New York City Archives - Hundred Percent Cotton

New York Teens Agree Cotton is Cool

Janice aka JPlovesCOTTON — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 12:47:42 +0000

While reading New York Magazine, I saw this list of things NYC teens think are cool. It is interesting to see what all stands out to a demographic so different from me, but common ground is cotton. You see that mom jeans and denim jackets rate highly in the minds of teens. Seems New York teens realize cotton is cool — especially jeans and denim jackets.

Mom Jeans

Teens provided a lot of ideas on what they like. The brands and fits are something that change more and that’s definitely something teenagers are interested in. The recommendations on brands, a clear understanding of price points and discussion of distressed versus abused denim. The fact that the jeans that get the shoutout are mom jeans though, I confess it makes me chuckle.

While at the mall recently I couldn’t help but notice how high some of the waistlines were, I also remember when this cut was just the way jeans were done. Yes, I am solidly mom age. We had jeans… different colors of jeans for sure but we didn’t have the endless number of fits that are out there now.

I remember when low-cut jeans came out and got lower and lower and the “high rise” jeans started being called “mom jeans.” So now you have teenage girls of Gen Z wearing the jeans that millennials called “mom jeans” when Gex Xers continued wearing the jeans we liked cause 1-inch zippers let us feeling a little over exposed. Everything comes back in style, the big question is what this highwaisted style will be called in the future cause teens have popularized it again… I guess if they take their favorite cut to adulthood, it could simply be a self-professing prophecy.

Denim Jackets

It feels like denim jackets are on people’s minds a lot right now. They rate well with teens and I think part of that is how individualized they can be. There are lots of fits, colors and ways to personalize them with pins & patches. You can spend big dollars on a designer jacket or get one at a local thrift shop. Throwing a jacket on with a tank top and shorts works what you are at the beach & the breeze gets a bit strong or you can wear it over a nice dress (something I love to do year-round).

I think they really cross generations. And My friend Briana and I were at the mall this weekend and she mused about not having a denim jacket (I am still aghast!). In a post last week about the new Shop Cotton effort on Amazon from Cotton Incorporated, I mentioned craving a long denim jacket in the store to add to the white, black and two different colors of blue denim jackets I own and wear frequently.

Although many would suggest it may be too hot to think of any kind of jacket, that only works for the outdoors. Whether at the movies, an office or on a plane, I frequently find myself reaching for a jacket and denim is one of the best!

The post New York Teens Agree Cotton is Cool appeared first on Hundred Percent Cotton.

Anyone watching for cotton in 2019 NY Fashion Week news?

Janice aka JPlovesCOTTON — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 11:48:26 +0000

Over the weekend, I kept seeing news stories here and there about New York Fashion Week. I love seeing what designers have coming out and all, but have to admit, with icy roads this week, I’m not thinking about skipping spring and summer for fall clothes right now. I really want an extended spring and summer and that means I wanted to see more lightweight cotton in 2019 NY Fashion Week news.

Then I remembered, the spring lines for 2019 were shown in the fall.

If you are like me, right now, you really want to envision a day when sandals are the shoes of choice cause it is so warm. So rather than focus on the fall collections coming out, I ended up with a sense od wonderlust watching the spring collection that Cotton Incorporated (the folks behind The Fabric of Our Lives ads I have celebrated before) showcased in the fall.

The video from the Fashion Channel is about 14 minutes of really great outfits — women and men — coming in. There are outfits that are totally casual so you could wear them to work out and there are also outfits that wuld be perfect for attending a summer wedding. And there are lots of options in between.

Some of the articles of clothing that stand out for me include:

Cool Plaids — You’ll see plaid dresses, shirts, etc with a familiar feel and yet different color pallettes that look fresh. And combinations of plaids that wouldn’t be automatic but look really great!
Interesting denims — There are some great denims in here… colors and textures. I think I saw some that could have been laser designed.
Distressed looks — While I’m not sure I’m a ripped knees kind of gal very often, some of the distressed looks in the show really strike me as something I could enjoy.
Metallic sheen — I would like to understand how those champagne or silver jeans got the look… I really like the possibility.
Black always works

What stands out for you in the cotton designs for spring/summer 2019?

The post Anyone watching for cotton in 2019 NY Fashion Week news? appeared first on Hundred Percent Cotton.

Ric Dragon’s Handmade Cotton Shirt is also a Talisman

Janice aka JPlovesCOTTON — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 12:45:42 +0000

The other day on Twitter, I saw a friend I met through #BlogChat — Ric Dragon (@RicDragon on Twitter) say he was worried about not meeting a 2013 goal he had set for himself. It was a goal around writing a certain number of blog posts and guest posts. All I could think was it has been far too long since I had a guest perspective in my series of cotton posts! Love that he writes a post about a handmade cotton shirt and the power it brings.

I got to know Ric through #BlogChat and Twitter and finally met him when I went to the 140 conference in New York in 2012. I hope you enjoy this story on Ric’s favorite cotton shirt.

Threads

I’m not sure if she was insane, or simply eccentric. My friends who own the antique store didn’t seem alarmed at the lady holding up the camisole for inspection. Her accent was heavy – perhaps eastern European. And maybe the item of clothing was not strictly a camisole , but a light cotton shirt.

I could see from five feet away that the garment was ornately embroidered – and that it was all handwork. The lady said, “My mother made it for me forty years ago, but my own daughter is too large to wear it.” The antique dealer’s wife, the one that ran the bakery and coffee shop out of the back of the store looked interested.

The antique dealer shook his head. He offered thirty dollars. Without skipping a beat, the woman said, “fifty.” At this point, I’m thinking to myself that even at thirty, it was a bit of money for an old shirt. But then, all of that hand work.

They finally settled on forty dollars and a breakfast. I’ve had many a biscuit made in this shop, and I can tell you, the meal was worth it: also; all made by hand.

I can appreciate fine shirts as well as fine baked goods. At least the former can help me appear a bit thinner.

I own one bespoke shirt – a light blue cotton piece. I bought the right to the shirt at a charity auction for a hundred bucks, and then was told that I had “scored,” that the shirt was a bargain at five hundred dollars. After making an appointment, I had to travel to a brownstone building in the Flatiron district of Manhattan. I rang the bell, and was shown into a waiting area in a marble foyer, and then finally, to the penthouse fitting room.

I chose the fabric, the cut, the collar style, and even the cuff style. Later, after receiving the actual shirt, I showed it to a custom shirt maker down the street. “Absurd,” he declared. “That much hand work is just absurd. It could all be done with a machine much more quickly – much less expensively.”

When I have a special meeting, I wear the shirt as a sort of talisman meant to bring me all of the good luck of the universe. The good mojo of the universe is all drawn to the hand stitching; the gods and muses all must realize that such a shirt deserves their good favors.

How we’ve lost touch with our clothes. Even while ironing a shirt, my mind plays over the various parts, but most particularly on the shirt yoke – that bridge of cloth over the back shoulders of the shirt. I met a girl when I was a teenager who wouldn’t have anything to do with me. She was a good church-going girl, and she recited the line from Corinthians, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.” Ironing the yoke of my shirt reminds me of that rejection each and every time.

The creation of clothes must have been an incredible task in the days before the industrial revolution. Combing cotton, the creation of thread and cloth, the tailoring of a shirt – how many hours went into any given piece of clothing? Handwork was unremarkable in a time when everything was done by hand. But how very valuable each and every piece of clothing must have been.

We live in a time where we are still privy to these little reminders – these bits of handmade clothing. We might hear a refrain from Summer Time – “the catfish are jumping, and the cotton is high,” and remember that cotton itself played a role in the American Civil War – that it was a key commodity in the world, and required great amounts of labor.

Today, when I went to the coffee shop, I noticed that the baker was wearing the shirt. This relic of a faraway trousseau was not only being worn, but appreciated – pointed out, felt between curious fingers. These cotton threads – not only between bits of cloth, but from another time and place.

If you have a personal story about cotton to share, you are welcome to write a guest perspective in my series of cotton posts too!

The post Ric Dragon’s Handmade Cotton Shirt is also a Talisman appeared first on Hundred Percent Cotton.