Day 22

For all you J.Crew lovers out there, check out this blog: http://jcrewaholics.com/. I tend to shop at J.Crew a LOT, mainly because their reductions on sale items are positively dizzying. However, JCrewaholic had an entry asking readers what was their favorite ever J.Crew purchase. The question gave me pause. Out of all the money I've spent at J.Crew, I can really only think of one t-shirt and one cardigan from there that I've LOVED. I WANT to love my J.Crew ballet flats and cashmere sweaters and headbands, but the ballet flats aren't that comfortable, the sweaters don't fit me that well and the headbands give me headaches! Don't even get me started on the pants; I don't think I own one pair because they NEVER work for me.

I've always had this general feeling that J.Crew (like so many other clothing companies) only designs clothes for people who are basically fashion models anyway: TALL and slim to the point of boyishness. Their clothes are definitely not designed for my short, curvy figure. And no, I'm not using "curvy" the way magazines do, as a euphemism for "fat," I just have hips, a bust and a butt... as I'm sure many other women do!

Well, it turns out that Jenna Lyons, J.Crew's senior VP of design, is six-foot tall and has no boobs. Go figure! Maybe I need to scrap my career path, go to design school and take the helm of one these companies, just to have clothes that fit me well! Or, J.Crew's CEO Mickey Drexler got his MBA from Boston U, my Alma mater; maybe I can track him down through our alumni network and tell him my woes.

One thing I'll give J.Crew: their swimsuits. I do like their swimsuits. And right now, they have a TON on sale, many pieces for $9.99. You can get a whole suit for $20!! Argh, I'd usually be all over that. The only balm for my sting is to know that next year at this time I can go hog wild. Couldn't I just abandon The Challenge this one little time?