coutorture --

Cheap Pleats

coutorture — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 09:06:15 -0700

Pleats are tricky creatures, little bits of design that are hard to construct and even trickier to maintain. The pleat is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference.

In other words, a pleat is a lot of work and requires plenty of fabric. So why is it that we discovered a profusion of cheap pleats after being turned on to a particular Old Navy sateen pleated skirt thanks to community member Stained Couture.

The concept just doens't make sense. Economizing fabric keeps prices down for the fast fashion retailers so why on earth would they choose to construct a garment that requires an excess of fabric? Lord knows cheap fabric isn't going to hold a pleat especially well and we don't even want to get into just how the arrived at the delightful little tucks via some crazy CAD pattern making creation. And yet there they are in a tidy row at retailers from Forever 21 to Old Navy just begging us to add a little kick to down and out wardrobes. We have enough trouble keeping the pleats in our Miu Miu school girl skirt looking crisp and fresh and the damn thing was made by artisans in Italy with only the finest textiles. We can't even imagine the wrinkling, unraveling, and potential disasters that could be involved in cheaply stapled pleats. And yet somehow we want to pair these with our long tanks and giggly insouciantly, yes of course we deliberately bought the cheap versions just think how they will deconstruct so artfully!

Directional Fashion

coutorture — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:16:25 -0700

Its easy to take potshots at hiptser fashion as being a bit silly. Unwearable clothing is a pastime in our hood and a few of your editors have been known to indulge. But we were never completely convinced that the Williamsburg set was dim. But it would seem a few other designers are not totally sold on just how bright they are as a demographic Stained Couture introduced us to this Marc by Marc Twinsie Cardigan. And then we saw it again on Chic and Untroubled. Sure its a bit cute that it has the two tone action going on. Every diffusion line needs a design gimmick in order to justify its price tag as far as we are concerned. But then we came across this pair of American Apparel leggings that is going the two tone route as well. Is this some sort of subtle kindergarten nudge to help us all remember which arm or leg is our "other left" appendage? In which case wearing both garments at the same time is sure to help drunk or otherwise addled fashion hipsters to remember how to turn left at Houston.

Stained Couture Shoutout: Almost Denim

coutorture — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:31:36 -0700

The denim jacket is a fashion staple even if it never quite breaks into the top ten pieces list. Not as function as a little black dress and yet quite a bit more versatile, the denim jacket can go wrong so fast if one isn't careful. Stained Couture has found an "almost" denim jacket that she is jonesing for badly. While we like the almost denim fabric what got us inspired was the fresh shape. We went exploring for a few unique variations on the denim jacket theme. We even found a super cheap version from Forever 21 called the 3Q Denim Jacket that we are sure the right girl could style into something fabulous.

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Stained Couture Shoutout: Jelly Fishing

coutorture — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:05:31 -0700

Someday we feel like the driving force in fashion is nostalgia. Something or someone is always "coming back" and apparently today's thing is Jellies. Yes we mean plastic shoes you used to rock as a small child. And while you can still get them for cheap, Stained Couture turned us on to designer jellies from Marc Jacobs, Marni, and Givenchy (yes the same Givenchy we pointed out in our Gladiator Shoutout today). And while they come in every hue we happen to be partial to ones in pink because it would go so perfectly with our Malibu Barbie pool set. Don't worry, we threw in a pair from Target too just in case you would prefer to go the proper childhood nostalgia route.

Clockwise From 9pm:
Marc Jacobs Jelly Mouse Shoes $160, Givenchy Jelly Gladiator $160,Marni Pink Jellies $159 and Target Georgia Pink Jellies $8.99

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