I’m not really clear on the why of this, but Juicy Cotoure oh-so-magananimously has made their tracksuits available in up to size 28. Since the brand associations of JC in Minneapolis aren’t great, I can’t say I got all excited about this. In the Twin Cities, this brand is associated with overprivileged housewives in denial about the fact that they’re aging. All too many “retail customer from hell” stories at the Mall of America begin with “She was wearing one of those Juicy Cotoure tracksuits…” and all of us who have worked in retail roll our eyes, knowing what to expect. A JC tracksuit tends to come paired with SUVs, inconsiderate driving and a sense of entitlement that would make someone ask for ten dollars from Jesus. Any news attached to Juicy is not expected to be of the happy-fun kind. I was even less excited about the “first” thing available being the tracksuit, and imagine my non-surprise to discover that the overpriced cheap velour tracksuit is the only plus item available from this designer.
At over $100, the tracksuit doesn’t even encourage exercise – it’s just something to be seen in, an assumption about aspirational behavior that’s been more or less dying out in those below the age of 35. The only place where aspiration-wear can do any good is in the workplace, and what is offered here is singularly unwearable at work. Even a manager would get chastised for showing up on casual Friday in such a contraption.
What Juicy has done, in its own way, is given the plus sized the 21st century mumu: in this outfit’s way, they’re saying “Gawd, I can’t believe you go out of the house looking like …. you.”
If you’d like exercise clothing that gets pricy but is meant to be used, check out LilaPlus or the Fat Chic clothing search engine.
