Style on the Edge

Fashion stylist Edith has a lovely blog, Style Has No Size. She’s coined the brilliant term “inbetweenie” for us. Based in the Netherlands, she’s working for major magazines there, so I look forward to her perspective.

While sometimes I’m more just buying some clothes to fit and not so much fashionista, I had a bit of a moment and am heading to Manhattan with some new style – everything from a Junior L to a 1X sweater. And then I came home and shopped my closet, putting things together in new ways and realizing the vintage jacket that was in the attic for years does now fit (vintage size 20).

Oh Vogue Curvy, how wonderful are you! Miss Piggy, a myth for curvy girls!

I haven’t seen the new Muppets movie yet, it’s only been out a day, but Miss Piggy has been everywhere on TV. Meanwhile, this long-dormant blog will get a polish over the holiday weekend.

I’ve visited and coveted so much on Mod Cloth. But I am still unable to figure out how to search on items which come in larger sizes. So I’ve tended to avoid the site, instead of being heartbroken. That and I really can’t buy too much. But in the meantime, I have figured out that if you enter “plus-size” in the search, some of the items in both extended sizes and plus sizes will appear. If anyone can figure out how to get to the XLs/16s, let me know. Or maybe you shouldn’t.

Posted too soon! They’ve put up a link in their FAQ: Mod Cloth (additional sizes). Still flawed in the search, but this is dangerous information.

Something does come between me and my Calvin’s…or really, I’m between Calvins. I suppose the great news is that I now fit into many items in Calvin Klein Jeans size 16 or XL. I don’t love everything in the line. I could do without the glittery, paint-spattered stuff. But there’s a lot I have loved over the years…the soft fabrics, the sweet/tough mix, the deep, vibrant colors, textures and varied prints. And over in plus, I love that they do offer many of the same styles, and the elusive size 0X.

But, I’ve just tried on the very same shirt design in the XL and 0X. The XL barely buttons, while the other is a mumu, floating far away from me.

I don’t want to criticize one of the few brands out there who gets it, but there really does seem to be a size missing. Given how quickly those XLs and 12W-14W sizes disappear from stores, that there are many size- sisters in this same forgotten zone.

Janet Street Porter discussedathe lack of UK size 16 clothes in The Daily Mail.

The new season of Project Runway starts on July 29. And Tim Gunn has a new book out soon as well, Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making It Work, due September 7. Forget fashion, fit or fabric, he is such a wise person, the perfect mentor for anything, really. It’s been awhile since I read his first book, but he did address larger sizes wonderfully.

I will bare my legs and my arms when it gets hot. No more suffering summers in heavy black T-shirts and dark, heavy Lee jeans, as I did in the 90s, when there was not much else I’d buy nor wear. It’s just…it usually takes me until late July to not feel so naked, but the heat’s come early.

Meanwhile, life has overtaken more trivial shopping and fashion issues. So dear readers, the blog is a bit bare too.

Elle has an article about size and shape in Hollywood, which is really mislabeled weight. We all know weight doesn’t have a lot to do with size you wear, nor how you’re shaped.