I was reading a copy of Vogue with Naomi Campbell, modeling’s model minority, lamenting about the dearth of black models in the industry. This an argument that’s old as time, so let me cut to the chase: Naomi, you just might have company.
Perhaps it won’t be next month, or the month after that, but I have good vibes about plus size modeling, and even doubly good vibes when it comes to the black women in modeling topic. As a black woman myself, it does strike me as odd to not see more models of color on the runways.
Is it going to be boiled down to a matter of buying power? I certainly hope not. This article, dated 2 years ago, gives some great information on what’s generally considered a “duh” concept: minoirty buying power is on the rise?
Marketers aren’t in the business for their health - they’re out to make money. Buying power plays into spending the way spending plays into modeling because it’s about enticement. We want to get people to purchase products, to spend money, but most importantly, to visualize themselves wearing, eating, drinking whatever we’re marketing at the moment.
The rise in buying power for minorities should trigger more exposure, in the sense that marketers should be using minorities in advertising. What better way to entice people to purchase items when the person in the ad looks similar to the buyer?
We’re hopeful, vocal, and excited about plus size modeling because the models look like we do. They have curves, perhaps broad shoulders, and love handles (I know I have ‘em, so I gotta make sure my ‘handles still look great rocking the latest sweater sets). We’re taking it to the economic level as well: we’re pointing out where we shop, how much we spend. The war hasn’t been won yet, but we’re still writing, talking about it, and sharing what we want for plus size modeling, and plus size fashion in general.
I want to see curves. Hips. Legs. Smiles. If they happen to be women of color, that would be a great step, but I need to see women that at least have the same structure I do. I can fully understand multiple angles of this argument - I’m a marketer myself.
I’m hopeful for plus size fashion because I think we can get a diverse runway while still celebrating the hips, curves, and all the other components that make us beautiful from head to toe.
On women of color & modeling (some links may be dated, but I think all are worth looking at:)
The Ugly Side of the Modeling Business
On Absence of Our Models - Use of African-American Models in Fashion
The New Face of the Supermodel
Links about buying power:
Minorities spending more on eating out, entertainment, research shows
Multicultural economy - America’s minority buying power - PDF
Minority buying power expected to rise
Hispanic movement from California, impact on other cities
Disney reaches out to Hispanic market with ‘Cheetah Girls’
A text file of 2004 statistics on buying power in American, divided on racial lines
I’ve had it up to hear with two things: the double-standard that’s being slung around about women’s sexuality, and our (albeit silent) acceptance of it all. What’s the matter with women looking, feeling, and otherwise being sexy? Does that stop us from being mothers, daughters, sisters, businesswomen, granddaughters, wives, friends, mentors, leaders, creatives?
I was talking with some ladies the other day (how all my stories start this way, I don’t know) about lingerie. They were shocked that I do pay attention to my lingerie, even though my fiancee isn’t around. It bothers me because I think that lingerie is both a private and quasi-public pleasure (OK, so my audience is 1 - it’s still an audience!) - why is it wrong to praise good lingerie?
I want bras that hug, embrace, caress, lift, and protect. I like color. Texture. Fabric is also a point of interest - give me satin, give me lace, give me soft fabrics that make time melt away!
Our greatest enemy seems to be ourselves. I can’t change the way people think, but I can change the way I talk about things. And I want sexy lingerie for me first.
Does it help or hurt that our thoughts of lingerie linger around sex? Are we quieter about corsets and hosiery than we are about camisoles and high-heels because it’s related to “that issue”? Or am I just missing out on the secret cabal of plus size lingerie blogs, where we vocal and verbose plus size fashion bloggers are really sermonizing?
In order to feel desirable, to feel loved, to feel good about ourselves, we have to start at the root. That root is us - not the media, not the stores (I actually did a post without striking at Charming….OK, maybe not), not family. US!
A wise woman told me once, “My dear, if you want to truly walk in this world and be substantial, you have two choices. You can either be a pretty girl or a smart girl. I’m not saying smart ladies can’t be beautiful, but if you go for the lipstick instead of the lecturn, you might just be more miserable than ever thought possible.”
Maybe in 2006 we’ll have it all, ladies.
So, it’s the first week of school. Other than being eaten by textbooks, I’ve got a lot of ideas that I’ll be pulling onto this site. First, some teasers for all you lovely readers:
I’m going to be outlining my entire thoughts on makeup this month. Makeup is just one extra little facet to our lives, the way a good set of boots is just one part of our closet. Stay tuned on that!
You’ll be able to find information much quicker than with this theme.
I want to start taking more pictures of the college fashion scene, along with the highlights from my shopping trips.
- I’ve been asked to do articles for a lot of different people about plus size fashon, I’ll be reprinting excerpts and the like
I’ve been one busy fashionista - I just won a project on Elance, and that’ll keep me rather busy for the upcoming month or so. In addition, I just started school again. However, you all are still going to get a lot of good quality stuff. I’m also seeing a [SECRET PROJECT] on the horizon, where DG members are going to win big!
For now, stay deliciously deluxe!
I recently went to Lane Bryant, and it was a decent shopping experience. I dropped roughly $240 dollars to get a few signature pieces for school. I strive to dress “college professional” — not quite business style, but I like to avoid the whole jeans-and-a-tshirt thing. It’s just not my thing.
I get to the counter, and I get 4 little plastic coupons attached to my receipt. It’s the Real Woman Dollar promotion. On the surface, it’s pretty straightforward: for every $50 you spend, you get $25 in “real woman dollars” to use for another purchase. Caveat: that next purchase must be $50 or more.
Now, I’m rather critical of advertising as it is, but the overall concept speaks to me: Real Woman Dollars? Plus size fashion is emotional as it is, and you’re giving us little fashionistas dollars that are targeted just for us? Cool!
However, there are things about this promotion that irritate me:
The promotion runs from September 5th - 26th. That’s very, very, limited to me — why can’t we have the Real Woman Dollars all year, or at least through the fall season? Perhaps the time crunch is to create more demand, but in my case, it has the opposite effect — if you don’t fit into my schedule, you don’t get bought.
Your next purchase has to be $50 or more — which is fine, I suppose, if you’re honestly going to be returning within the tiny time frame they offer.
And let’s not get into the other big limitation — no online. That’s a shot to the knee and then some: why cut out the massive throngs of people online that are absolutely in love with your store, your product, your brand?
When I’ve got people in the UK and other places abroad telling me to thank my lucky stars there IS a Lane Bryant, I know that this company is here to stay. However, the more I’m watching Lane Bryant and the other two Charming Shoppes storees, the more I’m wondering how dedicated CS really is to plus size fashion, or are they just cashing in?
It really is the little details that cross my mind. My dollars are very important to me — when I spend them, I want to feel satisfaction in my purchases. Perhaps this is just a sale that this deluxe fashionista won’t be indulging in.
Perhaps this would be an excellent value-add to the creditcard holders? Right now, other than being able to use it at Lane Bryant, I don’t see much point in having a Lane Bryant credit card. I haven’t caught any “secret sales” because of the credit card, nor have I gotten any real incentives.
The Charming Shoppes trifecta really needs to kick it up a notch — I’m starting to see some other players in the game coming directly into the spotlight. Has Lane Bryant gotten soft? I’m saving Fashion Bug & Catherine’s for another day — one at a time. However, I keep mentioning them in threes because they -are- run by the same company, and the niche is so related that we really should be seeing better service across the board.
It saddens me that this promotion isn’t stronger — it’s a great idea linked to a very emotional section of shopperhood that would honestly get a kick out of this idea. Why not make it year round? Why not make it online as well as in stores?
Sure, you might lose sales in the stores, but you can always catch the online shoppers -and- most likely upsell them on items they would have never bought if they slipped into the store.
What do all of you think? It’s your shopping dollars, people — if Lane Bryant is going to offer you a sale, what has to be in the sale to make you go? Is the realwomandollar important to you, or did the sale fall flat for you too?
Dear Slim N’ Lift,
You don’t even know me, nor will we ever really get to know each other. Yet I saw you last night, didn’t I? You were trying to talk to me. I know how you and other advertisers think about me — I must be some insecure woman lusting hungrily after those airbrushed beauties you think so highly of. Unfortunately, it’s time for me — and my good friend “reality” to step in and correct some things.
Oh, silly, silly, infomercial. Don’t you realize that whole “good copy” concept? Let me break it down for you: some of us are just happy with the size we are. Moreover, us happily-sized people may actually even want your product, except for the way you talk to us.
Yes, that’s right: we do pay attention to how you talk to us. Saying that your product will give us a curvy figure “in an instant” is a slap in the face of every woman that wakes up daily to her own natural set of curves. What gives you the right to tell us which curves are good, and which ones aren’t?
I’m not even going to harp on the name — we all know what you’re trying to imply. Of course us big ol’ curvy girls need you and your product to make us feel good, right? We need your product when we go to work, when we come home, when we meet our loved ones, when we chase after the children? Do we honestly need your product?
It’s not even about the product itself — I’ve had one or two corset-type numbers hanging in my closet. But you can believe me when I say they were purchased in good faith, without some advertiser implying my body was “sloppy” or “bulky” or even “bulging”. What ever happened to loving yourself? There are women who do like your style of products; you would not be marketing to us otherwise? It’s your wording in your script that bothers me more than anything else. It’s the way that you and others like you speak to us that continues to keep the cycle going. Words give power to what we see, taste, touch, and smell — think wisely before you proceed on.
I forget that you and your ilk are more than happy to sell us products we don’t need, while trying to insult and further berate us. We’re only sexy when you say we are; we are only of worth when you deem it so.
Incorrect.
Perhaps you will say to this, “If you don’t like it, change the channel!” That attitude can only last so long. We can ignore one channel, two, five, or even ten. What happens when that number continues to increase? What happens when it’s not just infomercials, but the clothes we wear, the foods we love, the celebrities we flock to see in theaters? Will it just be “change the channel” then?
I’ve had it up to here with people like you telling women like me how to look, how to feel, and trying to shame us into modifying our bodies — not to make ourselves feel better or even look better, but to continously line your pockets.
Enhancing ourselves in whatever way we choose should be our option — think long and hard before you write that copy, dear Slim N’ Lift. My suggestion to you is simply to collect information from the people you’re trying to sell to — us! Ask us what we’re looking for — you want our shopping dollars without our voices, and it’s about time you know that we’re getting tired of being ignored. Why do you think so many women shop at Lane Bryant — the pretty pictures ain’t the only thing selling those clothes, let me tell you. Take a look at the successful retailers selling to our niche, and then look at your offering.
It’s not like you’ll even read this, nor will you take the time to reevaluate the things you’re doing. Instead, you will most likely toss this out with the rest of reality, like usual. However, writing this makes me feel good — I’m tired of your crap, and I’m ready to tell you so.
Sincerely,
Isabella Murphy, curvy, happy, and luxuriously deluxe
Jewelry is easy to find — interesting, unique jewelry is not. I decided to cast my net out to find jewelry that:
- why should my jewelry be dull and boring? Sometimes I think we forget to keep our accessories as top-notch as the clothes we wear. I want my jewelry to supplement the statement that I’m trying to make with my outfit.
- Any piece of jewelry shouldn’t just go with one outfit — that wouldn’t be cost effective, now would it?
- enough said.
Tara Levitin, the owner of Leviticus Jewelry, contacted me a few days ago to tell me about her site - it’s like she read my mind! This is a site that’s well worth visiting — where can you find great, one-of-a-kind vintage jewelry?
I really like the necklaces, bracelets, and earrings offered here. The prices are pretty decent for everything on the site, even the one of a kind pieces. Tara seems to be devoted to giving each item its very own spirit, which is always a good thing.
My real favorites can be found in the One of a Kind section of the site. Here you get all sorts of really ecclectic designs. My favorite is “Hurricane Drop”, which is a necklace with a large hurricane lamp crystal for a pendant. I can definitely rock that necklace with enough outfits to make even the most up to date fashionista jealous.
It isn’t just about the jewelry though. Small design shops have always held a special place in my heart. Tara’s site includes other little goodies, such as free shipping for orders over $100, links to related shops and topics, a little bit of background on her journey to designing jewelry, and even a customer gallery.
The customer gallery is missing its fair share of curvy ladies and big handsome gents — why not give Leviticus Jewelry a try? I’m sure that if you sent Tara a picture of you rockin’ one of her latest designs, she’d put you in the customer gallery as well!
All in all, it’s a great site that makes you feel like you just stepping into a traditional store. Tara answered my emails very quickly and was very friendly. I think we have a winner here, folks!
5 stars.
Reviewer’s Note: While DeluxeGrrl is thrilled with the site, you may or may not be. DeluxeGrrl is not responsible for any disputes between customers and Leviticus Jewelry. In addition, no affiliate links were harmed in the making of this review. Full disclosure is just our way of keeping you honest
At least for this blog anyway. Yesterday was supposed to be the Carnival of Extended Style — I got -one- entry. I love solitary carnivals. Is the plus size fashion blogger community too busy to enter discussion or what? At least Glen still loves me.
Or maybe I’m a crappy carnival host. Forgive me, I’m new. I just figured that some good cross-discussion would be welcomed. Is it really, my fellow plus size fashionbloggers? Let’s get some signal going around here.
And man, am I ever going to get flamed for this post.
I’ve got a lot of major, real-life, crapola sliding down the pipe. Relatives in car accidents. A divorce looming (no, not mine, but the you-know-what’s hitting the fan). I’m not a happy Deluxe Grrl currently.
So, Deluxe (me) is going to be rather sporadic for a while. I don’t like doing it, but right now it’s looking like you readers are going to be lunching on a lot less DG.
I -hope- I can return to normally scheduled posts. That would make me happy. I will try to return to my usual self, but it’s going to be a while.
Those that know me personally have witnessed me walk through similar crapstorms. I’ll be okay, y’all.
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dee·lux·GRRL n.An intelligent, dynamic female who isn't afraid to take risks, take time for herself, or create her own unique style!
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