{"id":393,"date":"2008-02-06T22:01:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-07T05:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wendybrandes.com\/blog\/?p=393"},"modified":"2008-02-06T22:01:00","modified_gmt":"2008-02-07T05:01:00","slug":"fill-in-blanks-get-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wendybrandes.com\/blog\/2008\/02\/fill-in-blanks-get-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Fill in the Blanks. Get a Story."},"content":{"rendered":"

Are you a reporter who needs to write a fashion story? Here’s a helpful outline!<\/p>\n

Runway Trends
By I.M. Tedious<\/span><\/div>\n
    \n
  1. Find woman in department store. Be sure to make her sound humorless.<\/li>\n
  2. Explain how said woman can’t find anything office-appropriate in the store.<\/li>\n
  3. Explain how the coming season is even less office-appropriate.<\/li>\n
  4. Quote from dismayed retail executive.<\/li>\n
  5. Quote from upbeat retail executive.<\/li>\n
  6. Info about exchange rate and prices.<\/li>\n
  7. Quote from LVMH executive about how this doesn’t affect LVMH<\/a> one bit.<\/li>\n
  8. Comments about whether any clothing in the world is appropriate for women of a certain age\/weight\/profession.<\/li>\n
  9. Closing quote from woman in step #1 about how she’s just going to wear last season’s clothes instead of buying something new.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"\"<\/a>I like suits.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
    But not these suits.
    There’s no waist!

    <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
    I’ve been annoyed for years by these condescending Fashion-for-Dummies stories. They never mention the perfectly respectable pieces available from even the more outlandish designers (see my Versace post<\/a>). They also omit how, over several seasons or even years<\/a>, people tend to absorb and adopt aspects of “unwearable” fashions. (Oh, and remember how opaque tights and leggings would never<\/span> make a comeback? Mm-hmm.)<\/p>\n
    \"\"<\/a>A nipped-in waist and slit skirt saved my Moschino suit from being drab.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

    People so often cry wolf about fashion that when their dire predictions come true at last, no one flinches. A few years ago, I desperately needed a new suit for work only to be told at several big stores, “There are no suits this year.” To me, “There are no suits this year” is a more interesting take on the industry than “There are too many ruffles this year.” Designers can show ruffles with Viking hats for all I care. But, literally, no suits at all<\/span>?!? Or office-appropriate separates? That season’s fashion story had been no different from the ones I read in the suit-selling seasons; how was I to know that this time they meant it?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    <\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Are you a reporter who needs to write a fashion story? Here’s a helpful outline! Runway TrendsBy I.M. Tedious Find woman in department store. Be sure to make her sound humorless. Explain how said woman can’t find anything office-appropriate in the store. Explain how the coming season is even less office-appropriate. Quote from dismayed retail…<\/p>\n

    Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-clothes","category-in-the-news","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t