consider now as good a time as any to share my experience.

Incidentally, the majority of these pointers apply to ALL apparel fittings, not just those of the bridal variety.

So, without further ado, here is my bridal-fitting primer:

Bridal Fittings 101

Unless you are one of those lucky ladies who never, ever has trouble finding items that fit you perfectly straight off the rack, there’s a good chance your bridal attire will require alterations. If you are having something custom-made, you will probably need to have at least two fittings. (In my experience, three fittings for a mass-produced wedding dress is common.)

If at all possible, start with a dress (or outfit) that is your size – or very, very close to it. While it is often possible to size a dress up or down, don’t count on being able to take in or let out a dress by more than one or two sizes. Many dresses do not contain enough seam allowance to let out that much – and with fabrics like velvet and satin, the original seam lines will show. (With satin, original seam lines can resemble track marks – hardly an appropriate look for a special occasion.)

If you have not yet purchased your attire, PLEASE resist the urge to buy something that is on sale but several sizes too big. Garments that are much too large for the intended wearer often need to basically be taken apart and re-cut in order to hang properly on the body. This is such a labor-intensive process it can quickly eat whatever money you saved – and then some.

If you are not the same size all over, keep in mind that it is usually easier to take in a garment than it is to let it out. I myself am top-heavy, so I speak from experience on this: it’s almost always easiest (and least costly) to buy the size that best fits the largest part of your body and take in the dress wherever it is too big.

Buyer beware: some bridal shops deliberately order the wrong size. If you are ordering a dress through a bridal shop, check them out thoroughly, and make sure they have your correct measurements. Try to order well in advance so that if they order the wrong size anyway, you have time to either come up with another dress or politely, but firmly, insist that they order the correct size pronto.

If buying online (i.e. buying a vintage dress on eBay), ask for specific measurements if they are not part of the listing (not all labels are sized the same way), and make sure you know how they compare to yours.

When choosing a tailor, go with a reputable one, not the one that quotes you the lowest rate. You get what you pay for. Believe me, it isn’t worth having something done cheaply if you subsequently have to pay someone else to fix the cheapo job.

Many alterations shops will not give estimates for wedding dresses or other formal gowns over the phone. The shop needs to see the actual dress and see how it currently fits your body to determine EXACTLY what needs to be done and give an accurate estimate. Describing the dress over the phone is really not very helpful, especially since some less-scrupulous brides lie about how much work needs to be done on the dress in order to get a lower quote.

Ask whether an appointment is required. Many independent alterations shops require appointments for bridal fittings to avoid getting 15 brides in one afternoon – it takes time to fit a bridal gown properly, and you do NOT want the person fitting you to be rushed, fumbling, and sweating profusely while a dozen less-polite brides badger and harass her for not fitting you faster.

Do not demand an appointment on a day when appointments are not available. My former employer had a very rigid no-bridal-fittings-on-Saturdays rule because on each and every Saturday we were so swamped that we frequently didn’t get lunch breaks until 4pm. When the fitter is in a rush, it shows in her work. Yes, dashing off to a fitting during your lunch hour or after work may not be the most convenient thing in the world, but you DO want that dress to fit you properly, don’t you? Suck it up and book that Wednesday evening appointment. Big tip: if your schedule is at all flexible, ask the shop to suggest a good day and time to come in. Nobody likes to be rushed at work – they’ll suggest a time when they are least busy, thus ensuring they can concentrate fully on your dress.

Hopefully you already know this, but please don’t schedule a fitting right after a workout. You don’t want to have sweat stains removed BEFORE you actually wear the dress. Also, fitting someone requires being in close physical proximity – no one likes fitting a client who smells like a locker room. Hit the showers first. (As long as I’m on the subject of odor, please go easy on the cigarettes, perfume, and smelly food.)

Buy your foundation garments before your first fitting, and bring them to ALL of your fittings. Yes, this is completely and absolutely necessary. Even if they don’t appear to shape your body much or at all, your foundation garments WILL affect the way the dress hangs on your figure. Every so often, we’d have a bride go through one or two fittings with a certain bra or corset, then bring a different one – and wonder why the dress looked so different. Depending upon the design and cut of the dress, wearing the wrong bra can even affect whether the hem hangs evenly – I’ve seen it happen. (It goes without saying that if you have a petticoat or crinoline, you should bring that, too.)

Ditto for your shoes. If you have not obtained the perfect shoes before your first fitting, mention this to the fitter, bring a pair of shoes with a heel height in the range of your ideal shoe (heel height can affect your posture), and ask to have the hem marked at a later fitting. Don’t even THINK of standing on tiptoe and insisting your hem be marked that way – you may not realize it, but standing on tiptoe for the 5+ minutes required to carefully pin a hem will make you wobble and the hem will not be even.

If you are a klutz, consider having your dress hemmed to hang 1″ from the floor rather than touching the ground. Heavy dress + high heels + possible anxiety = heightened possibility of tripping over one’s hem. (I am hopelessly clumsy, and will be designing a ballerina-length dress to a. avoid tripping over my dress and b. show off my shoes, which will be fabulous.)

If you know of any upcoming changes to your physical dimensions (i.e. newly pregnant, having breast reduction surgery, etc.), tell whomever is making or altering your dress ASAP. Once the fabric on a dress is cut, it generally can’t be made drastically bigger without adding panels or gussets. Similarly, if your E cups are about to become C cups, it’s best to wait and have the top fitted after surgery.

If the tailor balks at your request for drastic changes to an existing dress, look for someone else who can handle the job. Even some of the best tailors are not well-versed in radically altering clothes (i.e. turning Aunt Susie’s long-sleeved 1950s number into a halter dress). Your wedding attire should not be someone else’s learning experience, particularly if the garment has sentimental value.

If the tailor recommends against making a particular change, there’s probably a good reason why. I personally feel it is fine to ask why s/he is recommending against something, or to get a second opinion from another tailor, but please keep in mind these people are professionals – they are intimately familiar with garment construction, and may know of a better way to make something look the way you want it to look.

During the actual fitting, please don’t move unless the person fitting you indicates it is all right to do so. Moving during a fitting can cause the garment to be fitted unevenly (this is especially true of hems and sleeves) – or cause you to be accidentally poked with a pin. (I used to come home with bumps and bruises because some of the less-attentive clients would move during a fitting and bonk me in the face, chest, shoulders, etc.  Getting smacked in the face with someone’s elbow HURTS. I’m sure none of my readers want to be THAT bride.) Not sure when it’s okay to move? Just ask. Believe me, it’s appreciated.

Do move around to test the fit once you are given the all-clear. Will you be doing a lot of dancing, walking, sitting, etc.? Make sure you can comfortably do all of those things once the dress is pinned. If the dress will inhibit your movement, point it out so the fit can be adjusted accordingly.

Your final dress fitting should be held approximately two weeks prior to the wedding, if possible. Any closer to the big day and there might not be enough time to fix any problems; any further from the big day and there’s a chance the dress might not fit. Many brides lose weight from stress, or get swamped with last-minute things and simply forget to eat. (98% of all the brides we worked with lost several pounds during the 4-6 weeks before the wedding, regardless of whether they were trying to do so. No matter how proud you are of your figure, it could happen to you too.)

If your mom/maid of honor/best friend couldn’t come dress shopping with you, it’s okay to ask the fitter to show her/him how to zip/button/lace up your dress. Assuming you can’t get it on without help, that is. Zippers are a no-brainer, but corset-back lacing in particular can be intimidating to those who have never had to handle it.

Good luck!

P.S. And yes, I will probably post sporadic updates about what it’s like to plan a vegan wedding, make one’s own wedding dress, etc.

Fur Production is Cruel to People, Too October 27, 2009

Flipping through the new VegNews yesterday, I came across Rory Freedman’s brief retelling of a confrontation with a callous, nasty fur-wearer. In typical fashion, the perpetrator made it exceptionally clear that she didn’t give a flying fudge about the living beings who suffered brutish lives and extremely painful deaths to become part of a coat.

This was, of course, hardly surprising to me. In a previous job, I routinely had to interact with a large number of fur-loving women. All but one of them* were appallingly rude, whiny, self-entitled, and extremely spoiled. Their unpleasant behavior included, but most certainly was not limited to:

*Shoving AmEx cards in our faces (they all knew the establishment had never accepted them – and I’m not exaggerating; they were unusually aggressive)

*Throwing tantrums when there was a wait for a fitting room

*Verbally abusing staff (one was also prone to uttering ethnic slurs – go figure why someone like that was patronizing a business with a predominantly Asian staff, but she was such a bully that even the business owner was afraid to give her the boot)

*Coming in ten minutes to closing time and demanding same-day turnaround (my boss was quite adamant that she didn’t want to run her business like a sweatshop, so fulfilling such a demand was impossible)

*Coming by after closing time and banging – HARD – on the glass door (as if we were going to wait on anyone after hours – the older employees all had to relieve their babysitters and we younger ones all would have been late for our second jobs)

Do I have to go on, or do you get the idea?

I strongly suspect that someone who doesn’t give a damn about animal rights isn’t going to care all that much about human rights, either. However, the fur industry can in fact be cruel to people, too; and some image-conscious fur-wearers might stop wearing fur if they had any idea how horrible it makes them look. Only someone who truly doesn’t care if everyone knows they lack empathy (think Anna Wintour) can afford to act like they don’t care about the exploitation of the working class.

If you still haven’t picked up a copy of Ellen Ruppel Shell’s book Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, it’s worth investing in a copy for the following passage alone:

So Deng, a migrant to Guangdong from a mountainous region of central China, told a Washington Post reporter in January 2009 how he had stood knee-deep in vats of hot toxic dye, seven days a week, twelve hours a day, at his job in the Overseas Fur Factory for a salary of $15 a month. Deng said many workers lost their footing or passed out in the fumes…

I was able to locate the article in the Washington Post’s online archives; a free preview can be viewed here (alas, the Post charges for viewing or printing archived articles in their entirety). However, do note that fur production is not the focus of the article.

That passage is also of use when dealing with anyone who falsely claims fur production can be eco-friendly (as mentioned, by yours truly, in several previous entries, faux fur is far more energy-efficient and much less toxic). Would a respected newspaper like the Washington Post make up a story mentioning toxic fur dye when the fur industry and its environmental effects were not the subject of the article in the first place? I don’t think so.

*ONE fur-wearer was polite and well-behaved…which may or may not have had something to do with the fact that her teenage son hated to come in for fittings until I started working there. He had a bit of a crush on me, so she shrewdly inquired about my work schedule. I have to admit it was clever of her.

The Trouble with Greening Your Furniture October 23, 2009

Even if you aren’t planning to re-decorate your home anytime soon, do take a minute to read The Truth About Green Upholstery, an Apartment Therapy Re-Nest guest post by furniture maker Matthew Haly. Frankly, it’s a rather depressing article, but a very honest look at an industry that isn’t exactly motivated to green its products (and, of course, there are plenty of companies that aren’t above greenwashing).

I am not a furniture maker, but I can confirm that Mr. Haly speaks the truth. My mom is an interior designer by training, so I spent my childhood surrounded by carpet samples, paint swatches, and piles of upholstery fabric. Of course, Mom re-upholstered many pieces of furniture over the years, and I myself have done the same thing with some of my own furniture.

Mom believes it’s better to restore and re-upholster an old, ripped chair than it is to wastefully throw the whole thing out, and I agree with her. But what about when one wants to do so as eco-consciously as possible?

Mr. Haly’s article consists largely of breaking down the materials and labor costs of producing green-as-possible furniture versus conventionally produced furniture. He does an excellent job of explaining what is and isn’t green, and why what is greenest is apt to be shockingly expensive.

I had a taste of this myself very recently – the seating in the store is finally starting to fade, and a few of the seams are starting to look strained. It’s time to re-upholster.

The logical thing to do was head to Michael Levine in LA. I flipped through several books of eco-friendly fabric swatches, looking for the right shade of blue or green, or maybe animal print. I knew eco-friendly fabrics tend to cost more, but when I asked the sales associate for pricing…holy crap.

Upholstery-grade polyester faux suede runs around $18 per yard. Sensuede, a faux suede which is made from recycled and recyclable plastic, can top $80 per yard. Ouch!

And that was one of the LESS costly materials. Some of the printed fabrics I considered topped $124 per yard (of course, they were made from post-industrial waste).

Granted, I’ll save some money by re-upholstering the seats myself (and I’m not opposed to hand-stitching), but still…

Oh, by the way, when you are in LA, do check out Michael Levine’s apparel-fabric store across Maple Avenue (gross-out alert: both stores sell cow hides). Their selection of eco-friendly fabric has expanded considerably in the past year. It started with maybe a dozen bolts of organic cotton in boring, sludgy colors, but now they have cotton, bamboo, Tencel, etc. in a variety of colors and prints. I snatched up some gorgeous purple tartan that I’m making into a dress. (I suspect some of the fabrics might be more greenwashed than green, but considering that the fabric you’ll see in chain fabric stores sure as hell isn’t green at all, this is still progress.) Best of all, eco-friendly apparel fabrics don’t always have the sticker-shock effect that eco-friendly upholstery fabrics do (pricing varied from $8-24 per yard; higher than conventional, but still not too bad).

P.S. If you can afford Sensuede when you are ready to re-upholster that old armchair, it is SO soft, and the colors are absolutely gorgeous.

You Can Lead Horses to Water… October 13, 2009

Actual conversation between myself and a customer (last Friday):

Customer: Hi, do you have any vegan TOMS shoes?

Me: Yes, they’re right over here.

Customer (visibly upset): Are these ALL the colors you have?

Me: This is what was available to us, yes.

Customer (agitated): Don’t they make ANY vegan slip-ons in plain black?

Me: Not at the moment. The only vegan TOMS shoe that comes in black is the wrap boot.

Customer: What about next season? I really want a black slip-on. The boots are way too hot.

Me: Not next season either. We’ve spoken to them about that several times, actually.

Customer: Why don’t they do it?

Me: We’ve asked, but they never answer the question. We could probably sell ten pairs a day if they’d do a solid black vegan slip-on.

Customer: When will some new colors be coming in?

Me: Not until spring, unfortunately.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that if she didn’t like the khaki and charcoal shoes that were in stock, she probably wasn’t going to like the spring line either. I do not fear color one bit (I own the world’s one and only pair of burnt-orange ahneemähl Taxi demi-clogs), and my inner five-year-old heartily approves of the blue and purple batik-inspired prints TOMS has chosen for their spring vegan collection, but my outer practical adult is well aware that my customers overwhelmingly prefer black shoes.

As a shoe color, black has every connotation under the sun – saint or sinner, scary rocker or strict schoolmarm, scruffy beatnik or polished fashion editor. It hides dirt, it can be worn with any other color, and a shoe that looks outrageous in red or purple just might be conservative enough for work/traffic court/dinner with Grandma if it is available in black. Simply put, it works for virtually everyone in virtually every situation.

My customers are a highly eclectic lot. They are flight attendants, dental hygienists, math teachers, artist’s models, grandmothers, skater kids, and divorce lawyers. Some of them can get away with wearing colorful footwear whenever they feel like it, but the fact of the matter is, most people need at least one pair of black shoes, and many prefer to have several (i.e. black patent peep-toes for hot dates, matte black ballet flats for the office, and black canvas slip-ons for going to the farmer’s market).

This is especially important to remember when designing with the veg*n community in mind. Many of us don’t make very much money, so when we can only invest in a few good pairs of shoes, we tend to buy basic black.

I’ve written to TOMS about this issue, but ultimately most suppliers make what they want to make. I can only hope they’ll eventually realize the importance of fully understanding a target market’s unique wants and needs.

Lest anyone think I’m trying to pick on TOMS (believe me, I am trying to help them), they are not the only company that hasn’t heeded my advice and most likely won’t be the last.

I told one of my handbag-and-wallet suppliers that my customers disliked the re-designed wallets and wanted the classic versions back. They decided not to take my advice, and I ultimately had to drop their line because they were no longer willing to make what my clientele wanted.

I begged and begged another bag-and-wallet supplier to make some smaller handbags after they only made huge bags for one solid year. At the time, they didn’t respond. They have since realized I was right (along with a large number of other retailers who had the same complaint). Still, it would have been so much easier on my customers and more profitable for the supplier if they had just listened in the first place.

I find that some companies are only responsive when they hear from the consumers directly. Maybe it’ll work with a certain shoe supplier. In any case, it certainly couldn’t hurt to drop TOMS a line if you want them to make a plain black vegan slip-on at some point in the future.

Stella on Fashion and Ethics October 4, 2009

If you haven’t read today’s Guardian interview with Stella McCartney, you’re missing out.

Anyone who even thinks they might want to work in fashion really, really needs to read the article. Especially those who think they might want to hang on to their sense of ethics.

Advice for Would-Be Vegan Designers, Part 6 September 29, 2009

Most of the knowledge and skill that are necessary for a successful design career come from education and hands-on training. Trust me on that.

But, reading a book never hurts. Here are my recommendations for aspiring designers:

Technical books. Reviewing a learned skill is never a bad idea, and may help you understand why your pattern maker is pushing really hard to get you to change something that seems insignificant. Hold on to your design-school textbooks. I still refer to my pattern-making textbook almost every time I whip up a new garment.

Books about the history of fashion. If you are studying fashion, you will most likely have a copy of Survey of Historic Costume by Phyllis Tortora and Keith Eubank. Save that book! Designers have long looked to the past for inspiration; sooner or later you probably will, too. Of course, there are many other books about historical attire, and they’re all worth a look, but Survey of Historic Costume is the big one.

Interested in corsetry? You’ll need Corsets and Crinolines by Norah Waugh.

Chic Savages by John Fairchild. What could a magazine publisher know about fashion? Actually, quite a lot. (Note: though Fairchild has been officially retired for years, it’s long been claimed that W columnist Countess Louise J. Esterhazy is in fact Fairchild himself, and I, for one, suspect the rumor is true.) The book is worth reading for Fairchild’s biting humor alone, though his insights are priceless.

The Beautiful People by Marylin Bender. This book is not easy to find, but well worth the trouble. Bender’s scathing 1967 volume dissects the fashionable jet-set at a time when the Youthquake was still at its peak and Betsey Johnson (only 22 at the time) was the latest super-hot designer. A fascinating glimpse into a key moment in fashion history.

Eccentric Glamour by Simon Doonan. As creative director of Barneys, Doonan knows a thing or two about fashion. Eccentric Glamour is in fact a hilarious, irreverent style guide, but Doonan thoughtfully includes a chapter especially for readers who think they might want to start their own fashion company. (By the way, do take special care to read the “Green Gypsy” profile in Chapter 1. Most of your potential clients will NOT want to wear a burlap tabard.)

Diana Vreeland: Bazaar Years by John Esten. Anyone who even thinks she might want to work in fashion needs to know who Diana Vreeland was and why she was so important. This book is a mere 79 pages long, but offers greater insight into her influence than Mrs. Vreeland’s autobiography (much of which was made-up) and has better pictures. Includes several of her best “Why Don’t You…?” lists from Harper’s Bazaar. I could do without the pictures of Diana in furs (or various recommendations involving the pelts of assorted creatures), but overall, the book is worth a glance.

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas. Ms. Thomas, a fashion journalist, explores in detail how luxury fashion has changed – and in most cases not for the better. She recounts the birth of luxury-goods groups, the decline of couture, the widespread decline of quality…and even visits the ugly, awful worlds of counterfeiting and sweatshops. If you only read one book on the business end of fashion, make it this one. (The End of Fashion by Teri Agins and Let Them Eat Cake by Pamela N. Danziger are also worth reading, but Deluxe is by far the best of the three.)

The Rise and Fall of the House of Barneys by Joshua Levine. Cautionary tales lie within the pages of this book. If you are planning on selling your goods wholesale instead of running your own shop (online or offline), you MUST read it. Especially Chapter 8.

Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell. Cheap was published very recently, and thoroughly examines the modern American consumer’s obsession with cheap goods. Not about fashion per se, but potentially helpful when designing for a clientele with varying levels of income. (Actually, everyone should read this book. I’ll review it more thoroughly in a future entry.)

My personal fashion library is much more extensive than this, but these are the “must-reads.” I wouldn’t recommend them if I didn’t consider them crucial.

Advice for Would-Be Vegan Designers, Part 5 September 29, 2009

Today’s lesson is an easy one: all I will ask you to do is read this entry, Netflix a few films and TV shows, and watch them as they arrive. (It couldn’t hurt to take notes and do some sketches while watching, but you hopefully already know this.)

Let’s start with the most important flicks, shall we?

Required Viewing:

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961). You’ve probably seen it already, but watch it again. Hubert de Givenchy very famously made Audrey Hepburn’s party dresses for this film (among others), but PLEASE take note of Patricia Neal’s wardrobe, made by Pauline Trigere. Nobody ever notices Ms. Neal’s gorgeous Trigere ensembles, which is a crime.

Unzipped (1995). This was actually required viewing during my first term as a fashion major, and with good reason. The film is a documentary, following Isaac Mizrahi’s Autumn 1994 collection from concept to the day after the fashion show. Things you will learn while watching this film include: why women don’t wear furry pants, how fussy top models can be, and how nerve-wracking it all really is.

Funny Face (1957). My favorite movie. It’s a 1950s-cute musical providing a glimpse into the world of fashion magazines and haute couture, but the Givenchy clothes are the real draw. The fictional Quality magazine and its staff were inspired by the real-life staff of Harper’s Bazaar, who consulted on the film. Fictional Russian-accented art director Dovitch is a reference to Alexey Brodovitch, fictional photographer Dick Avery was based on Richard Avedon (who took most of the film’s photographs), and fictional editor Maggie Prescott is a very thinly disguised Diana Vreeland (who reportedly was not amused). Ditzy model Marion was even played by real-life model Dovima, who often worked with Avedon. I wish fashion was as exuberant today as it was in this film. (BTW, Maggie Prescott was played by Kay Thompson, author of the Eloise books. An Eloise TV-movie references the “Think Pink” number.) Or, go to the movies and see The September Issue, but I’m telling you now, Funny Face is ten times more fun.

Every Coco Chanel biopic ever made. Coco Avant Chanel is my favorite (and the most recent), but the TV-movie starring Shirley Maclaine does a much better job of showing her financial challenges. Every aspiring designer needs to understand the risks of launching one’s own label, ideally before spending thousands of dollars to do so.

Down With Love (2003). Cute, funny tribute to all those Rock Hudson-Doris Day mid-century pictures, and Renee Zellweger’s ensembles are a dream. Do have a good laugh at those silly “taco” wraps!

Qui êtes vous, Polly Maggoo? (1966). This French art-house masterpiece ostensibly centers on supermodel Polly Maggoo, who is followed by a television crew and engages in daydreams about a handsome prince, but it’s really a snarky satire of the fashion world at the height of the Youthquake. (Every designer needs to understand the Youthquake. Its effects are still visible today.) The title character was played by model Dorothy McGowan, who reportedly never acted or modeled again after the film’s release. For extra credit, try and guess which supporting character was inspired by Diana Vreeland!

Ugly Betty (2006-present). Every season, every episode. The show is set in a fashion-magazine office, not a design house, but there are many, many tidbits worth watching for. Big tip: no matter how thin you are or how stylish someone thinks you are, there will always be people who will treat you the way the nastiest characters treat Betty (if not worse). If you have a thick enough skin to handle putting yourself in Betty’s shoes, you’ll probably survive. (An alternate option is to watch The Devil Wears Prada, but on Ugly Betty the cattiness and fat-phobia are counterbalanced by campy humor. Use your own best judgment.)

Absolutely Fabulous (1992-1996; 2001-2005). Hilarious show about two substance-abusing, trend-obsessed fashion victims. Patsy, the ex-Bond Girl, always looks cool and put-together (unless she’s wasted), but Edina is laughably attired most of the time. (Challenge yourself to design an outfit that would actually flatter Edina – or her frumpy daughter Saffron. Trust me, it takes far more creativity and skill to design for a middle-aged, slightly overweight figure than it does to design for a skinny teenage model.)

Grey Gardens (1975). This documentary focuses upon Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis’ aunt and first cousin…and their dilapidated estate. You need to see this film because every other fashionista has already seen it and you’ll be lost if you don’t. Trust me.

Clueless (1995). Just watch the damn movie if you haven’t already. This modern take on Jane Austen’s Emma is sometimes credited with changing teen fashion from grungy to cute. One of my favorites – and best of all, it stars Alicia Silverstone.

Legally Blonde (2001) and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde (2003). Proof that you can be fashionable AND shockingly intelligent. Not required viewing when I was in school, but it sure as hell should have been.

Recommended Viewing:

Blow-Up (1966). Michelangelo Antonioni directed this tense film about a sleazy fashion photographer’s unintentional involvement with a murder. Features appearances by Veruschka, Jane Birkin, and Vanessa Redgrave. Definitely not my favorite fashion film (the pacing can be maddeningly slow at times), but you can see some decent Carnaby Street duds if you watch closely enough.

Are You Being Served? (1972-1985). Do not get a job in retail without watching this show! I also recommend it to aspiring designers in the hopes that more of them will get over the “oh, let the merchandisers deal with it” mentality. Tacky point-of-sale displays, incorrectly-sewn diamante details, poor-quality material, etc. do bad, bad things for your brand’s sales figures and frustrate not only the people who buy them, but the people who sell them for a living. Please, please, please keep the end of the line (the consumer) in mind when designing.

Auntie Mame (1958). Hilarious, and stylish, film about a free-spirited woman who takes in her orphaned nephew. Mame’s costumes are a riot, and the film is shot far more beautifully than the 1974 version.  (Someday, when my brother settles down with a nice girl, I’m going to send them a copy of this film as a gag gift…and as a warning.)

The Women (1939). This clever film, shot almost entirely in black-and-white, features a fashion-show sequence in full color (costumes by Adrian). Screw the remake; rent this version.

How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Betty Grable play a trio of gold-digging models. Features a decent fashion-show sequence – just remember, the world has changed, and few fashion shows are like that these days. I do not approve of gold-digging, but this one is worth watching just to see Marilyn’s performance and those fab mid-century clothes.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Please tell me you do not have to ask why you need to see this film.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001). Brilliantly screwed-up little film about a transgendered singer. The film’s costume designer also worked on The Crow. This is another of my favorites.

Next entry: reading lists for aspiring designers.

Spread the Word: Operation Beautiful September 23, 2009

At 28, I’m still not used to liking what I see in the mirror.

As a little girl, I hated my boring brown hair and thought my eyes were too gray.

I resented having to get my first bra at age 9.

In one year (seventh grade), I went from a size 6 to a 12 and from a B cup to a C cup. I also stopped smiling in most circumstances because I was fed up with my peers’ incessant comments on my crooked, gappy teeth (no orthodontist was willing to fix my teeth until I was 14). That was an extremely unpleasant year, and halfway through eighth grade, I was falling into some habits that are not easy to break.

I relapsed in college. I’d drag myself out of bed, go to class, drag myself back to my room, and be so exhausted I’d sleep for an hour before starting on my coursework. Walking up ONE flight of stairs, even while lugging equipment weighing roughly ten pounds total, should not exhaust anyone. Eventually, my heartbeat became frighteningly irregular.

At my lowest point, I ate ONE single low-sodium saltine cracker per day.

I was the thinnest I’d been since age 10, but every day I was struggling to keep from passing out. Wanting to be perfect was killing me, albeit slowly.

Finally, I reached my limit. One day, I tucked the scale into my messenger bag and slipped down to the maintenance building. I was an RA, so I knew the maintenance staff would be on a lunch break. The door was open (it was always open during the day), so I went inside, borrowed a sledgehammer, and took it to the alley behind the building.

I took the scale out of my bag, set it on the asphalt, hoisted the sledgehammer, and smashed it into a million little pieces.

I was gasping for breath. My entire body ached. Stabbing pains shot through my back, arms, and shoulders. I felt dizzy. Hot, angry tears stained my cheeks. But, in that moment, I felt better for the first time in months.

(Don’t worry. I cleaned up the mess and returned the sledgehammer before anyone noticed it was gone.)

Given my personal history, why did it take months for me to hear about Operation Beautiful?

The concept is simple, but powerful: write a positive note and anonymously post it somewhere other women will see it. (A quick glance through the blog’s archives indicates that some of the most popular spots for leaving notes include school restrooms, dorm bathrooms, scales at gyms, and even on packages of diet foods at the grocery store.) Testimonials on the site are overwhelmingly positive, and several are from eating-disorder patients.

If all it takes to make a difference is a sticky note and a pen, sign me up (don’t worry, I’ll recycle old notes when the adhesive wears off).

P.S. British designer Mark Fast used three – gasp! – somewhat-average-sized models in his show at London Fashion Week. (Note that UK sizes 12 and 14 are equivalent to US sizes 8 and 10.) One more reason why I love London…

Emma Watson: The Newest Face of Ethical Fashion September 18, 2009

I make no secret of my exasperation with certain celebrities who have no talent, no taste, and zero design skills, yet are inexplicably taken seriously as fashion designers when they decide being rich and famous isn’t enough. I’ve gone over the subject enough times that I really, really don’t feel like rehashing it all again (when I read about the unholy Lohan-Ungaro alliance in the New York Times recently, I struggled to keep from vomiting) so read the archives if you don’t already understand.

The Guardian reports that Harry Potter star Emma Watson is now launching her own line.  Am I mad? Not at all. Actually (even though I’m not about to forget she’s the face of fur-heavy label Burberry), I’d like to shake her hand.

Unlike some celebs I can think of, Emma isn’t doing the line for purely selfish reasons:

“I was excited by the idea of using fashion as a tool to alleviate poverty and knew it was something I could help make a difference with,” she said.

“I think young people like me are becoming increasingly aware of the humanitarian and environmental issues surrounding fast fashion and want to make good choices but there aren’t many options out there.”

A celebrity using her influence and popularity to encourage ethical dressing? I, for one, can get behind that.

Emma’s collection for People Tree (which is fair-trade, largely organic, and creates fair-wage jobs in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India) is expected to be released next February. (Heads-up to my fellow strict vegans: when buying from People Tree, watch out for wool, silk, and seashells. Fortunately, much of the line is organic cotton. And the Jessica dress is too cute.)