I Couldn't Help But Wonder Why The Clothes Weren't Weirder
I was catching up on Elastic Waist and ran across the delightful news that Sarah Jessica Parker’s clothing line, Bitten, goes up to a size 22.
Size 22! Not size 12. Not even 14. Size 22! That’s not just the barely plus-size girls like J.Hud, but also the thick girls like Queen Latifah. Hell, Lane Bryant tops out at size 28, and here’s the queen of high fashion, little teensy Sarah Jessica Parker’s line throwing out to size 22? What is more, there’s no line of demarcation there. No below size 12 and then size 14 and above. We’re all the same, just different sizes.
That’s the good news. However, word on the street is that the clothes aren’t that spectacular. Which is disappointing, because were you not expecting some insane Patricia Fields-esque Carrie Bradshaw aesthetic? I kind of was. Like, if they just made this giant peacock dress in my size, my wedding dress dilemma would be solved.
The good: Each of the pieces is less than $20, and they’re supposed to fit girls up to a size 22. The bad: It looks like anything you can buy at Wal-Mart, but with a fancier label. No need to drive the extra distance for this line.
And after watching a segment about the clothing on Oprah, the Budget Fashionista points out that the main allure of the line is SJP’s persona, not the actual clothing as such:
Take away sizing from the Bitten and you can get all those pieces from stores like Old Navy, Mandee, Marianne, Payless, Forever 21, etc. Plus the quality may leave a lot to be desired–the seams appear wavy (a sign of poor stitching) and the front of the pants were bunchy on the models…
But what I noticed the most was the lukewarm enthusiasm shown by the Oprah audience. I watch Oprah everyday and when the audience loves something, they LOVE it. They seemed pretty unmoved by the Bitten line, with Oprah at one point responding to a lukewarm reception of the audience to a $14.98 knit dress with “Come on it’s $14 dollars.” Compare that to the audience’s reaction regarding the truly impressive bridal dresses by Isaac Mizrahi at Target and you see what I mean.
I pretty much agree with this. I love budget clothes and find the concept exciting, but for that amount of money I would be able to afford to take fashion risks, and I am not seeing anything super fashiony or risky or even very designed in the collection so far. So I’m a little under-excited by the whole thing. Whereas if Isaac Mizrahi for Target ever went up to larger sizes, I would probably move out of my house and into a Michael Graves tent in the outskirts of the Target parking lot.
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Celebrities, Fashion, Sarah Jessica Parker
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Another problem with the “Bitten” line is that the size 22 runs REALLY SMALL. I normally wear a size 18, and could barely squeeze into a pair of size 22 jeans. That to me is more disappointing than the quality of the clothes, or the lack luster designs.
Granted, I have to give Sarah Jessica Parker credit for even attempting.
My question: Why stop at 22? Why not the more typical 24? Or the increasingly common 26 or 28?
(Yes, I’m on the border between a 24 and a 26. And feeling a bit left out. Sniff.)
maybe they’re jr. plus…
Even though I haven’t seen the line in person, checking out the website, the clothes look really cute. I’m impressed that they go as high as a 22, as most designers don’t seem to care to cater to larger sizes…or eventually remove their entire plus size line. Stupid Old Navy (even though my local Old Navy still carries XXL throughout their whole ladies section).
I saw the line in Dave & Barry’s in the mall. Personally, I thought the clothes were very cheaply manufactured and not terribly fashionable. Of course, Dave & Barry’s isn’t a high-end store to begin with (most items sell for below $10).
Also, though some of the clothes I saw were plus-size, they weren’t manufactured with a plus girl’s body in mind. They look like shapeless sacks, actually. Not very figure-flattering.
It’s very disappointing to go shopping and put on cute clothes and look ridiculous in them. Besides the pressing and obvious problem of absolutely NO awesome clothes for plus size women, no woman with any type of body approaching normal has an easy time shopping. I read the very ceremonious SJP manifesto and while i am deeply touched that she has such concern for my wallet i think a more appropriate statement would be for the inalienable right of all women to not have to alter the clothing they buy because it fits only a small fraction of the population.
Alison, I’m guessing you’re right and that the sizing may be geared toward a junior size/shape. And, if they’re using tiny sizes for the fit models and sizing up from there, that might account for the poor fit in the plus size range. I can’t say for certain, as they’re not available in my area, but in the price range I doubt that they’re designing those clothes with both regular and plus size fit models.
That said, I’ll give her credit for the expanded size range. It’s a shame to hear the stuff is poorly made — I rather liked a couple of the pieces on the website, and would certainly have been willing to pay another few bucks to get something that wouldn’t fall apart in the first wash. Ah well…
And here I was all excited about her catering to my size 22 behind. *pouts* Darn it. I’ll stick to Lane Bryant then. At least I get my employee discount and really cute clothing.
Finally someone in the clothing world acknowledging the bigger sizes in the world. thanks so much for sharing this.
“Take away sizing from the Bitten and you can get all those pieces from stores like Old Navy, Mandee, Marianne, Payless, Forever 21, etc.”
Isn’t this kind of the point though? It would be a cold day in hell before anything in Forever 21 would fit me, and this will probably still be true even if I get to my goal weight. I was looking at some Forever 21 dresses and I’d kill to be able to wear them, cheap and trendy though they may be. So the sole fact that Bitten has a larger size range than other lines is a great coup.
Nevertheless, Steve & Barry’s has the most cheaply made, inconsistent crap you can possibly imagine. Worse than Old Navy. Credit where credit’s due, they actually make a serviceable peacoat for $10 and I imagine they are a godsend for parents of teenagers on a budget–the clothes are cute and fashionable. But come on, the stuff is like $15 and under. Back in my day, we used to expect to have to pay at least a moderate amount to get clothes that were well-made, well-tailored, and durable. Now it seems like we expect clothes to be $10 or $15 (a price that when I was a kid would have meant you were getting something more like a trendy, throwaway piece) but also consistent in sizing, high-quality, and manufactured under acceptable labor practices. All of which are good things but I’m not sure you can realistically expect to get them without shelling out a little more.
Don’t forget that it takes more fabric to make bigger clothes. Which means they cost more for the manufacturer to make.
It’s possible they are discriminating against larger women deliberately, but I’d say it’s much more likely to be about the bottom line.
They can’t charge more for larger sizes, so they have to charge more for all the sizes or reduce the quality instead. Which means dodgier seams, and fewer bells and whistles.
I imagine it’s quite a risk to have a single line span all the different sizes.
That’s a little bit of a leap. There’s no reason they couldn’t just charge a dollar or two more for the 3 largest sizes, say, if it was that big of a deal. But I honestly doubt that the extra fabric really makes that much difference anyway. Steve & Barry’s really does just specialize in bargain basement crap of the most cheaply made variety. Doesn’t mean I don’t love my cheapy team sweatshirts and stuff from there, but its poor quality and inconsistent seams, sizing, printing, etc. cannot be denied even before Bitten existed.
I know you’re not assigning “blame” exactly but that’s one argument I’ve never heard before… making clothes in plus sizes will drag down the quality of an entire line. I know on the surface there is a simple dollars and cents equation in there–more fabric = more $–but I just don’t believe the price of fabric makes enough difference to the bottom line price of a garment to cause such an outcome. I’m sure manufacturers would like us to think that so they can charge an arm and a leg for plus, but I have my suspicions.
I have been to Steve & Barrys and seen the clothes and was not at all impressed. Cheap and even poorly made are fine with me, if the clothes are trendy and cute and, but her stuff is very, very basic. I could not find one piece that had a bit of interest or personality. The jewelry was nice, but expensive compared to the clothes.
Even worse than the lack of character in the clothes was this heinous video of SJP they kept playing, over and over at high volume, in which she is on some egotistical head trip about how ALL women, even if we live in trailers and collect welfare and never even once owned a Chanel bag, even if we stuff our faces with Cheetos and Krispie Kremes and never purge, deserve to wear her cheap, crappy, unstylish clothes. Like we are cavemen and she is giving the gift of fire or something.
“Like we are cavemen and she is giving the gift of fire or something.”
Ha! That’s hilarious.