We’re continuing our tradition of ringing out the Link Love year with a collection of style-related stories that didn’t quite fit into the themed Link Love posts we published throughout the year, but are worth a look anyway. Enjoy!

• “Carpe DM: 60 Years of the Dr Martens boot.”
• If you’ve ever wondered if there is a difference between budget and expensive nail polish, then have a look at this.
• How lockdown unleashed a thriving online market for colourful clothes.
• I’ve always found it strange that women’s haircuts cost more than men’s. The Huffington Post reports that more salons are starting to utilize gender-neutral pricing, charging for the time you spend in the chair rather than your sex.
• Inside the fight to end labour exploitation in L.A. garment factories.
• Female baldness is still a taboo. Here, women with hair loss explain the stigmas they face.
• This was interesting: “What Therapists Wear to Work, And How It Changes the Way You See Them.”
• “The Women Who Gave Up Grooming in 2020: From shaving to threading to dyeing to painting, the little touches that used to seem so important have been squeezed out by the pandemic.”

We”ll be back in the new year with more Link Love posts. In the meantime, I want to wish you lovely holidays with lots of moments that make you smile.

Fab Links from Our Members

Minaminu really liked this article about how dressing up can make us happy.

“Now this is a partnership worth supporting,” says Suz: Civil rights activist Angela Davis launches fashion collaboration with LA label.

“Your attention is being bought, and sold.” Mary Beth says: ” I’ve been aware for some years now that everything we click while online is being data-mined, in an attempt to personalize advertising to each of us. But I have never considered that we might be the product…”

Suntiger found “What you didn’t know about colour“, and “‘Cottage core’ and the rise of the modern rural fantasy” worth a read.

Runcarla wanted to share this eye-opening article about men sewists. She adds: “Women aren’t the only ones interested in self-expression through fashion and willing to take things into their own hands — literally.

“Is She a Winter or a Summer? The Long Fashion Legacy of Color Me Beautiful.” “The need to label itself goes in and out of fashion,” Shevia says.

Vildy points out that with more and more models assuming awkward poses, it can be hard work to figure out how something you’ve only seen online could work for you. At least Instagram accounts like Awkward Zara, and Awkward But Fashion encourage a sense of humour about it.

Ginger found this a well-balanced article, discussing both the prejudice against producing inclusive sizing as well as the industry-wide technical challenges. She also finds the mention of “micrograding” fascinating — the technique that Universal Standard created of point-by-point grading between each size, not just between each range of sizes. It seems to be effective but also very time-consuming.

Karen Kane has been close to my heart since Greg and I visited the factory and headquarters in Los Angeles, California ten years ago. I wrote about the design room, the sample room, the factory floor, the trim and dispatch departments, and shared their thoughts on being a close-knit family business. Spending time at Karen Kane, interviewing the extremely talented Karen herself, getting to know the family and hearing how they run their business was a wonderful experience.

Karen and her husband Lonnie started their business in their home garage 40 years ago. Their stated mission: “We believe women should feel beautiful and comfortable, always. We create products with passion and integrity, guided by respect for our people and planet.“

Their business grew and before long they had retail orders, premises, employees, and bestsellers. Their sons Michael and Robert grew up in the family business, which is still privately owned. Michael became the Director of Marketing in 2011 and Robert joined as a designer in 2018.

Karen Kane’s “Made in America” brand was operating ethically and sustainably long before it was on the forefront of our planet-saving minds. Their sons have taken it further. With the ethical sourcing of fabrics and trims, manufacturing in Los Angeles, a commitment to being extremely transparent about their business practices, using recycled textiles, minimizing waste, and reducing their carbon footprint, Karen Kane has adapted very naturally to the new era of fashion production. You can read about their sustainable and ethical business practices.

The Karen Kane brand offers relaxed, trendy classic ladieswear with a strong California vibe. A little beachy, a little boho, natural, casually glam, and elegant in an understated way. Ladies clothing is the brand’s strength and bread and butter, but there are accessories, kids wear, and home accessories too. Clothing is generally neutral, knit or woven, fluid in fit, high quality, and very comfortable. Karen likes to wear black, grey and animal print, so you’ll see a lot of that in the assortments.

Karen Kane was an impressive early adopter of size diversity, which is another reason the brand is close to my heart. It was producing sizes XS to 3XL, and petites, long before other brands were offering extended sizes. There is room to further extend size curves in both directions, and I hope to see that soon.

I’ve been shopping the Karen Kane brand since I came to the US seventeen years ago. Over the years I’ve had my share of fabulous Karen Kane items, especially back when I wore solid black tops and dresses. The items are exceptional quality, with a special shout-out to their jersey knits that are very substantial, silky, and drape like a dream. Their casual dresses are my favourites, and always on my radar. My clients continue to adore the brand for the “easy to wear and launder” integrity of the items, wearable design, good fit, great quality, and high longevityfactor. Items are available on the Karen Kane site, or at department stores.

Shortly after the pandemic broke out in the Spring, and despite the enormous stresses that lay ahead for garment manufacture and retail, the Karen Kane factory got to work making masks and donating them to our healthcare heroes. I was very impressed, and yet not surprised because that’s how the owners are wired. You could buy the masks to help pay for the cutters and sewers, thereby keeping them employed. We bought their masks right away, which were too big for me at first. But after carefully altering the fit and inserting a filter, the masks fit really well and are comfortable. I have six of them, and wear them daily.

I can’t say enough about Karen Kane. The company is a class act, and a manufacturing role model. Karen herself is a modest, quiet, strong and extremely clever person. Looks like her design assistant Stevie — who likes a good animal print too — offers lots of support and inspiration!

A coatigan is a cross between a coat and cardigan. I’ve called them sweater coats in the past, and others have called them swackets. Coatigans are knitted and resemble a long and heavy cardigan, but have the substance of a light to mid-weight coat. They come in all sorts of colours, patterns and fabrics. Some versions are dressier than others. Most of them are single-breasted and unlined.

This collection shows a good assortment.

Coatigans are softer, less structured, and generally more cosy and comfortable than coats and jackets. I often suggest coatigans to my clients who don’t enjoy the constriction on the shoulders, arms, bust, and around the neck of a coat or jacket. Coatigans don’t look and feel off when worn at home because they look more like a cardigan than outerwear. They can be dead right to wear outside when it’s relatively mild, dry, and you’re appropriately layered. Coatigans can also be more comfortable for driving.

On the other hand, coatigans don’t look as sharp, tailored, crisp, dressy and structured as some coats and jackets. They also won’t keep out the rain, wind or extreme chill. They can stretch out and feel a little disheveled at times. That said, in a world that is becoming more casual, and with more and more people working from home, I understand the appeal and popularity. You can wear them while you type on the couch if they aren’t too bulky. They are a comfy and pulled together option for digital meetings. And visually look more polished and professional than sweats and Athleisure.

I don’t think that coatigans are a replacement for jackets and coats. There is room for both in your wardrobe. As a jacket and coat die-hard who loves structure and the crispness of woven toppers, even I have a coatigan of sorts. It’s a navy knitted sweater jacket from Boden with a faux fur collar that I wear working from home. It makes me feel pulled together, productive, energized and glam. Some of the magic of a jacket, but less constricting and dressy. Of course, it keeps me warm too. So far, I’ve only worn it indoors, and it might stay that way.

Over to you. What’s your opinion on the coatigan? Is it something you wear or would consider wearing? Has the coatigan replaced the blazer in your style life?

I’ve mentioned the importance of doing sit-down tests before you commit to an item of clothing, and it bears repeating. It’s top of mind for me because it was the reason I passed on a potentially fabulous pair of red tartan pants last week. 

I was excited to try on these fully lined wool-rich tartan pants from J.Crew after ordering them because they’re just what I want to wear as everyday pants right now. I popped them on as soon as they arrived, and loved them. They fit and felt really good. The waistband fit the small of my back extremely well, which was surprising and no alterations needed. I began prancing around in the pants in front of the mirror — always a good sign — and grabbed tops from my wardrobe to pattern mix with the tartan. I was having fun creating multiple outfits and about to pull off the tags.

Then I remembered to do the sit-down test to ensure that the crotch point, thigh area and waist was comfortable. In less than a nanosecond the fit problem was clear. The high front rise was fine as long as I was standing and striding, but poufed out making the zipper buckle as soon as I sat down. There were multiple creases across my crotch point and belly area due to too much fabric in the rise. When I stood back up, the creases did not go away and looked awful. A little pant creasing is fine, but this was excessive. Unfortunately they were not nearly as good a fit as my other checked J.Crew pants, which have a slightly lower rise. Back they went.

Remember to sit down and move around a bit in clothing before you pull off the tags. Make sure you can drive in outerwear, that necklines aren’t too low, that hemlines aren’t too high, and that the buttons of shirts and blouses don’t gape.