November 1, 2007
Mirror, Mirror on the wall, we hate what we see after all; or how to take
the pain out of shopping
The Three Tomatoes poll last week was revealing
indeed. It seems there are a lot of tomatoes out there who actually hate shopping for clothes. In fact, only 28%
of tomatoes say they actually love clothes shopping. So when did shopping become a love/hate kind of thing for so many of
us? We think it started somewhere in between the jiggly arm thing, the jiggly thigh thing, the body parts that aren’t quite
where they use to be, the décolletage that’s seen one too many sun burns, that creepy skin on our knees that appeared out of nowhere one
day, and the fact that the last time we saw our hip bones the other Bush was president. Oh, and not to mention that most clothes are designed for
twenty-something, size zero supermodels. Okay, so we may not love shopping, but we do love great style and we all want to look our
best. So The Three
Tomatoes went to three fashionistas in search of answers and in doing so, found some great stories too.
From stay-at-home Mom to Fashion Mogul
We met Natalie Rousso through our mutual personal trainer who tries her best to help us get
rid of those jiggly things and keep other body parts in their place. We had only seen each other in our most unstylish
moments, in workout clothes, sans makeup, and hair in scruncies. So we barely recognized one another when we met at
Natalie’s offices on Broadway last week. We were greeted by a lovely, petite, tres chic woman who when not in sweats, is
Natalie, Chairwoman of Rousso Apparel, a company that specializes in women’s casual sportswear, weekend and active wear,
including brands like Oleg Cassini, GarfieldMarks and Womyn. We sat in the
showroom surrounded by the beautiful spring line of GarfieldMarks (a brand they acquired about a year ago) while Natalie shared her
story.
In 1970, her husband Eli Rousso, started the company with a desire to produce
great clothes and always be ahead of the ever-changing fashion market. Natalie, who had experience in retail fashion as a buyer
prior to marrying Eli, had abandoned her career to focus on being a wife and mother and had not played an active role in the
business. That all changed in 1989 when Eli died suddenly. Two days after her husband’s
death, her son, who had only recently graduated from college and had just started working in the business told Natalie he would like to run the
company. Natalie, still in shock, sought advice from her brother-in-law, who told her there was no reason why she and her
son could not keep the company going. While Natalie was far from confident that would be the right choice, a couple of weeks
later she organized a meeting with her late husband’s accountants and attorneys. The accountants’ first advice
to her was to sell the business. It was at that moment she knew she would take the helm with her son at her side (who today is CEO).
She then fired the accountants and lawyers. Now that’s our kind of tomato.
In the past decade alone, the company has grown ten-fold through internal expansions
and acquisitions, like GarfieldMarks and Womyn. The GarfieldMarks beautiful line of career sportswear, features wonderful
fabrics, and updates on classics that makes the clothes ageless. Womyn is known for great fitting slacks that come in three styles
to fit almost every body type. Natalie gave us a tour of the design and pattern rooms, which all happen right here in
NYC. You can find GarfieldMarks at Nordstrom --
in the stores and online . And you can find Womyn slacks at Nancy & Co. on 90th and Madison.
But even though Natalie owns an apparel company, she talked about how frustrating it
can be for women who “aren’t kids” to find clothes that are stylish and look great. We are just not on the
radar of most mass retailers. For example, Natalie loves dresses, and her husband loves to see her in dresses too.
(Yes, she happily remarried a few years ago.) Yet, everywhere she looked this summer all she could find were spaghetti
strap and baby doll dresses, which personally we think shouldn’t be worn by anyone over 15 and even then that’s
questionable. She finally found a shirtwaist dress at the Gap which she loves. When we
asked Natalie about the biggest fashion mistakes made by tomatoes like us, she said it’s poor self-image – not being comfortable with
who you are and not knowing what works for you and what doesn’t. No wonder so many of us hate shopping.
Embrace Yourself
Several months ago, we introduced you to the
fabulous Gabrielle Carlson, a fashion designer who’s on a mission to create clothes for real women and to make
every woman, no matter what age, shape or size, feel beautiful. To put it in Gab’s words, if more designers created clothes for real women
instead of stick thin models, you’d see very different clothes. (See why we love her?) So we stopped by her studio in
the East Village recently to ask what style tips she has for “women who aren’t kids”. Like Natalie, Gab too
thinks self-image is key. Here’s her advice: “Dress the truth of who you are. Dress to
embrace; as if you were dressing yourchild...with care and tenderness. The heart is the keenest eye, the strongest sense of beauty we have. Dress
being alive, beyond all judgment of self.”
Ask the Glam Girls
Okay, so now you’re inspired and self-accepting, but could still use a little
help. So we contacted The Glam Gals, Deborah Boland and JoJami Tyler who are image and style experts specializing in helping
women 40 plus look and feel fabulous. They are authors of the book, The Glam Plan~ 12 Simple Steps to Take You from
Frumpy to Fabulous, and they have a great web site fabulous after40. They too
agreed that shopping after forty can be painful. Chances are your body may have changed a “tad”, and what use
to look good on you just isn’t working any more. Or you may just be so busy with life that you’ve fallen off the
fashion track. And as they said, it’s not like there’s one place where you go and find clothes that work for
you, so it becomes a chore. So here are some of their tips. They too think that
“self-accepting” thing is key. While you’re waiting to lose those “five” pounds”
dress your body the way it is now, and focus on emphasizing what’s great about your body. And while we
all know black is a NYC mandatory, they suggest adding some color, since black does not always flatter as we age. And
don’t be afraid to get clothes altered. As they said, men alter their suits routinely, yet women, unless
they’re tiny petites who always have to get everything altered, rarely think about alterations, and they can make such a difference in how
your clothes fit. And a last bit of advice was to be open to new styles. For example, the once
again popular wrap dress can be a challenge for those who are amply endowed. Yet, there are some designers whose wrap dresses take
that into account. So if a style by one designer doesn’t work, don’t give up the style, try a different
designer. As they say, “life is too short to be frumpy.”
Great advice indeed. And here’s
the best part, Deborah and JoJamie have agreed to become The Three Tomatoes Style Experts and you will find their great advice a couple of times a month in
The Three Tomatoes “Ask the Experts”. Go there now, and
you’ll find some more great advice, “ 5 Shopping Do’s and Don’ts to Help You Find Your Style after
40!” And feel free to email us with your questions for them too.
So here’s to putting the fun back in shopping, loving how you look, and being
happy you’re alive.
‘til next week,
The Three Tomatoes
Copyright© 2007. The Three Tomatoes.
All rights reserved.
