womens fashion

Saks To Sell Designer Plus-Sized Fashion

Filed under: Apparel

More and more women are looking for designer fashions in larger sizes. Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City is ready to accommodate them. Racked recently reported that the flagship store's high-end third floor will be home to designer plus-sized apparel. The retailer will offer gowns, suits and more in sizes from 14 to 20 by top-of-the-line brands like Armani, Chanel, Donna Karan and Oscar de la Renta. Racked says that the fall and winter plus-sized pieces will be mixed in with existing stock rather than relegated to a separate section. In general most of the designer pieces would only be available in up to a size 10 but with the new initiative most of the pieces will be available up to a size 14 and as high as 20 in some cases depending on what sizes the brand makes. Saks is testing this out so only one of each size will be stocked for most pieces. But if this is successful look for other Saks stores to stock larger sizes in these designer labels.

Will women go for the larger sizes? An article on DNA Info interviewed a couple of Saks shoppers who didn't seem too enthused. Although much of America falls into the size 12 and up category there is an ongoing perception that larger women aren't interested in expensive fashion. But plus-sized fashion is a multi-billion dollar industry and one that so far, has been vastly undeserved by luxury brands.

Tags: plus size, plus-size, saks, Saks Fifth Avenue, womens fashion

Christian Siriano Creates Exclusive Online Store

by Ariston Anderson (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

One of our favorite young designers is no stranger to fusion lines. Christian Siriano has teamed up with Payless to design several lines of edgy shoes and Victoria's Secret to create a line of makeup in Mediterranean hues. But now the star designer is bringing fashion to the public in a completely new way. In just another testimony to Siriano's business savvy and creativity, he recently released a line exclusively sold on his website, with six limited edition pieces all under $200. Now, finally fashionistas everywhere will have an opportunity to own their own authentic Christian Siriano piece. What makes the line truly luxurious, other than the delicate silk fabrics and gorgeous drapes, is that the line was inspired by his own Spring/Summer 2010 collection, which had models walking on water in seafaring colors and swaths of oceanic prints. By creating high-quality, affordable pieces taken from his same runway fabrications, Siriano is clearly out to revolutionize the fashion industry.

We spoke to Christian more about this in depth, and why he decided to incorporate these shapes. "The collection is very similar to my ready to wear collection," Siriano tells Luxist. "The fabrications are the same but the shapes are simple and very easy for women to piece into an existing wardrobe. Also these shapes are a limited collection and are not available anywhere else. Therefore the price is able to target the younger and fashionable Christian Siriano Fan."

Siriano says that he created the lower-priced collection for one reason alone: "We receive e-mails everyday, all day from fans who cannot afford anything over $200. It is my way to have my brand more accessible to women everywhere. That is the main goal at the end of the day, to have women wearing my clothes, feeling fabulous."

Our favorite piece is the Oceanic Scarf, a print taken straight from the runway, which is sure to add a fabulous pop to any monotone outfit this season. Check out the rest of the line in detail below. Click here to shop now, because these pieces won't last long.

Gallery: Christian Siriano Online Store