Women’s apparel is a $1 Trillion market so it qualifies as Macroeconomic.
I have so many clothes that I usually shop my own closet but I do like to buy myself a new garment from time to time. I’m sure most women are similar.
Couturiers are always looking for new styles to tempt a purchase. They invoke “creativity” to concoct new silhouettes.
I was shocked to see the hideous, tasteless garments shown by Prada. Truly, even the Devil wouldn’t wear these clothes which I wouldn’t be caught dead in, let alone in public. What could they be thinking? Remember that these are handmade couture and very expensive.
I think couturier clothing is like the concept cars you see at auto shows with the exception that people can actually buy the clothing. Very few do. Those silly looking clothes show how materials can be used, they may introduce new technologies in clothing, don’t think computer chips - think zippers or velcro.
Here are two people who write about clothing that I enjoy. I follow Derek Guy on BlueSky. He writes the men’s clothing industry for several publications and covers everything from designer fashion to ready to wear. I really enjoy his pieces on the history of clothing. The other is writer/podcaster Avery Trufelman. She goes into deep dives on things in clothing that I never pay attention to but had large impacts in clothing. The zipper is her latest “I never thought about that before” topic.
I was hoping this was on the other board so I could just type without self-editing every five words. But it’s not, so I’ll give it a try here.
I like looking at women. I know, I know, big surprise. I have been trained not to stare, as it is thought to be impolite, but I can look and enjoy as long as I am not a creep about it, I guess. When the “big events” happen (Oscars, Met Gala, Emmys, etc.) and the papers run pictures I always leaf through the pictures: the men get about a half second - men are boring no matter how hard they try, the women are often over-the-top but some hit the note and look positively ravishing, that is to say: attractive. I must say that the harder they try, the less interesting they are. (And yes, I’m talking about the side slits, belly openings or the other attempts to be provocative).
Some of the most interesting have little skin showing at all; full length body sheaths, for example. Sometimes they do, and that’s fine too, but I do not get the “6 inch fingernails” or the “hair tornado” or similar outrageous attempts to say “Look at me! Look at me!”
So it is the with couture shows, the pics and videos of which I find incessantly boring, unnatural, and stupid. I freely admit I have no understanding (and I mean ZERO) of how that industry works, and I have listened to Meryl Streep’s explanation to Anne Hathaway of how that cerulean sweater “trickled down” and came to be 100 times and still don’t get it.) I don’t understand where the money comes from to support all those designers (most not famous enough to license) and the shows and the models and the clothing and the infrastructure and all the rest, which must be prodigiously expensive, and you don’t make it back selling a few stupid dresses for a couple thousand each. But as I say, I have zero understanding.
Yes, the women’s fashion industry is multiple billions on multiple billions, it’s worldwide, and as old as history itself, but the couture part of it escapes me completely. Were I a fashion designer, I would surely fail. My philosophy would be more like “strip” is boring, but “tease” (in my opinion) is the basis of the human sexual attraction. As for couture, that’s on that other laughable planet, along side Mad Magazine and Airplane! - ridiculous parody, overbroad, and silly.
How someone sits at those shows and says “Ah yes, that’s a good idea, we must incorporate that in our Fall line” is so far out of my realm I can’t pretend to explain. Meanwhile I will leaf through the pictures in the magazine, swiping on to the next, the next, the next.
Meanwhile, a story: I was exiting Kroger while a woman was walking in from the parking lot. Her dress was so stunning and it was so instinctive I called out “Great Dress!”, realizing that I had just catcalled a woman for the first time in my life. She said “Hey thanks!” and we both continued on our paths without further interaction. I still think about that, wondering if I had been rude - or complimentary, and whether she secretly cringed, or smiled. This was years ago, and I still wonder.
I’ve been wearing 501s and T shirts since I was 14. I’m 67 now, so its 30s instead of 28s. Women’s clothes don’t fit my large arms and chest (upper body strength from rural living and surfing) and lack of hips. I wear my clothes until they wear out and buy most second hand to begin with except for T shirts purchased to support organizations and the park systems. I realize I’m an outlier but I really detest “fashion".
Yea, the fingernails are something else. Isn’t it amazing how the fingernails always manage to make their way up to the face so the camera can pick them up. Hey the other thing is they pay big bucks for those things.
