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?
I’m not a stranger to luxury bags — I received a beautiful Coach bag (black and grey, and authentic) from a special someone — but a girl can’t hold onto her purse forever. I’m madly in love with my Coach bag, but I find myself needing a stylish bag that’s, well… up to date.
Which brings me to the offerings from Juicy Couture. What says “luxury” better than a high end designer brand?
I’m still looking into Juicy Couture - the brand is definitely angled towards a “girly” look. If you don’t know Juicy Couture, think “jumpsuits”. Lots of celebs these days are wearing them, but Juicy Couture also makes nifty things that all women can relate to, like handbags.
I always keep an eye on mainstream designers — you never know what they’ll do next. Maybe we’ll see some plus size fashion pieces from them. Either way, they’re worth checking out.
5 Finer Points of Plus Size Magazines
This is mainly my wish list as far as plus size fashion is concerned. I’m piggybacking off my last post on this subject, “In Praise of Magazines for Plus Size Fashion”
While I’m sure we could lengthen the discussion beyond five points, I think these are five points that we can agree on:
If we’re on the subject of plus size fashion, the only models we should see in a plus size fashion magazine are plus size models. It’s ridiculous that stores offering plus size clothes to women still use the same rail-thin, boyish models. It’s getting better - but too slow for my taste. The Charming Shoppes Trifecta can’t be the only champ in the field here; it’s also going to take mainstreamers and high-enders like Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Macy’s to make a splash here as well.
While we’re on the subject of reality, let’s not forget the reason why we read in the first place: content. My dream plus size magazine should have plenty of content — timely, relevant content.
Moreover, this content shouldn’t be afraid to step outside just “fashion” alone. What about accessories? Purses, belts, necklaces, watches — these details shouldn’t be forgotten in our quest to land that perfect dress, or the best jeans.
The newsstand price is relative — I’ve purchased Glamour, InStyle, and Vogue — all of which are roughly $3 - $6 bucks. A good magazine should fall in this range, though I could see paying more for targeted content.
Plus size fashion is like any other specialized niche — for quality, you have to pay. You must be willing to be proactive, and seek out resources that fit your niche. It’s easier these days than it used to be, but I often worry that the expansion, exposure, and popularity of the Internet has spoiled people — we’re still not sure if we’re seeing the end of free, or the beginning of fee.
Content publishers (magazines, newspapers, even myself) have to expend resources (whether that’s time, money, or a combo of the two) in order to deliver quality content. I hope that potential magazine buyers keep this in mind. I do have a feeling a big print magazine devoted to plus size fashion would get some relevant ads to make it profitable.
It’s not just about magazine pricing. We’re reading plus size magazines to satisfy the visual as well as getting the text-goodies. High priced items are going to be a given, but there should also be realistic items as well. I know we’re talking relative here, but I highly doubt we’re all out buying twenty thousand dollar dresses!
Bottom line: let us dream, but give us a certain percentage of pricing reality as well!
Quite frankly, length is the most subjective issue for me in writing. My posts to all of you are generally quite long, and I generally assume all of you are intelligent enough to be able to read paragraphs.
Related story: I had to take an civics class one summer, and our final project was to write an essay on a former President of our choice. As I was getting ready to get started on the assignment, a student in the back whined, “How long does it have to be?”
We paused a bit — I remember how much Ms. Bell hated that question. She replied sweetly, “It’s sort of like a good skirt — long enough to cover everything, but short enough to still be interesting.”
That’s the way plus size magazines should be. I should get enough content to whet my intelligent whistle, while not being bored to death. We’re not talking War and Peace here — too much detail can kill a magazine.
Clarity, tone, style - you know, those nasty words your English teacher cherished more than Godiva chocolates and Chanel earrings. They matter when it comes to something so word-driven as a magazine! The content in our little plus size magazine example should cut to the chase, be clear in the message, have a great tone without sounding overbearing or snobby, and make me think on something. Fashion is only as vapid and shallow as we make it.
The signal should be high, and the noise should be as low as possible. With the use of ad revenue so prevalent everywhere, that could be a challenge. I do think that it’s possible to have good content.
Recommendations should be positive, without too much bias. I’m quite sure other writers get some sort of compensation for reviews of certain brands — fashion giveaways are too tempting to pass up. However, we should be given not only a sell, but a good sell - make me want to buy what you’re reviewing.
Biggest gripe: we should not feel like we’re being talked down to. I’ve gotten a chance to meet a lot of plus size women, and they are some of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met — it’s not like we’re that different from other women. Don’t dumb down, be real with us.
There’s so much bull out there, I need another section — along with a shovel or five — to clear it. My biggest gripe with women’s magazines is that there’s too much how-to-get-a-man-in-10-days, lose-20-pounds-before-beach-season, and other asinine topics that I’m not interested in. Show me fashion for everyone, not just those apparently interested in “catching” a man. Some of us plus size women are happily taken, thank you! We’re professionals, wives, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, daughters, students. Others are happily single — spare us the “how to get a man” and give us more tips that we actually can use!
Fashion doesn’t end up being a how-to-get-a-maaaaaan drama for me - I would like to think I’m in good company on this matter.
What are your ideas on plus size magazines? Do you agree with the Five Points? I’m not as verbose as President Wilson was, but I try.
Plus size fashion is so interesting because the customer has so much power. If we all start creating buzz, and back it up with the almighty dollar, I bet you things will really start a changin’.
It’s not a secret that Fashion Bug, Lane Bryant, and Catherine’s are owned by the same company, Charming Shoppes, Inc. I’m going to pick on them a little bit on this article, but I’m sure we can all come up with sites that have similar problems.
I’m sure there’s a brillant marketing reason behind it, but if Charming Shoppes owns all three stores, it would be nice to have one of their store cards work for the other two. For example, if I stroll into Fashion Bug, I should be able to use my Lane Bryant store card. I think this would be a big hit to shoppers that mix-and-match clothes from all three people.
I mean, I can use a Lane Bryant gift card at Fashion Bug - is there a leap of faith between gift card and store credit card? Sheesh.
Don’t make me google for your products. Do I like Google? Of course I do! However, when I go to your site, I expect to be able to search for products directly on the page. Looking up item IDs isn’t always the best approach. When I was hunting down the Bra6, it took me forever to do because I had to go through the entire bra section and search with my eyes. If I wasn’t such a grizzled old net.person, I most likely wouldn’t have bothered. That equals lost revenue.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but as of this post, I don’t see a traditional search feature. C’mon, Charming Shoppes - women everywhere love your site. We can’t get complacent here.
This isn’t really a gripe, more like something that I want to see. I really wish that all 3 sites carried some sort of RSS-fu. That way, I could load up my favorite newsreader (I’m a BlogLines girl) and get the latest scoops. Again, if this feature exists, feel free to comment and clobber me.
I know that no site is perfect, but if I’m going to drop good money to improve my wardrobe, I (and all of you other customers out there!) should pinpoint problems and talk it up.
Update: I wrote a short letter to Charming Shoppes, Inc. I hope to hear back from them within “five business days”. I’ll post the letter when I get home.
[powered by WordPress.]
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!
Stores I Like:
30 queries. 0.247 seconds