I fell in love with Tim Gunn on Project Runway. He just seems like a good guy.
My estimation of him has only improved over the last week. He wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post about plus size fashion. You can read it, here.
So, this weekend, I went looking for a dress for a wedding. We went suit shopping last Sunday for my husband, and it went really well. We had the manager of the Men's Wearhouse helping, and damned if he didn't put my husband in a gorgeous suit.
Now, since they don't make a Cocktail Dress Warehouse for the ladies, I went to the mall.
Since I was in Atlanta, I went to Perimeter Mall, the mall of my youth.
But Perimeter has changed. Now there's a Nordstrom. We started there. I found a dress that was... OK. But as I told my mother, for $180, I deserve better than OK. It was standard fare. Navy blue sheath with chiffon asymmetrical overlay and some silver beading detail. If you're a woman of size, you know the dress, or its awkward cousin.
So we went to Von Maur. It's upscale, has a dude playing a piano. We entered on the first floor, and there were just tons of dresses. Hundreds. But they were in "straight sizes". This extremely uptight looking white women asked me if she could be of assistance. I asked her if plus sizes were one floor up, and she said it was.
And then I said, just as cheerful as can be, "I am so excited! With all the great choices down here, I'm sure the selection upstairs is going to be just as amazing, right?"
The heavyset woman at the register looked at me and gave me the look that said, "prepare to be disappointed, but not surprised".
The uptight woman was definitely taken aback, but she put some serious spin on it. Well, no, the selection was not as large, but, there were plenty of great dresses up there.
Guess what. Heavyset register woman gave the more accurate answer.
When the upstairs clerk asked if she could help, I said, "I'm sad. You have so many dresses downstairs, but up here..." I went on to tell her that I wasn't mad at her, that I knew it was out of her control. I tried on two dresses. Nada.
We decided on Dillards next.
WOW. Their selection was quadruple what either of the fancy places had. And pretty. The sales clerk came up to offer to start a dressing room for me. I told her how excited I was with her selection. Ultimately, there were two dresses that would have worked well for the wedding. One was more cheerful than the other, really gorgeous and $50 cheaper than the chiffon Love Boat Captain's Dinner one at Nordstrom, and I bought it. Mom bought me another dress, a birthday present. More on that one in the weeks to come.
As I was checking out, Tori, the Dillards clerk, told me she appreciated my energy, because "So many women come in completely defeated".
And I appreciate the compliment, but OF FUCKING COURSE we feel defeated. We're so marginalized.
But from now on, I'm going to speak up. Politely. But loud and clear.
I really wanted to go back downstairs to pruneface at Von Maur and tell her, "You know, you were wrong. Your plus size dress selection is sad. I understand that you don't have any control over that, but your lack of candor is actually more insulting than the shitty selection. Peace out."
Ok, so maybe not so politely.
We ended our shopping trip at Macy's.
Now, this one is kind of a ringer for me. I used to work in the Plus Size department AT THIS VERY STORE.
And the first thing I noticed is that the department is smaller than it was back in the day. They have taken over one section for straight size women's suits. They took another section for maternity clothes. The clothes are all jammed in there, but they have a decent amount of stuff. It's shitty, but better than any Macy's in Nashville.
I bought a dress and a blouse. And I told the cashier who checked me out that they'd shrunk the department. She said, "I'm not sure about that."
Well, ma'am. I used to work here, so, I am. And I explained how. She was not impressed. Whatev. I got clothes.
But from now on, I'm not apologizing for wanting better and more.
ae
My estimation of him has only improved over the last week. He wrote an op-ed piece in the Washington Post about plus size fashion. You can read it, here.
So, this weekend, I went looking for a dress for a wedding. We went suit shopping last Sunday for my husband, and it went really well. We had the manager of the Men's Wearhouse helping, and damned if he didn't put my husband in a gorgeous suit.
Now, since they don't make a Cocktail Dress Warehouse for the ladies, I went to the mall.
Since I was in Atlanta, I went to Perimeter Mall, the mall of my youth.
But Perimeter has changed. Now there's a Nordstrom. We started there. I found a dress that was... OK. But as I told my mother, for $180, I deserve better than OK. It was standard fare. Navy blue sheath with chiffon asymmetrical overlay and some silver beading detail. If you're a woman of size, you know the dress, or its awkward cousin.
 | |
| This is the exact one. $179.99? Fuck that. |
So we went to Von Maur. It's upscale, has a dude playing a piano. We entered on the first floor, and there were just tons of dresses. Hundreds. But they were in "straight sizes". This extremely uptight looking white women asked me if she could be of assistance. I asked her if plus sizes were one floor up, and she said it was.
And then I said, just as cheerful as can be, "I am so excited! With all the great choices down here, I'm sure the selection upstairs is going to be just as amazing, right?"
The heavyset woman at the register looked at me and gave me the look that said, "prepare to be disappointed, but not surprised".
The uptight woman was definitely taken aback, but she put some serious spin on it. Well, no, the selection was not as large, but, there were plenty of great dresses up there.
Guess what. Heavyset register woman gave the more accurate answer.
When the upstairs clerk asked if she could help, I said, "I'm sad. You have so many dresses downstairs, but up here..." I went on to tell her that I wasn't mad at her, that I knew it was out of her control. I tried on two dresses. Nada.
We decided on Dillards next.
WOW. Their selection was quadruple what either of the fancy places had. And pretty. The sales clerk came up to offer to start a dressing room for me. I told her how excited I was with her selection. Ultimately, there were two dresses that would have worked well for the wedding. One was more cheerful than the other, really gorgeous and $50 cheaper than the chiffon Love Boat Captain's Dinner one at Nordstrom, and I bought it. Mom bought me another dress, a birthday present. More on that one in the weeks to come.
As I was checking out, Tori, the Dillards clerk, told me she appreciated my energy, because "So many women come in completely defeated".
And I appreciate the compliment, but OF FUCKING COURSE we feel defeated. We're so marginalized.
But from now on, I'm going to speak up. Politely. But loud and clear.
I really wanted to go back downstairs to pruneface at Von Maur and tell her, "You know, you were wrong. Your plus size dress selection is sad. I understand that you don't have any control over that, but your lack of candor is actually more insulting than the shitty selection. Peace out."
Ok, so maybe not so politely.
We ended our shopping trip at Macy's.
Now, this one is kind of a ringer for me. I used to work in the Plus Size department AT THIS VERY STORE.
And the first thing I noticed is that the department is smaller than it was back in the day. They have taken over one section for straight size women's suits. They took another section for maternity clothes. The clothes are all jammed in there, but they have a decent amount of stuff. It's shitty, but better than any Macy's in Nashville.
I bought a dress and a blouse. And I told the cashier who checked me out that they'd shrunk the department. She said, "I'm not sure about that."
Well, ma'am. I used to work here, so, I am. And I explained how. She was not impressed. Whatev. I got clothes.
But from now on, I'm not apologizing for wanting better and more.
ae
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