fashion low down

Want to go to Fashion Week and have money to burn? For just a grand you can purchase the Catwalk Package at the W hotel in Manhattan. It includes two tickets to any show, a suite at the W (either the Union Square or Financial District location), and two cocktails. – Forbes

Betsey Johnson owes Steve Madden money, and if she’s not able to pay up in time he might end up owning her company. Is this starting to sound like a Sopranos episode to anyone else? – The Cut

Tim Gunn has been everywhere in the press as of late. Is it part of some master plan to take over the world, or is he doing damage control because he might be losing his job at Liz Claiborne? – Fashionista

Finally, confirmation on what we’ve believed all along: it really is better to wash your jeans as rarely as possible, says Levi Strauss Director of Special Projects. – Wall Street Journal

Victoria Beckham got on Twitter just in time to attend London Fashion Week and celebrate her nomination for Designer Brand of the Year. – JustJared

Serena Williams’ tennis outfits aren’t just stylish – they might be moneymakers. One theory argues that female players wearing short skirts is a major incentive to buy US Open tickets. No word on whether Rafael Nadal merely existing works for selling tickets to women. – BusinessWeek

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A Chicago office recently became the subject of an investigation when it was discovered that the company manager was charging employees $2 apiece for the privilege of wearing jeans in the office. The money was then donated to charity. Frankly, I don’t see much of a problem with this. Plenty of workplaces have a swear jar or some other informal program. I’m spoiled because I write things on the internet for a living and therefore can dress like a bum if I feel like it, but if your office is formal and you want some more casual Fridays, I don’t think two bucks is totally unreasonable. Would you do it?

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That’s right: a flannel shirt, jean shorts, giant sunglasses, and (you can’t see them in this photo) thigh-high stockings. Maybe Celebrity Court is different than Regular People Court, but Judge Judy would have totally thrown her out of the room if she showed up wearing this outfit.

[Image via WENN]

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I love high heels. Not in the Carrie Bradshaw “walking 40 blocks in $400 shoes” Manolo fetishist kind of way, or anything. I just love them. I love that they are pretty. I love that they are womanly and glamorous. I love that they make me taller. I love the way my legs look in them. But most of all, I love that they make me feel powerful. I love my high heels, but they do not return my love. In fact, they turned on me.

A few weeks back, I noticed soreness in my foot; I ignored it. I began walking with a limp; I still ignored it. It got so bad that last week, after a lovely dinner with girlfriends, my friend Ana had to literally carry me home on her back when we couldn’t get a cab because it hurt too much to walk even a few steps. So I broke down and went to the doctor. And it turns out I have a stress fracture.

According to Wikipedia, as stress fracture is a “type of incomplete fracture in bones.” It is caused by “unusual or repeated stress.” This is in contrast to other types of fractures, which are “usually characterized by a solitary, severe impact.”

People usually get stress fractures from extreme running or high impact activities, but sometimes they get them from walking around the streets of New York City in 3-inch fricking heels. So yeah, you could say I’m bitter. Not only am I banned from wearing high heels for 6 weeks, I am forced to hobble around the city in an orthopedic boot! Sure, it also hurts like hell, but mere physical pain I can live with. What’s probably worse than wearing the boot is that I don’t even have a cool story to tell when people ask me what’s wrong. I can’t say that I had a kite boarding accident in Maui, or that I was rappelling in the Amazon. No, I have this injury because I am vain and drawn to impractical footwear.

But all of this feeling sorry for myself has led me to thinking about all of the other ways we may put our physical safety at risk for beauty. Surely I am not the only vain idiot that end up in the doctor’s office because of fashion!

Meralgia Paresthetica

You can seriously mess up your nerves from skinny jeans. I remember reading a story about this last year.

It turns out, all of this flagrant skinny-jean wearing had been causing women to develop ‘meralgia paresthetica,’ also know as “tingling thigh syndrome.” I had 5 people email me this story. Women who develop this condition complain of numbness in the leg and describe a “tingly, floating” feeling. As scary is this sounds, this condition is not very serious. The cure? Switching to looser pants. That’s it. No irreversible damage, just don’t wear tight jeans! Um, okay. Maybe this epidemic is what led to the evolution of the jegging.  Maybe jeggings were borne out of an actual medical necessity. Somehow, that makes them seem easier to justify.

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A new company called Wizard Jeans is out to help dudes who want to wear jeans but don’t want the man version of a muffin top. The men’s jeans come with a built-in waist trimmer/flattener:

Using the brand’s unique design technology, the jeans have a wide waistband to keep the tum in place, and well-placed pockets to give extra shape and lift to the bottom for those whose hours in the gym just aren’t paying off.

I guess they can’t come right out and call it dude shapewear, but it’s totally dude shapewear. Not that I have any problem with this existing, mind you.

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OK, so we just told you about all the different jeans you should own. Well, here is one pair that should never, ever come in contact with your closet or the closet of anyone you know. I mean, if I didn’t know better, I’d say that those jeans have a thong attached to them, and hanging halfway out. But no…that would be crazy, right?!

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Susan Orlean is a writer for The New Yorker whose book The Orchid Thief was turned into the award-winning film Adaptation. Having already taken on people who steal exotic plants, Orlean has moved on to even more pressing societal issues – jeggings. In a blog post on the magazine’s website, Orlean writes:

My only real concern about my jeggings is one of organization. The last pair of super-skinny pants I bought was so form-fitting and un-pant-like that I couldn’t decide whether to store them in my pants drawer or with my tights. I devised a rule of thumb: pants that were too tight to fit over socks were shelved with the tights; those that had a little clearance at the ankle I considered trousers. Where should the jeggings go? I haven’t a clue.

Susan Orlean, I like you and you’re a great writer, but you’re wasting your time trying to intellectualize jeggings. Jeggings are one of those things that, the more you talk about them, the less sense they make. It’s sort of like when I tried to explain lolcats to a friend from Finland. The more I tried to explain what they were, the less funny they all became. Sometimes a misspelled message superimposed on a picture of a cat making a funny expression is just a misspelled message superimposed on a picture of a cat making a funny expression. And sometimes jeggings are just jeggings.

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Ever felt like men’s undershirts are getting thinner? It’s actually real, and here’s why. – Wall Street Journal

Levi’s (the denim company, not the Bristol Palin fiance) is getting a reality show. But if you want to watch it, you’ll need to start brushing up on your Espanol. The show will air on the Spanish-language Discovery Channel. – BlackBook

Alice + Olivia is branching out into beauty. First up? Nail polish. – Elle UK

There’s a product that claims to give you a “braless breast lift.” Does it work? Or is this going to end like that water bra episode of Will and Grace? – The Frisky

Sell a $50,000 dress for $15,000? That’s actually a huge accomplishment. Find out why it’s OK for the fashion industry to lose money. – Telegraph

Victoria’s Secret model Doutzen Kroes, 25, is pregnant. Anyone know how to say “Congratulations” in Dutch? – Fashionologie

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Are you a boot cut girl? Perhaps you prefer the flared look? Or maybe you’re like me and opt for the skinny jeans. Whatever your style preference, we can all agree that jeans are an essential part of our wardrobes. They can be dressed both up and down and are a comfortable clothing option.

You know what else they’re great for? DIY activities! If you’re about to toss out your old jeans, hold tight. Here’s a list of at- home remedies to save your old pairs:

• Turn them into a skirt. I tried this last summer on an expensive pair with tattered bottoms and it worked out great. I was so happy that I didn’t have to part with them. Use your favorite color thread for a personal touch.
• Make a bag. This video demonstrates how to make a cute clutch. It’s perfect to throw your makeup in so you don’t damage your purse, or you can use it as a coin purse.
• Bedazzle. Sparkles are so hard to resist. Just try not to get carried away. Promise?
• Make holes on purpose. This trick is perfect for ribbon entusiasts, and it’s so simple.
• Create an iPod case. Use the pockets on your old jeans to create a safe space for your gadgets.

What do you do with your old jeans, Gloss readers?

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I received a package in the mail the other day that I am afraid to open. It’s still sitting there, right on the kitchen table, and what’s inside may or may not be the answer to all of my jean-related prayers.

About a month or so ago I read about Indidenim.com, a company that lets you design your own jeans on their site and then constructs them to your exact specifications. Sick of the hours spent shopping and trying on jeans that never fit quite right, I decided to try it out and see if I could do a better job than Hudson or 7 for All Mankind. But now that the holy grail of denim is sitting right in front of me on that table, and I just can’t bring myself to open the box. After all, what if I finally get everything I ask for in a pair of jeans- mid-rise, skinny leg, straight ankles, a soft-dark wash- and I still don’t like them, then what the hell am I going to do? My dissatisfaction with the current jeans on the market-that is what led me to scour the internet late one Saturday night looking for alternatives, so I feel like these jeans may be my last shot at denim happiness. I guess I could always switch to khakis.

While I stall and put off my inevitable satisfaction of trying on these jeans, let’s go step by step through the process of creating the perfect jeans.The IndiDenim site is nice, clean and easy to navigate. The styles look very cool and promising, and the process is very thorough, if a bit tedious at times. They ask a lot of questions and they really want to tap in to what you want, even if you don’t quite know, or can’t put it into words. But this luxury and service doesn’t come cheap. The lowest end jeans start at $145 and the price increases with fabric upgrades and special add-ons. However, if you are used to shopping for premium denim, these prices shouldn’t scare you. It’s about what you would pay for other high-end jeans, but if you consider that this company is only producing one pair of a particular design at a time, then it is actually pretty impressive that they can be made this cheaply.

The journey begins with selecting a cut from the four options: slim fit, relaxed fit, trouser fit and plus fit. After selecting slim fit (my recommendation, because it is by far the chicest of the options) something called the jeans launcher opens up. Your jeans are placed on a virtual mannequin and you are ready to get customizing. Now it gets fun. I suddenly feel like I am a little girl with paper dolls, or a gamer dressing up my second life alter ego. It’s fun feeling in control, which is not usually how I feel when I am shopping for jeans.

The next step is choosing a fabric. You are provided with high quality photos and detailed descriptions. Of course, all the really cool fabrics are about $15 extra. But hey, if you want the perfect jeans, they should be, well, perfect.

After the fabric, you will choose the rise. Now, this was the part I was waiting for. I am so sick of low-rise jeans I could puke. Sure they were fun when I was a teenager with a flat tummy and a job as a lifeguard at the local pool, but now I’m a professional woman! There is nothing less professional than a muffin-top or worse, visible bellybutton and/or fat rolls, amirite? Yes I know that there are higher-rised jeans on the market now, but I implore you to find a good pair of highish rise jeans that are not boot cut. It is really hard. For some reason designers always put these 2 together. It’s always skinny jeans/straight leg, or high-rise/boot cut. It is infuriating. Can’t I be fashion conscious and a little body conscious at the same time?! So I promptly selected the high-rise and then the skinny leg. I also threw in a button fly for kicks.

The next steps are the selecting the little details you probably never think about. How big of a hem? what about a back pocket design? A coin pocket? I mainly just glided through these choices quickly, haphazardly selecting the little details and finishing touches.

Then comes the sizing. This is where they get down and dirty. They ask for every size imaginable. Pants, bra, dress, etc. Then they ask for exact measurements. Then, to make absolutely sure they will fit (there are no exchanges for obvious reasons) you select your body type from a selection of illustrations.

When you are all finished with your selections, you can add your designs to design vault, which is a gallery of designs that other people an puruse and order from. I named mine “The Brookie” because that’s what people call me and I really couldn’t think of anything better.

So now is the moment of truth. I need to try these jeans on and see how I did.

Ok, the legs of the jeans are fitting waay tighter than I imagined. I was so concerned with getting the waist and length right, I really didn’t think to much about leg width. I guess when they say slim fit, they mean, well slim fit. As I walk around a bit they are starting to loosen up a bit. Ok, maybe these will be okay. The waist is perfect: High rise, not too tight and not too loose. The length is hair on the short side, but ultimately pretty close to perfect. The wash is dark and a nice shade of blue.

Verdict: Pretty Great. Highly recommended.

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