This is Edith Fairbanks, relaxing after a round of golf. I’m not sure which I love more, her belted cardigan or her little Scotty companion.
They just finished Fashion Week in New York, and that always makes for a lot of interesting news, so here we go…
* Three years ago, Fashion’s Night Out sounded like a good idea. Today, not so much so.
* I sort of felt sorry for this pathetic-ness until I read that many of them are actually in it for the money.
* There has been quite a lot written about how fashion critics are a dying breed. A silly misunderstanding at Oscar de la Renta over comments made by Cathy Horyn led to an episode of name-calling and points out how hard it is in an atmosphere of designer worship to write things that might be construed as negative. (Can you imagine filmmakers doing this every time they got a bad review?)
* Which leads to an interesting article on fashion criticism.
* The debate about teenage models continues.
* The NY Times tells us that the “Made in the USA” label has regained its luster.
* And as if to prove the point, we have a tumblr blog devoted just to the promotional videos of American brands. It’s Hipster Heaven! (thanks to ModBetty for that link)
* The Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced the next spring exhibition: Punk: Chaos to Couture. Opens May 9, 2013.
* Am I the only person in the world who does not “get” Anna Dello Russo?
* And on second thought, maybe those Louboutin red soles are trademark-able.
* Racked called Pantone’s Spring 2013 top color, Monaco Blue, a snooze, but the entire palette is rather nice.
* What I did not win on ebay. I could cry…
And now to put it all into perspective, the news about that devastating factory fire in Pakistan is simply heart-breaking. I do hope that all of us will take a close look at our buying habits and stop buying cheap clothing from countries that have a history of human rights violations. Or to be blunt, if you are buying this garbage, then you are perpetuating a system that allows things like this to happen. Pakistan has few laws that protect workers and often the factories are outdated, dangerous places.
In 1912 the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire claimed the lives of 146 people. It led to the modernization of labor laws in New York, and has left us with a lasting legacy of concern for worker’s rights. The Karachi fire has left almost 300 people dead. Let’s hope that the people of Pakistan get the legal protections they deserve.
The Vintage Traveler 
Thanks for the shout out! I was proud to see that the undershirts I bought at Sine’s 5 & 10 yesterday were made in America, so I’m working on it.
I had not heard of Anna Dello Russo before your comment above, but after seeing the video and comparing it to Googled images, I have to hand it to the photoshop work done on the video! I read a comment recently that said something like “Don’t compare your behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel!” and that certainly reminded me of the difference between what people look like all done up, with what they look like in real life 🙂
And I too thought of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire when I heard about that horrible accident. Isn’t it awful that all we do is move the problem somewhere else, but don’t solve it.
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Betty you are so right. it was no coincidence that textile jobs were moved to the Southern US after 1912.
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That bathing suit is fabulous! I can understand why tears were shed over losing that.
The Pakistan fire is devasting. I also hope it leads to some much needed law reforms in that country.
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Is is the best of its era that I’ve ever seen, but still, I was surprised it went for so much.
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