Honestly, I wonder who will buy the gathered at waist skirts in Ashley’s collection, be they petite or plus-sizes. My office manager is plus-size, and dresses in wonderful clothes that are flowing and colorful. She wouldn’t buy Ashley’s brand.
Im sorry if you put taste aside, Ashleys clothes were poorly made. NO ONE should make it to fashion week with horrible sewing skills. Ashley was strong the first few episodes, actually earlier in this thread I talked about her being one of my favs, but she got worse instead of better as the competition progressed.
I agree, and don’t quite understand it.
I used to sew a lot, so as a viewer, my favorites have always been the ones who can sew very well very quickly - they amaze me. (e.g. Mondo and Seth Aaron.)
Maybe I was using a double standard when I said that Ashley’s clothes were not “flattering”, as the other models are often not “flattered” in some of the clothes they are asked to wear. But I still think it was condescending of the judges to call her colors and looks “fashion forward”. At best they were at the standard of poorly made, lower end department store RTW.
This season was definitely one of the worst. I didn’t think any of the final four were really a “wow.” Edmund was my personal favorite just because he made clothes I thought looked polished and hot, but not necessarily super creative.
I felt like Kelly should have won. She was original. Her clothes were young, and I could see how a certain type of younger woman would think they were cool. She showed the most growth over the course of the season and took direction very well.
With Ashley, I liked how she made clothes that weren’t totally covered up for heavier women and that had fitted components. Not sure how heavier women would feel about them, but I thought the models were beautiful, and I felt that was a good choice. That being said, the lace just AGED all of them. Unnecessarily. I think a sheer material overlay is fine, but why lace?
I was a little intrigued by the Junior promos though and will probably give it a try. I’m a glutton for punishment though. Still watching Survivor too after all these years . . .
My daughter and I actually like the same designer and I am plus sized and she is not. It is Jessica Simpson brand. She doesn’t take the same dress and just make it in different sizes, she makes plus size clothing that tries to flatter the plus size group, and she makes dresses (and shoes and accessories) for younger, skinnier kids that are their style and fit. When I was younger and plus size (although a 14 or 16), I wouldn’t have worn any of Ashley’s stuff. I wouldn’t want my daughters to wear any of that if it were made in their sizes. It wasn’t flattering.
My biggest incentive for losing weight was wanting to wear regular misses sizes for all the great styles. Gradually stores like Nordstrom, Dillards, Macys, and Von Maur began carrying stylish, beautifully-made clothing in their womens departments. It is no longer an incentive:( Almost all the major designers are creating plus sizes now. They’ve even got designers for younger women (I know because I’ll occasionally buy those “younger-look” items.)
Ashley is not a pioneer in the industry.
Like you all, I almost choked when Zac said Ashley’s color choice was “by far” the most sophisticated. I take that to mean pastels just around the fashion corner for everyone!!! YUCK. I’d be most likely to wear Edmond’s and thought Kelly had a shot (even though H&M like you said).
So Easter eggs beat out gold, silver, black, white? Guess somebody needs to alert the rest of the fashion world.
Like twoinanddone I think Jessica Simpson has great fashions for all sizes. Why wasn’t she a guest judge on this season? She’s been one in the past. Because she would’ve nailed Ashley? Probably.
I look pretty good in pastel pink. If the cool kids start wearing Easter egg colors after 5, count me in. (I don’t see it happening.)
Here are the new colors for spring 2016 http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr/?season=spring&year=2016&pid=11
I believe Pantone sets the colors each year, but here is a backup site showing the same: http://www.instyle.com/fashion/see-top-10-colors-spring-2016
Hmmm…so maybe the pastels were fashion forward. Can I convince myself that the judges would have been just as complementary if Edmund’s or Candice’s collections had been all pastel?
O.K. I’ll admit I got a pastel pink dress last spring for a wedding, BUT it did not have any pleats. It had a cutout area, but it wasn’t at the waist, like Ashley’s. It was at the neckline to draw attention upwards.
http://www.amazon.com/Ellen-Tracy-Womens-Sleeveless-Embellished/dp/B00TFCKYMI/ref=sr_1_4?s=apparel&ie=UTF8&qid=1447113999&sr=1-4&nodeID=7141123011&keywords=ellen+tracy+pink+dress
Unless there is something major wrong with my computer screen, those are muted colors
but NOT Easter egg pastels.
And a pink dress for a wedding doesn’t count–otherwise we wouldn’t have “mother of the bride” descriptions.
And nobody is gonna run around in their underwear under a lace overlay unless it’s at the beach.
Get real. Still–color aside, it’s the DESIGN that was lacking.
Toledo, I like that dress. And blush is flattering.
Pastel to my way of thinking is Easter eggs that barely sit in the dye. The lightest shade of any color.
I should have stopped thinking about Ashley’s clothes long ago, but alas, I have not. I don’t want to pretend that I know what plus-sized women want to wear…(although it’s kind of funny that we all feel totally comfortable commenting on what looks good on those tall, skinny models when I doubt that most of us have that body type either.)
My daughter is 20, in college. She’s tall and curvy…she’s “normal” sized, which is likely plus-sized in the world of high fashion. She has no problem showing her midriff, or wearing form fitting clothes or short shorts. Except for the crop/bra-like tops, I don’t think she would dream of wearing any of Ashley’s clothes, because of their colors/matronliness. The judges are usually so quick to slam anything that is a bit matronly - the dreaded M word - but if you think of your own daughters at 20, would they even consider wearing those clothes?
My college aged daughter hated Ashley’s collection. She liked the other three, and identified at least a few outfits she would wear from each of the other three designers’ collections.
As the judges used to say (I can hear Nina’s voice in my head): “Who is this woman, and where is she going?”
Who would be wearing Ashley’s clothes? And where in the world would they be wearing them? Not to work. Not to church. Not to an evening party. Not to a brunch. Not on a first date.
The combination of pastel lacy materials plus underpants and midriffs showing are deadly.
My daughter and her friends have worn lacy dresses to homecoming in the recent past. The dresses are short, form fitting, and may have a cut-out or two, but the dresses are ivory, navy,or black and are fully lined. They wouldn’t be allowed into a school dance with their underpants showing through an unlined dress. So even high school dances are out.
I was disappointed to see Ashley win. The colors and prints she used throughout much of the competition reminded me of something one might see at WalMart. One print even reminded me of a hospital gown. I’m not slamming WalMart clothing and I am FAR from being a fashionista, but I didn’t think Ashley’s designs were runway worthy.
I very much likes a couple of Ashley’s designs throughout the competition. A couple. There were a few shows I expected she might be the one to be eliminated. Her confidence was clearly NOT there. Not sure about her maturity. These are all important factors in entering the world of fashion as a PR winner (IMO anyway!!!)
Good point @eastcoastcrazy. That would be an interesting question to ask Ashley (as well as the others). Besides plus sized, who IS your girl???