Hello Again

Whew! What a couple of weeks it’s been. As a quick update – I have learned that I am truly not a camper. Not an “in-the-woods-sleeping-in-a-tent-fending-off-huge-flies-grabbing-minnows-out-of-a-minnow-bucket” sort of camper at least. The Ely area of Northern Minnesota is stunningly beautiful and smells absolutely fresh and delicious, but next year I see a cushy lodge and a soft bed in which to fall at the end of a day full of fishing and boats.

I also see NOT spending the night in a camper with my parents ever….EVER…again. You should never be exposed to your elderly father climbing into an overhead sleeper compartment while wearing only his underwear. Enough said.

The highlight of this trip? Spending time with my nephews, Jake and Tyler, who both love to fish and who really love being up there. The low point? When the dog tripped me and my back went out for a day and a half. Also, see camper comment above.

So, I was in the woods for a week and came back a bit depressed and you know what that means? Yes, shopping. GGF David said I was down because I couldn't wear any of my regular clothes for a week, i.e., I was wearing hiking pants, flannel and sneakers. Not only did I have to worry about huge spiders, but also sweatshirts. I’m not sure which was worse. By the end of the trip, I just wanted to go into town so I could walk around carrying a handbag.

I am so defined by what I wear that I was totally out of my element and that threw me so I came home and bought some treats. I’ll keep it quick but I got a gorgeous sea-green silk/linen cardigan by Eileen Fisher and a silk scarf in variegated blues and greens. Together they are stunning. I also purchased this cute Ralph Lauren white linen tunic and wore it to my friend Brenda’s fundraiser/book signing on Friday night. I paired it with cuffed dark wash flared jeans and cute bejeweled Cole Haan sandals. Simple and sleek and I felt really great, the woods now a distant memory!

On a more serious note, check out this article in Crain's (NYC) yesterday.

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20090531/FREE/305319991

It’s about the plus size retail world and how larger sizes are among the latest victims of the recession, with the retail industry cutting them on all fronts. Really? Are not all sizes suffering? It seems to me that the industry is always looking for excuses to justify how it under serves the majority of the female shoppers, so how perfect is this for them? Do I think they are maliciously making sure there is a lack of clothing options for plus size women? I used to think not but quite honestly, I wonder. Do I think they simply have no idea of how to market to plus size women? Absolutely. So I beseech them to have plus size women as buyers. As executives. To put us at all levels of their organizations. Otherwise, where are we represented for retailers? How can a 50 year old man have any idea what a plus size female shopper wants? Can a female buyer who wears a size 4 have any idea what I want? How can they truly understand the reality I face in my life and what I want in my clothing, which is essentially the same options all other women have. Somehow, they have it in their minds that we are a specialty market, when in reality, that is the label they have slapped onto us. I’m not a specialty size..I’m a majority size and until they get that concept, this will continue. Look, I shop at the Mall of America – the biggest frickin’ mall in the country and there are seven stores, out of hundreds, in which I can shop for clothes. Out of that, four of them are department stores. I think there is such a missed opportunity here for them and if they could only stop making us solely responsible for what THEY are doing, maybe this would turn around.

If we could feel like someone actually cared what we put on our backs, perhaps we would reward them with our loyalty and our money.