Archived comment by Nighthawk:
That's like those $5,000 (exaggeration) Nautica coats that are supposed to keep you warm in -30 degree weather. It only gets that cold in Alaska, or Antarctica, or on really, really high mountains, and no one would actually wear one of those coats there because they'd be paranoid about ripping the thing after they spent such a ridiculous amount of money on it. I think that -30 degree rating is just there to help people justify buying them: "But Daddy, I NEED $5,000! See, it's practical, it's good up to -30 degrees! You don't want me to get cold, do you?"

Archived comment by Penny:
Two postings on one comment. I guess I can't call myself a lurker anymore...

A fashion plate used to be (in Victorian era, I think) a picture of a new style or piece of clothing in a fashion magazine. Since they used to use inked metal to print those, the pictures were metal engraved "plates". The picture would then be described in great detail as to the colors, fabrics and whatnot.

I'm full of useless information.

Archived comment by Mike:
I was wondering about "clothes horse," myself.

Archived comment by Jon:
I remember people from college who thought moon boots were in fashion... some things are just never cool.
Btw, who thought up the term "fashion plate"? Was it a cannibal?

Archived comment by Mike:
If you can be concerned about style of dress at all, I say that it can't be all THAT cold. You know the weather is bad when you see people outside wearing all sorts of horrible combinations-- mismatched gloves, fur coats from the early 60s, the occasional sighting of moon boots, the poor pitiable fool reduced to wearing socks on his hands. My memories of really cold weather seem to be filled with these people-- and even now, I have nothing but respect for them. When it's really cold, fashion is the first thing to die, and nobody else even *notices* what you've got on.

Archived comment by Michelle:
I had a terrible shopping experience at the pre-Gap Banana Republic at Water Tower in Chicago. I went in to buy a pair of jeans. That's it. I only wanted ONE pair of jeans. So the annoyingly peppy salesgirl shows me to a changing room. The next thing I know, as I'm trying on this pair of jeans (which looked really good, I might add), belts and shirts and socks are being pelted at me over the top of the changing room door. "This shirt would look great with those jeans!" "You really need a belt with those jeans!" "What about socks? Do you need socks?" I literally had to duck to prevent myself from being smaked in the head with a belt buckle. Oh, the horror! Needless to say, I walked out of there, sans jeans. Haven't been back since.

Archived comment by Penny:
Actually, in Anchorage, where most of the Alaskan population lives, it's about as cold as Chicago or Boston. The trick to living in Alaska is endurance. The winter lasts longer. Of course, I'm not talking about areas like the North Slope where it does get unbelievably below zero. It still beats the heat here in Texas, though. You can only take off so many articles of clothing before you get arrested.

Archived comment by Jon:
Today in the Boston area it could get down to 5 below. Obviously that's nothing compared to, say, Alaska, but it's *cold*!

Does anyone else miss the old Banana Republic, before they were bought by the Gap? A Jeep driving through the window(I think that was the NYC store), interesting clothing, and safari-style catalogs. Now they're just another Borg store: "Conform and be assimilated. Resistance is like, you know, futile and stuff."

Archived comment by Lily:
Obviously, this girl had never lived in Boston. Right now it's about 10 degrees outside here. Plus, in Alaska at least they've got those pretty icebergs.

Anyways. Happy Christmas & Hanukkah & Kwanzaa and any other pagan holidays you might celebrate. Heh.

Archived comment by Larry Hosken:
I know I'm not supposed to buy stuff at the Gap because its owner kept chopping down old-growth trees. But why shouldn't I buy anything from J. Crew or Abercrombie and Fitch?

Archived comment by Luscious:
If you need white collar clothes in a hurry and aren't loaded, unfortunately places like J. Crew are often just what the new job ordered, if you catch my drift. If there are good low-priced stores that are around I'd love to be pointed in their direction. Thrift stores are hit and miss if you're in a really visible position in your job, for instance I was involved with municipal negotiations and city commissions. Sometimes it's that $40 pair of new slacks that make the difference between trying to pick which beat pair of Dickies you wear and having not to worry about looking "professional."

Plus, thanks to my spouse, I now know that some skinhead wear like Ben Davis shirts make white collar outfits that can pass as acceptable in more stylish vintage/ex-skinhead/ex-punk circles! So I can feel comfortable in a "underground" name brand while meeting with a city council member. For me, who's about as style-oriented as a brick, that's some mental clothing comfort!

Archived comment by ruby:
Hey Boston's is actually ridiculously cold alright?! But yeah, don't shop at J. Crew.

Archived comment by Matt:
Rarely do I hear about such insightfulness from a 15 year-old. Kudos!
If anyone catches me going into a GAP, J. Crew, or Abercrombie and Fitch store and actually considering laying down $40 for a pair of shorts, shoot me immediately, because I've gone completely insane.