I enjoy the "What I Wore" feature by Chloe Malle* in the New York Times, one of which recently described designer Cynthia Rowley's outfits over the course of a week or so. Madonna! CR has the clothes, the eye and the brio to assemble a fabulous, free-spirited mix.
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| Ostrich feather skirt |
For example, her vintage black
goat-hair capelet worn with her own
ostrich feather skirt! A cashmere Prada walking coat with a needlepoint bag: intelligent, original combinations.
A browse through her web site shows the same attitude: unafraid of quirk, but with classic references.
While a lot of her designs skew short and I don't yearn for the feathers, the silk Tetris ($395) would make a memorable cocktail dress.
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| Tetris dress |
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| McCardell lives! |
A grey knit dress ($229 on sale) has fabulous sleeves and a wink of striped grosgrain belt. Rowley is compared to the magnificent Clare McCardell, and here you see the reference clearly.
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| Denim pants, $195 |
I liked the cut of her denim pants that fit at the hip, then ease like palazzos, with two front pockets (another McCardell signature) and gold zippers at the sides. But size M is the largest on the site.
Rowley is a whippet of a woman. I've always thought that women designers essentially design for their own bodies. (Thank god for Donna Karan.) Rowley adds one more skinny piece of data to my proof. Her "Large" is a 10; there is no XL.
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| Svelte Cynthia |
I've written and talked with designers to beg them to make larger sizes. (There is a limitation concerning fabric width, but many designs can be made up to 16-18. The largest sizes use specially-milled fabrics.) Guess who's with me on this? Simon Doonan, who says he is tired of seeing voluptuous women crowded around the jewelry counters of Barney's because "that's all we offer them".
Cynthia is on my list. With her talent, she could easily make a contribution to 50+ women's choices. At 50 herself, she might be open to influence.
We need clothes like that grey knit dress, wearable but interesting, not wildly expensive, well-made.
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| Cut-out detail on the dress |
This dress from the Spring/Summer '11 collection is not on the web site, but I would buy it in a heartbeat if offered in my size.
The world of grown-up women needs more clothes like Cynthia Rowley's and we need them beyond a 10. For your sake or that of your friends, please ask designers, buyers, even floor staff to provide more size diversity, especially in better-quality clothes.
*Chloe Malle is the daughter of Louis Malle and Candace Bergen; one to watch.
Comments
http://www.dvf.com/dvf/browse/productDetailWithPicker.jsp?productId=D2770001M11&categoryId=cat260002
in the largest size it comes in---a small 14 (small by hip measurements) and it arrived yesterday and fits!
You will note that it is also long. So many dresses I cannot wear because they are too short to be proportionally right on my body.
The above dress is flattering and I am very pleased.
It is so frustrating to be "too large" for many lines of clothing when I feel like I am probably fairly average in size for a 59 year old woman.
The average North American woman is 12 or 14 (depending on whose sizing you are referencing). So, where are the clothes?
The outfits you show are stunning. Let's hope if we all make our wishes known, she will take our suggestions to heart.
By the way, have you ever seen pictures of Cynthia Rowley's long hallway in her NY apartment? It's all plain white, but with changeable lighting: with a flip of a switch, the hall glows pink, melon, celestial blue. A woman who could design that has whimsy and a sense of humor.
C.
I DID notice that her website has dresses with much smaller prints as well--but most of them were not the longer length I require.
I AM going on a restricting portion size reorganization and hope to be back to a size 10. The good thing about these two new dresses is that that will work even if I am a smaller size. Right now they snugly ( but not tight, and I look voluptous) but they could fit looser like they do on the models.
I'm glad you like the dress Duchesse. By reading many design blogs and listening to what everyone says, I am getting a better handle on what flatters my body. Thank you Duchesee, Deja Pseu and Already Pretty.
All: I'm gonna keep talking about size limitation to all concerned, and hope you will too.
C.: I vaguely remember that about her apt, maybe in Vogue? Must be stunning and what an idea.
laurieann & Jane W: A local fashion writer once said "There are women standing on the street waving wads of cash. All they want are good clothes over a size 10 cut for their bodies."
C.
The truth of the matter is that designers don't want 'fat' women wearing their clothing and representing their lines in public.
Thank god for Eileen Fisher and Talbots, where I can fit into a L most of the time. :) And I think I represent their brands well.
Anon/C: My sentiments exactly. Some of the very young designers act like children who are not allowed to play with their favourite toys when they cannot design outrageous evening ensembles for Ms. Klum.
rb: Sounds as if we are the same build. A devil of a time: misses dresses (and EF pants) always too short, plus size too boxy. Sometimes if I find something that fits, buy whether it complements my wardrobe or not. Not that happy with Talbots, either. What do women our size in Italy do?
And it's also very likely that I'll revert to a much smaller wardrobe, as was the case the other times I lived in Europe as well.
I don't fit EF's pants either (not that I would necessarily want elastic waist pants) so I buy the Long size from Talbots or order NYDJ in extra long from Nordstrom. Fortunately, I'm not much of a pants-wearer, and I find I can usually let a skirt hem out a little. The past season with the above-knee hemlines was a problem for me, so again, thank goodness for Talbots because they didn't go that short.