The Problem With Shopping These Days

Hi friend,
The month of September is a big one for the fashion industry, which hosts back-to-back fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan, and, currently, Paris. As editors digest and make sense of what they’ve seen over the past few weeks, we’re concerned with a more pressing issue: What’s going on with brands and sizing?

According to recent data, the industry is not meeting American women’s needs when it comes to size range. This is no surprise to anyone who has worked in the fashion industry, which has never truly embraced size inclusivity. But even brands that have offered plus sizes in the past appear to be dialing that back. As Corinne Fay, the author of newsletter Big Undies, wrote recently, “brands never straightforwardly announce that they are going to stop serving you. You just begin to notice that your size is never in stock any more. Then your size isn’t even listed and you wonder if you just imagined that you used to be able to shop there at all.”

She cites a July Vogue Business article that confirms retailers “have been investing in fewer products that offer larger sizing,” and claims this is due to the impact of Ozempic on the global retail industry.

At the same time, indie brands that did offer extended sizing are closing their doors. Like Mara Hoffman, who shuttered her label this summer after more than 20 years. Or Ilana Kohn, who announced that she was shutting down last week. (FYI: You can snap up remaining styles, which typically include sizes 1XL to 3XL, on her site).

There are still brands out there that go beyond straight sizing, like Big Bud Press (included in our shopping report, below), Universal Standard (which acquired plus-size indie brand Henning last year), and Wray — and we’ll continue to seek new ones out. Harper’s Bazaar just put a helpful brand list together, too. But as one market analyst said, “[Plus-size] will be the most at risk category if Ozempic becomes mainstream outside of medical and celebrity usage. Even when the body acceptance movement was at its peak, the industry wasn’t responding fast enough.”

Bye,

Your friends at Gloria

We’re always excited for fall shades, and right now, brown is center stage. It goes so well with pretty much everything, including denim, and there’s a richness to its depth that feels extra appealing. We’re not the only ones who feel this way; brown is officially “trending.” But unlike other colors that pop into the spotlight only to fade away a few months later (bright green, anyone?), brown’s a cold-weather failsafe. Below, our favorite ways to wear it.

• Extremely aesthetically pleasing. Undo Hairware Claw Clip, $36.

• Too beautiful to leave out. Alex Mill Chiltern Street Jacket, $325. Size XXS to XL.

• A simple, polished V-neck. Arket Merino Wool V-Neck Sweater, $98. Size XXS to XL.

• Trying to choose between these fashion-y suede Birks or the oiled leather style of our college years. Birkenstock Tokio Suede Clogs, $221; Birkenstock Boston Oiled Leather Clog, $145.

• We have a lot of totes, but find ourselves using this one day after day because it’s functional and cute. Heather Taylor Home Tote, $38.

• These ‘70s-style pants have elastic in the back of the waist, which we appreciate. Big Bud Press Western Pants, $110. Size XXS to 6XL.

• A heavyweight corduroy overshirt that can pull double-duty as a jacket. La Ligne Reece Jacket, $375. Size XS to XL.

• A perfectly oversized cotton poplin button-down. Bahhgoose Button-Up, $80.35. Size XS-M and L-XXL.

• The ultimate in comfort dressing. Donni Rib Kick Flare Pants, $184. Size XXS to XXL.

• Just as good as the ones from Khaite and Ralph Lauren, but for about a thousand dollars less. Stetson Fringe Suede Jacket, $395. Size XS to XL.

• An adorable puffy vest. Uniqlo Pufftech Vest, $69.90. Size XXS to XXL.

• Corduroy pants can be challenging to wear, but not these. J.Crew Wide-Leg Corduroy Trouser, $148. Waist size 23 to 37.

• The prettiest tees. Leset Pointelle Tee, $88. Size XS to XL.

• The rich, dark shade makes a classic trench feel more interesting. Massimo Dutti Long Trench, $299. Size XS to L.

• An easy way to give loose dresses some shape. NotMyStyleCo Leather Rope Knotted Belt, $35.

• We love the way these raw-silk tees look and drape. Ozma of California Raw-Silk Tee, $148. Size XS to 1XL.

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TO READ It’s a big day in the publishing world, as literary-world celebrity Sally Rooney is out with her new book, Intermezzo (here on Bookshop, and here on Amazon). It’s about two brothers in the wake of their fathers’ death; the complexity of romantic and sexual relationships; and the gulf between our moral stances and our actual behavior. The Times, in a very positive review, calls it a “mature, sophisticated weeper,” saying, “it makes a lot of feelings begin to slide around in you.”

TO WATCH We will be watching Adam Brody as a rabbi in the Netflix rom-com Nobody Wants This (opposite Kristen Bell as his agnostic love interest), and we will also tune in for Joseph Gordon-Levitt as as a private eye hired by Shailene Woodley in the noirish Prime Video murder mystery Killer Heat – both out Thursday – but do we find either of these men believable in these roles? No. And, do both films look ridiculous? Yes.

TO LOOK Much of Instagram has been given over to blandness, but we do find The World of Interiors to be a consistently rewarding follow. Check out this, and this!

TO LISTEN The new Wondery podcast Criminal Attorney traces the juicy story of New Jersey attorney Paul Bergrin, who was found guilty of multitude of crimes (including conspiracy to murder a witness). He was quite the degenerate; as New York Magazine put it, he served as an “advocate to killers, whorehouse proprietors, bum-check-passing beauty queens, [and] Lil’ Kim.”

“Everyone said freezing my eggs would make me less anxious, but actually I can’t stop crying.” • A few ways to save on the cost of college. • This is an accurate take on trying to find an apartment in NYC. • What to know about midlife brain fog. • A popular parenting forum takes on OpenAI.

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