I mentioned in an earlier post that sizes 6 to 10 are the most purchased sizes in America. The interesting thing is that the most common size is a 14, but relatively few women purchase clothes in a size 14. How can this be?

Last year an article on Cleveland.com quoted the fashion industry newspaper WWD on this fact (I haven’t been able to locate the original piece) and offered some theories to explain it: Perhaps women who recently gained weight to reach a size 14 are reluctant to shop. They’d rather wait until they are back to a size 10 and in the meantime just make do with what they have. Or they might purchase smaller sizes hoping that they will fit into them later. Women sizes 20 and up, on the other hand, may have accepted their size and are happier to shop their size.

The author did her own informal study by observing people in a downtown area and concluded…

“yes, it was those “average American women,” the size 14s, who seemed to ignore style the most often, at least in my informal survey. In the past, I assumed this was because the majority of people simply aren’t all that interested in fashion. But could it be that this reluctance to shop for their current size 14 is what keeps so many women on the sidelines, and not a lack of interest?”

I can’t say that my own experience supports this explanation. I haven’t noticed a general trend for women in the most common size range to be less stylish than larger or smaller  women. Still, the fact is that size 14s are under-purchased and therefore under-stocked.

The deemphasis on size 14 at retail obviously has a negative ripple effect on size 14 women who enjoy shopping at that size. Retailers stock fab items in sizes that sell out the fastest, not sizes that sell slowly. In turn, manufacturers are reluctant to design for sizes that sell slowly. This leaves a huge gap in the marketplace — no killer stuff for size 14’s.

Could it be a catch 22, that the lack of retail variety is another reason why size 14’s don’t shop nearly as much than other sizes. If it’s not available, it can’t be purchased.

The irony is that there should be much more variety for size 14s because they are represented in both regular and plus sized retail assortments. Granted, a regular size 14 fits a little differently than a plus size 14, but still, the retail market covers the size twice.

There must be more to this than meets the eye and I’d love to hear your thoughts? Have you had trouble shopping for size 14? Do you have a theory as to why the most common size in America is one of the least popular sizes at retail?

Before coming to America I didn’t hear the term “hot” very often. I would occasionally say that someone was “a little hottie”, but I would never describe an outfit as “hot”. These days I see the word used in this way all the time. In the blogosphere and on the internet in general, on television, and in print. So I got to thinking about what that really means.

In the dictionary the non-temperature related interpretation of “hot” is described as slang for: sexually aroused, lustful, sexy and attractive. So, if you look hot in an outfit, it’s accurate to infer that you look sexy and alluring. Translating these adjectives into specifics, I think of stereotypical bombshell details like tight fitting clothes, bare skin, extremely high heels and lipstick that exaggerates the pout of our lips.

That is the obvious interpretation, but it leaves me with lots of questions. I wonder whether these stereotypes really do embody the hottest looks. Or is it possible to look hot in other ways? Say, in loosely fitting and less revealing clothing, or in flat shoes? And who determines that you look hot? Is it you, or is it or your audience?

I don’t have a bombshell quality to my style. Hubby Greg has known me for 24 years and when I asked him about it, he simply said:  “It’s just not your thing. You’ve never worn revealing clothing and high heels, but you do wear form fitting clothing like skinny jeans, pencil skirts, sleek turtle necks and sheath dresses”. And Greg is right. These are absolutely clothing items that make me feel alluring. Thing is, I can feel just as alluring in a little sack dress with ballet flats. Or a suit. Or a blazer, shirt, boots and jeans. Or even a soft boxy blouse.

I think you are as hot as you feel. Just like there is no one way to look stylish, there is no one way to look and feel hot. Furthermore, the confidence of the wearer also makes an outfit hot, maybe even more so than the outfit itself.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on what makes an outfit look hot. And when types of outfits make you feel hot?

I started writing about transitioning your wardrobe from Winter into Spring, but when I went back to the post I wrote almost exactly one year ago, I realized that the information was still relevant today. So instead of writing the same post again, I’m going to suggest that you take a look at “How to Put the Spring in Your Step“. There was interesting discussion, so be sure to read the comments too.

Having read the post, make a short shopping list if you need one, and spend time in your closet remixing Spring outfits. Perhaps it’s a question of adding silky scarves and a colourful trench coat to your wardrobe assortment? Maybe you need light coloured boots, white jeans and non-neutral jackets?  Lightweight Spring knitwear, colourful belts and printed blouses are also a great idea.

My Spring-to-Winter workhorses are my cream, black and citron trench coats. The extra warmth of their quilting is perfect during our soggy Seattle Spring. My apple green boots, light colored boots, silky scarves and bright knitwear also get lots of wear.

Socks in sandals has been a fringe trend for a year or so. This trend is not to be confused with wearing hose with sandals, which has been trendy and popular for longer.

I really like the “sandals with socks look” on younger gals in particular, and on older gals when executed with just the right amount of arty sophistication. The socks kind of dress down the outfit and add textural interest. It’s a fun look.

In order for this trend to work well for my eye, there has to be a low-ish colour contrast between either the socks and the sandals, or the socks and your skin tone. I don’t fancy the look nearly as much when the colour contrasts are high – like wearing red socks with black sandals, or neon pink socks with green sandals.  I also think the look is best with a chunky, almost clog type heeled sandal, T-strap pump, or mary jane (see pictures below).

So I absolutely vote yay for this fringe trend on others. But I vote nay for me because I don’t wear the style of footwear that’s a prerequisite for the look, and the overall effect is a tad too casual for my style. I’d rather wear a dressier sandal or peep-toe pump with pretty hosiery. What’s your vote?