Country Road - why it deserves to stay at the outlet

Just a few lovelies at the Birkenhead Point Country Road/Trenery Outlet today. 

It's mid January 2015. 

It was very busy and the cash registers were ringing. 

By the looks of these, Style into Action has no idea why.    

 

Pale colour, wide leg.
Not for reproductive types or petites.
Those D rings go along way
to adding bulk to your tummy too.  

Chinos with many waist pleats & narrow ankles.
Fabulous for pears. Not. 

Top marks for a confused dress. 
And your body parts have to sit in the
right places inside the confused dress.
That's assuming you can
figure out what the right places are. 
The kicker is that neon limey yellow shade.
Flatters very few. Ambulance please. 

A stretch denim body con dress. In theory a good idea.
That's why there was only one left. 

I am white & I make things look bigger than they are.
I am boxy & oversize and I hide your shape &
make you look bigger than you are. 
Why dont you want to buy me? 

This one is wearable & timeless.
 That's why there was only one on the rack. 

Rows & rows of bias hem ruffle skater skirts.
Even if you have good legs, these will
make you look heavy in the hips faster than
you can say bias ruffle hem skater skirt. 

More bias hem ruffle skater skirts.
Even in black they can't sell them. 

The midi, with gathers at the waist, in white,
in a rayon which creases like nobody's business.
A well known Sydney blogger wore this.
How would this not sell, I ask? How indeed.
 

Take a basic white tee shirt & tart it up with
fluted petal sleeves to make a buck. 
Crimes against basics. 

Grandpa collar shirts with ruffles all over. In pink.
Who signed off this design? Oh dear.  

Oversize boyfriend jackets in the
softest least flattering fabric known to man.
You can hide under these. So can your figure. 

My favourite.
The oversize sweaters. In gold metallic & silver coated.
Something for every complexion.  

I didn't see these in the shop. Thankfully.
Soft bombers which round your shape.
With a drawstring around your tummy/hips. 
Lovin' all that roundness.
In a lary orange. Good oh.
 

Score. 
The shapeless dresses. With rounded shoulders.
How could you not look fatter & shorter in this? 
That was the look we were going for, wasn't it? 

The interesting dresses. Which no one buys.
At left, the kaftan-y sleeves - guaranteed
to add bulk up top. 
At right, the shift which is armourised with quilting.
Charming. 

Could be a jacket or a coat. But it'll fit you,
your family & all your friends. At once.
Gotta love the oversize boxy trend. 

This one surprised me. Navy linen pinstriped trench.
I thought the finance geeks would be all over it.
It's a bit heavy, otherwise I'm stumped. 

A true treat. Not only oversize, but very soft.
Will cling to all your lumps & bumps &
show them off with pride. 

Let's assume we all love pink.
This is a shirt dress which is so fine it
shows everything underneath.
The batwing sleeves are a bonus - guaranteed
to make you look fatter & shorter.  

External shoulder pads on a chambray dress.
An elastic waist with a one in a million chance
of landing anywhere near your waist. 
Are we surprised there are quite a few of these in the photo? 

Zoran called from the 80s & wants his shirt back.
So much 80s structure for such a soft lame fabric. 

Silk tees with high necklines & oversize
raglan sleeves.
Design perfection. 

Lots of sweats in a boxy batwing sleeve.
Or is that a dolmain sleeve? 
Same thing, one bad weight loss concept. 

Racks of chunky sweaters in
wool blends but which look 100% acrylic.
Guaranteed to love the clearance sale. Always. 

Boxy shifts. Some even with
high rounded collars & rounded sleeves.
Otherwise just oversize with hem detail
to bring the eye downward.
If I hadn't seen it...

PS: You may have some of these items and they may flatter you. That's terrific. Please not that this post is general in nature and is discussing the majority not the exception.

Don't forget - if it's on the sale rack, it's because no one wants it.  

Comparing cashmere: Target v Uniqlo

For those who have worn 100% cashmere once, the understanding is immediate. 

The understanding is that cashmere is one of the warmest fibres known to man & it's lightweight. Properly cared for, it lasts forever. 

With the advent of fast fashion, cashmere has lost it's luxe status and is now available at every price point. With price reductions, quality also varies. Unfortunately that is often a downward variation. 

For southern hemisphere AW 2014, Target Australia has introduced 100% cashmere in it's top line, Limited Editions for both men and women. As a Sydney girl, we finally have a Uniqlo store and I also had the chance to look at their cashmere sweaters. 

This blog compares the Target and Uniqlo cashmeres for women. 

Let's start with the Target women's range. 

Available in camel & in marine blue (a bright navy with a tinge of purple).
Three styles, crew sweater (69), vee sweater (69) & a waterfall cardi (89).

NOTE: The sizing differs enormously between the crew and the vee. 

In the following photo I laid an XL crew over an XL vee. Notice the width difference?  

This means that online buying may prove tricky. 

If you want the smallest crew size in the vee style, it's impossible to get.

Similarly, if you want the largest vee size in the crew style, it's impossible to get. 

I cant understand why these were sized so differently but I checked quite a few & it's consistent. Scary. 

Some style differences to note:

The crew has a wide hem basque. The vee has a very narrow hem basque. Not a material practical difference - more about the look than anything else.

Now let's compare the men's with the women's.

NOTE: The men's (99) is a thicker weight than the women's.
It's a denser knit. I don't know whether it's the gauge or the ply, but the women's are flimsier.

Sure, the men's are bigger pieces, so use more fibre. That & the denser knit make them more expensive. You get what you pay for strikes again. 

The men's have a wide basque - like the women's crew. Due to the tighter knit, the men's hem is more bubbled than the women's which falls more vertically.

For me, apart from the thicker weight, the men's look more expensive due to the way the neckline is finished. 
The men's has a banded finish - the knit is folded over along the vee. In contrast, the women's (both vee & crew) have one layer of ribbing - it looks flimsier, cheaper. 

The men's are available in a purple (pinot) and charcoal (zippered front), as well as the same navy as the women's (marine blue).

Frankly I don't like the quality of the women's - when you wear it fitted, you can see your shirt print underneath. I suppose it depends on how fitted you want to wear it, but if you love loose - grab the men's. 

Overall, the women's sweater cost $69 and you get $69 of value. Pretty ordinary. 

Let's compare the women's sweater to the cardi.

In short, the cardi is outstanding. 

It's generous in its cashmere.
The back is long & covers the bum - unlike alot of waterfalls which try to save costs by keeping the back short.

Call me crazy, but I am pretty sure that it's a slightly heavier knit than the sweaters. I was in store, with limited time, comparing with my eyes closed & I think this is the case. 

But apart from the generosity of the cashmere, the thing which makes this look luxe was the finish. There is thick banding all around the edges (except hem) and on the cuffs.

But since the waterfall is the big feature and it's front row centre, you'd want the banding to look great in that area. And it does.

Just as a point of comparison, I was in Country Road & I snapped the waterfall finish on one of their "fine Merino wool" cardis (149).

Let's zoom in on the bottom corner of the waterfall...it's a single layer (not banded) but the finish is awful. And that's what takes away from the luxe factor. 

Now zoom in on the upper corner of the waterfall - closer to the face...it's icky. 

You may argue that a fine knit cant be finished any better. I agree with you BUT, I need to add something. A fine knit can't be finished any better yet still maintaining the same price. 

In contrast, the Target cardi has a gorgeous finish with any seams on the inside of the band. Love it. 

The price is 89 but the value is way more than that.

THREE MORE POINTS:

1. The women's range is made in Bangladesh - Target has signed the Safety Accord in respect of work done in that country. 

2. There is no swatch of cashmere thread attached to the sweaters. So if you need to mend, you'll have to find your own fibre match.

3. The cardi is generally not for petites. Even in the XS, I feel it may swamp you, but there may be cases where it works, depending on the person.   

Let's go to Uniqlo. 

Bear in mind I havent put a Uniqlo side by side with the Target sweaters. Even so, if I had to compare weight, I'd say the Uniqlo is definitely thicker than the Target women's. I'd say it's similar to the Target men's. 

As you probably know, Uniqlo is a Japanese retailer who specialises in selling basics in a gazillion colours. This contrasts with stores like Zara & H&M, who specialise in the latest trends & only use the basics as fillers. 

The Uniqlo cashmere I saw (in the Sydney pop up) was all the same grade for both men's and women's. 

There was men's & women's in a gazillion colours. But the shades weren't identical between the sexes - they varied. So men's may have a coral pink, the women's was close to a fuschia and a different shade of coral. The men's mint may have been mottled, white the women's was clear. Etc etc.

In the permanent stores, there are vee neck, scoop necks, crew necks, short sleeve, long sleeve etc etc. 

The only thing I noticed with respect to quality & the luxe look was on the basque along the neckline.

Both men's and women's are single layers (not banded/folded over like the Target men's).
But the women's has a vertical rib which runs along the band. The men's has the traditional perpendicular rib (like the Target women's crew & vee).

I think the men's looks more expensive, although the women's may be more slimming (it all helps...).

Caveat: One of the major quality indicators for natural fibre knits is pilling - those little balls you get on your sweater from friction. Obviously I havent tested that aspect. 

If you want to know the 101 on pilling, read this blog:
http://styleintoaction.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/pilling-myths-and-truths.html

Finally a word on maintenance...

1. Keep mothers & critters away. There is no need for napthalene these days - there are dozens of products in the super market for this which smell far better & do the job just as well. Lavender is one of them. 

2. Never ever, ever, ever dry clean cashmere. It's strips the fibres of their oils & makes the garment hard over the long term. It will also discolour the pale colours to a grey tinge.
The Uniqlo fabric tag says to dry clean - ignore it. 

3. Hand wash in tepid water with either wool wash or shampoo.
Just dunk it in & out of the water a few times & swish it around - its the agitation (friction not required) which loosens the debris from the fibres. 

4. Squeeze the excess water out with your hands (do not wring) & roll the sweater in a towel to absorb more moisture. 

5. Re-shape the sweater & lay it flat to dry away from sunlight, on another dry towel. Never hang as it will stretch out. 

6. If it's on an elevated mesh fabric, there is no need to turn it over. If it's on a sealed surface (table etc), turn it over after half a day, to speed up the drying process.   

Have big hips & a muffin? Read this.

Have a muffin & big hips?

This is the first important bit: Your best tops & dresses are fitted through the waist & flaring out at the hips. I often find that pieces which flare out from the bust will also work well (as long as they are not too voluminous). 

Hopefully you can see that this style hides the excess weight around your bottom half by skimming over it & not clinging to it.

One Aussie store that does this A line style particularly well is Blue Illusion. 

Because Blue Illusion has a niche market, even in a season of boxy & oversize pieces, they retain their signature shape. 

Today I was wandering through Country Road (notorious for younger trendier styles) and I spotted this little gem amongst all its boxy oversize brother & sisters. 

In 100% super fine merino wool, machine washable, it has a fit & flare waist. 

In fact, Country Road is calling it a peplum knit. Don't panic if you never had any luck with the peplums of last summer. 
This one is different.

How? 

The peplum isnt sewn on. Instead its created by the way the item is knitted, so it flares out without any horizontal seams. 

This means that the eye isnt drawn to any horizontal seams and isnt expecting the narrowest part of your waist to sit at any seam. Given that the chances of this happening are buckleys and none, it's no wonder those summer peplums looked great on the hanger & not so great on us. 

This is the second important bit: The upshot of this beauty is that if your narrowest waist is a couple of cm about the top's narrowest waist or a couple of cm below the top's narrowest waist, it wont kill the fit. Gotta love that sort of fit flexibility is what we love. 

The top is also in that off white which Country Road calls marshmallow. 

The marshmallow looks a tad see though on the site. But the black was opaque. 

The other gorgeous thing about the top is the open scoop neckline - even a girl with an ample bust can wear it. 

Small bust? Add a scarf. Hermes optional. 

http://www.countryroad.com.au/shop/woman/clothing/new-in/60166564/Wool-Peplum-Knit.html

If you try this on, please let me know on the Facebook page what you think. 

Now if only they did it in a navy, a burgundy, a cream and a soft pink.......