Cheryl Shops

Recommended reading
I read two excellent posts today on two of my favorite fashion blogs.

First, Fashionista sent two interns to a variety of stores--Intermix, Old Navy, Opening Ceremony, Club Monaco, Ina--to investigate vanity sizing. I thought this was a really interesting concept--we all know there are certain stores (ahem, Banana Republic) where the sizes are almost too good to be true, and on the other end of the spectrum, European designers, whose clothes run scarily small (for example, I have a D&G top that I cut the size tag out of, because whenever I wore it, I felt bad about myself, even though I looked hot in it). And this is basically what the interns find: chain stores large, designer clothes tiny. What's more interesting, however, are the comments on the story--like in many of Fashionista's posts, the comments end up being an intelligent discussion of size and body image.

I also recommend Lauren Goldstein Crowe's semi-rant about Miu Miu, which in recent seasons has become prohibitively expensive. I have quite a few Miu Miu pieces in my closet, but all are at least three years old and were purchased on sale at Saks or Barneys (Miu Miu used to be sold on the Co-Op floor there!), and, like Crowe, I'm frustrated that the line is no longer within my reach. This is because Prada is obviously repositioning the brand as more luxury, less secondary, but still. At least there's the Prada outlet at Woodbury Commons...