I am so angry right now, i just walked in the door and my mum was like 'are you alright?'
no i am not alright. I went and ran some errands today, deposited some money in to the bank, got a job (yay!) and then decided to do my little shopping errand to see the new stores. Usually shopping is one of the those rare mood lifters for me, but not today, oh no, not today. Today i return to myself angry and annoyed and really really livid.
First stop was 'Land's End store' in 5 ways, glenmore rd, paddington. I first read about it in vogue australia saying that it was the only place in australia stocking Balmain, and so i got a little excited, and also because it was so close to my house. But it wasn't until i was running down to the supermarket the other day that i remembered that there was a new store, and surprisingly it was closer to me than i thought it was. It also stocks that minimalism genius richard nicoll, opening ceremony, and michelle obama's favourite thakoon, so it was definitely worth a little peruse.
Vain And Vapid suggested that i try on some of the Balmain, because it was probably absolutely amazing in person, and even though i'm not a crazy balmain fangirl i thought, why not? I mean, although i'm not going to buy, i might as well have a little fun. So i went into the store fully amenable to having a little movie montage in the change rooms. However, upon stepping into the store it became clear that such a thing would not be possible.
Why? Because EVERY SINGLE THING IN THE STORE WAS A SIZE 0 or EXTRA SMALL. I'm not fat, i know i like to think i am, but in my heart of hearts i actually know that i'm not. I know this because i can fit into designer clothing, albeit the larger sizes, but nonetheless... But neither am i a skinny minnie. Yes there is a need for Size 0s and Extra smalls in a shop, just like there is a need for bigger sizes as well. I swear to God, the biggest size i saw in the Land's End store was an S, and it was not a very big S either. I don't understand what is going on here? What is the point of stocking only really really small sizes? Is that who they think their clientele will be? Maybe there are a lot of wealthy fashion obsessed thin people, but there are also lots of slightly bigger people who also love fashion. God, it's not even a matter of Big and Small, it's a matter of stocking sizes bigger than Extra Small for crying out loud. And it was also really degrading and upsetting that there were only small sizes, like it made me feel really sad. I may not have had thousands of dollars on me, but christmas is coming up, and there was a beautiful Richard Nicoll top that was $600 i think, which i could have gone halfsies with my mum on for my birthday/christmas or something... I am fully amenable to buying and owning beautiful clothes. But i can't even try them on, they were that small.
I'm just really disappointed, because, like i blogged before, I tried on that beautiful Roksanda Ilincic coat in Belinda, and i've also tried on Stella Mccartney knits and ponchos in Belinda, as well as Vanessa Bruno in the VB boutique and the Corner Shop, Luella in the corner Shop... Belinda Seper clearly has her head in the right place. She understands that you can't just cater to the smallest of the small, designers manufacture in a full range of sizes too, just like any other fashion house, and similarly there are many different shapes and sizes among women who are looking to buy designer clothes. I love that she stocks a full, or at least a generous range of sizes in the clothes in all of her stores, allowing everyone with a little fashion craze to get their chance to indulge their fashion selves. I mean, if everyone only stocked Size O, then i would be restricted to bags and shoes as the only designer thing i could buy, which is just really really unfair.
So there i was, disgruntled and just plain annoyed as i traipsed over to Blood Orange. I was in a mood, and i was not wanting to go over to Potts Point to look at Alexander Wang anymore. But when i got there, my mood instantly lifted. Why? Because the beautiful people at Blood Orange stock my size. I even got to try on a truly lovely Alexander Wang jacket, a blazer with 'scarf detail', kind of like a scarf that was attached. it was just gorgeous on, with this sumptuous silk lining, and scrunched up sleeves. I am in love, although at over $1000 AU, it is slightly out of my price range haha. but still, you never know, they might put it on sale for a little less, and then i can afford it. Who knows?
Still, like i maintained all along, the point was to just look at the beautiful clothes. Blood Orange has a really nice selection of Alexander Wang in different sizes, and lots of other beautiful clothes too, like Therese Rawsthorne, APC and others. I can wholeheartedly recommend, if you are a sydney-sider like me and love beautiful clothes, that you check it out. The service was really nice, the shop had a lovely warm atmosphere and it will be worth it, even if you buy nothing like i did.
I also went into Parlour X in 5 ways, filled with beautiful clothes by Alexander McQueen, Comme Des Garcons, Vivienne Westwood, Zac Posen, Isabel Marant and *gasp* Alaia. They even had a beautiful Alaia skirt similar to the one i used in a polyvore set, light blue, jersey and crochet knit, and a beautiful Isabel marant Kaftan that i am seriously in love with and thinking about. It's $895, but it is really diverse, it would be a real statement piece that would fit right into my wardrobe i think. It has this interesting ethnic embellishment on it that i like alot. And finally there was a beautiful beautiful Anne Valerie Hash bag that i saw when it was full price ($1600) and now is more than half off ($700). The world is against me! I'm supposed to be saving up to go away, and then beautiful bags like this, a raw silk hobo with floral detail on the straps and along the seams as well as a gorgeous satin lining, come along and it's a matter of self restraint that i seriously don't have.... I hate money sometimes!! haha.
Anyway, I just think that there is a fine line between being economically shrewd and thinking, well, the people most likely to buy these clothes are skinny fashionistas, therefore lets only stock EXTRA SMALL. It's not like these designers don't make bigger sizes, i mean, Michelle Obama wears Thakoon, and she's definitely not a size 0. I was really disappointed by the store, and it's lack of diversity in size and there's not much i can say about the service either. I mean, i know the shop is a newcomer and just starting, but they were really cold and haughty, like SAs in these kinds of shops are to people who they don't think are 'worth' their time. I know that's a great generalisation, and like i said in another post the SAs in the cornershop and Belinda were really nice the other day i was in there. It's just that sometimes SAs in these stores think really really highly of themselves, and i resent their treatment of me as someone not worth their time.
Anyway, my point is that i think it only fair that shops stock a wide, if not full range of sizes, in order that customers can get the chance to wear beautiful designers clothes even if they're not slim slim slim. I own stella mccartney, vanessa bruno, Luella, Isabel Marant and YSL pieces that fit me really well, and i'm not a size 0. And i bought them here in Australia in different shops. It's not an excuse to say 'It's the australian market', if anything, the fattest nation in the world might want a broader range of sizes, for want of a better word. God this whole size thing just makes me so angry. Diversity is a GOOD THING.
okay, end rant, i promise.
I just had to get it all of my chest, and i knew that you would all understand.
i hope you had a lovely thursday, and that it was less degrading (in parts) than mine was.
X
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