My Rachel Comey Wayfarer dress arrived yesterday from Kick Pleat. As Biscuit's comment suggested, it runs small, although I found the shoulders fine and the bust plenty big. I have a reasonably small waist, but certainly it is nipped in. I also had to wriggle in and out of it--thankfully I was forewarned or I would have panicked at that point. All in all, it is a beautiful dress but I am going to have to wait for a less humid day to try it on and decide whether it is a keeper. I love the fabric (which is a little thicker than I thought), the design, construction and feel it could transfer well into early fall. But the issue of the fit remains, as with much of Rachel Comey's SS 10 line. She has to do something about it--currently I'd guestimate that her XS is a small size 0, her S a small 2, her M a 4 and her L a 6. I know fabric costs money but a M should be 6-8 and an L 10-12. As a 6-8 with broad shoulders and a small waist, I should be able to fit into an L comfortably and even get into an M. Some of her Ls from this year barely fit me and other similarly sized friends. For a brand with no standalone store that likely relies a lot on mail order, this seems a bad idea--if boutiques get a lot of returns, they won't order from the brand again.
I really want to support designers, like RC, who manufacture in the US, especially given the ecological benefits (less fossil fuels used in transporting goods), job preservation (no sweatshops and less erosion of first world manufacturing base, with the job and skills benefits that entails) and the ancillary benefits to local economies. I realize this means higher prices but that involves making more careful choices elsewhere. There is such a paucity of designers who still produce clothes in the Garment District, particularly those whose work I can afford. I just wish Comey could get her sizing right. Her shoes are also out of my range--size, not price--as they run very narrow and small. It would be great if she did something about this as I know I'm not the only size 8 out there with size 40-40.5 feet (which is at least an 11 in RC even though it is a 9.5-10 elsewhere) who would like to buy some of her line in the future. If this downsizing continues, I'm effectively sized out of her clothing. And as someone who likes to think of herself as far from plus-sized, just tall, this seems insane--and bad for what has to be a small business.
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3 comments:
hear hear, moya!
as a size 6 with broad shoulders and a flat chest, it's been difficult finding RC pieces that fit well. and the shoes. ugh, no point in starting that discussion with me!
glad it fits, even if it is a pain to get on! i find that i have to do a little maneuver to get it off-i have to pull the shoulders up first as high as they will go, then lift from the bottom and peel off. definitely not for a humid day- i could definitely see myself stuck in this dress!
too bad the sizing is so wonky, because the textiles are fantastic. i ordered the agronomist dress in a S thinking it would run small and it's too big! go figure. i also find mociun to run terribly, terribly small. i bought a tie-neck dress in XS and it won't close properly in the front! has anyone else had that problem?
(btw, this is susie)
THANK GOODNESS for posting about this Moya! I could not believe that so many e-tailers said Comey was running "true to size" this season, but also noting that their size 2 models were wearing the small (and they are usually wearing XS or 0-2 for other lines). I got a St Vincent dress (which I LOVE) but the size L just fits my bust and I'm only a 34B. I couldn't even button up the bust on the size M! I feel like this season was the first that Comey did really fitted pieces with boning and structured bodices; maybe that is where the fit went awry.
Comey shoes totally work for me - they need to be broken in though. I agree, I think the shoe sizing got smaller; I used to fit a 6, but now the 6.5 fits better... either that, or my feet got chunkier.
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