Hi Roz,

I'm surprised that you have trouble finding clothes in your size. I'm sort
of on the cusp between size 12 and 10, working towards being an 8 by spring,
and I have no trouble finding clothes that both fit and are flattering.

It's true that model-thin girls are not representative of the real world but
fashion is about fantasy, not reality. For instance, most fashion shows that
you see don't feature haute couture designs, they showcase ready to wear
collections. I doubt we'll ever see haute couture clothes on the backs of
CNTM contestants; true haute couture garments are one-of-kind and they're a
bit pricey; in 2002 you could pick up a Chanel suit for about $40,000, give
or take $10,000. There are only about 3,000 couture clients in the world and
only ten official haute couture fashion houses.

There is an upside to this kind of extravagance. Couture clothes are tailor
made so if you ever decide to splurge on a couture garment it will fit you
-- mind you, you'd probably have to fly to Paris for the fittings but I
don't consider that a bad thing :). I'd go.

Ciao for now

Alexandra


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