Debenhams department store are to start using size 16 mannequins?
Apparently Debenhams will be doing a trial of 'plus size' mannequins using Ben de Lisi (yanno, yer man from Project Catwalk) is to showcase his new line.
The majority of clothing stores in the UK and Ireland use size 8 - 10 mannequins, including Debenhams and M&S.
According to research, Debenhams stocks up to size 26 in womenswear, and over 40% of the sales are size 14 and size 16, and the average British woman is a size 16. Which means basically, it makes sense to use size 16 mannequins. There will be a brief trail using Mr de Lisi's line, and if it flies with the public, then it will be kept on full time.
This theory has been tested before though, John Lewis used size 14 mannequins in it's flagship store and the whole idea fell flat on it's face.
[Swiped from the Telegraph]
Susan Ringwood, chief executive of charity Beat, which campaigns against eating disorders, said she supported Debenham's idea: “Women often feel it is their fault that clothes don’t look as good on them as they do in the shop window.
"It's good to have mannequins that reflect the diversity of female shapes in Britain."
Last night I ended up watching an excellent documentary on Reynold Brown, called ''The Man Who Drew The Bug-Eyed Monsters''
Reynold Brown (1917 - 1991) was an L.A born illustrator who basically drew every movie poster you've ever seen from the 50s.
Reynold Brown has always been a huge inspiration for me, I just never knew it until I saw the documentary! When I was in secondary school I took a big interest in posters from the 50s, especially b-movie horror posters. I was always under the impression that there was a 'style' of posters, that everyone drew the same, but I found out last night that they're all by the one person!
I had a bit of a rubbish art teacher, who told me studying poster art wasn't the best way to go about getting a career in art (thanks, Ms Kavanagh). And I will say, 4 years of Graphic Design college will prove that actually, poster design is a pretty bit part. I honestly never came across his name, I just pulled pictures of his work from books and vhs boxes.
This documentary gave me a huge insight into the world of poster design from the 40s onwards - it explains how illustrators like Reynold Brown never signed their name to the artwork, and if they did, it would be removed. They were under appreciated, poorly paid and were basically unknown. They also had at best, 3 day deadlines to finish the posters! (I couldn't make a gig flyer in 3 days without the help of my computer)
The documentary was made in 1994 so it's hard not to be put off by the ''art historians'' with giant glasses - but it's still well worth a look. Any reason to procrastinate!
Dublin's finest Indie night (yes, I know I'm biased) has left The Academy and found greener pastures in POD. This friday marks the launch of the new and improved NoDisko, who are setting up camp as part of new friday night club Trainwreck @ POD.
_________
There's 3 rooms at Trainwreck, each one bursting with friday night goodness:
(stolen from Trainwreck's facebook blarb)
TRAINWRECK Fridays promises to deliver the ultimate night out, combining all the best elements of Dublin’s vibrant club scene for one door price, all under one roof! And don’t forget The Massive beer garden!
The POD:
Shaun D'Arcy
Donal Mooney
Steve Neligan
Mark Murphy (Tea)
Music: Think Style of Eye, Dusty kid, Claude van stroke, Anja Schneider, Sebo K, Adam Beyer, Modeselektor, Marco Corola, Jesper Dahlback, Paco Osuna Anton Zap,Cabin Fever,Jerome Sydenham,Ron Trent,Chateau Flight,Dj Koze
Chocolate Bar:
JNK (Lady Jane)
Music: Chocolate bar will be a medley of Soul classics, vintage Pop and a smattering of old school Rock mixed together for a dancey-yet-chilled out vibe.
Crawdaddy:
NoDisko DJs
Music: Curated by the Nodisko DJs will feature their unique blend of jump up and down indie hits and cutting edge electro mixes. Expect regular live appearance from top national and international bands and up and coming art installations.
This weekend Antonation and the NoDisko team graced the decks at The Good Bits for the third time. Himself and Sometimes Babs of 'The Neon Vampires' were due to DJ in the indie lounge upstairs, but a last minute discussion between NoDisko promoter and Good Bits manager secured them the downstairs room next to the Cave.
I always enjoy going to anything that himself DJ's at, because ever since I worked in The Academy (old home of NoDisko) I've thought that he is a fantastic DJ and I like the music he plays, so I always enjoy myself regardless of the venue.
But I have to say, I really fxcking hate The Good Bits. I can't help it. If the boyfriend didn't DJ there, you couldn't pay me to set foot in that place. I can deal with the bad layout of the venue, I can deal with the juvenile organisation, I can even deal with all the random steps in the pitch black, that trip me up every time I go to the bar. What I can't deal with, is all the stupid and annoying drunken underage brats - not one of them out of school yet.
The minute I got there on Saturday, straight from work, I got out my phone and took to facebook, writing ''bang of underage kids in here'' which got a lot of 'likes' and generally hilarious replies. My age and modest outfit obviously made me stick out like a sore thumb, as I was asked TWICE was I a drug dealer. Not by the bouncers, thankfully, but by random children. No, I am not a drug dealer, get out of my face or I will glass you.
On the plus side I did get to spend my night nattering away with Louis Xmas and (Sometimes) Babs and dancing to the finest tunes. I also got plastered on cider.
I've thrown in some pics taken by Patrick Hough, not the usual photographer for Punch!, more of a stand in. The photos are a little bit over-edited, but I like them none the less. I don't particularly like the one of me where I look like I'm made of gold, but it does make me sing Spandau Ballet in my head every time I see it.
I've only been to The Good Bits once this year, and all I remember is that it was very dark and I fell up every step in the place. Regardless, we'll be heading there tomorrow for Punch! I'm working long and horrible hours over xmas, so a night out to unwind is welcome. We'll also be attending the Trashed! xmas ball, and there's a few bits over New Years too.
At least I get to see himself DJ.
Blarb from their facebook page:
ONLY €2 EURO IN BEFORE 11:30 BOTTLES OF TIGER AND OTHER SELECTED DRINKS ONLY € 3.50 5 EURO IN ON CHEAPLIST AFTER 11:30 - CLOSE
Oh dear I have such horrendous bags under my eyes. And it's too dull and rainy to cover them up with giant sunglasses.
In a rather punk move today I wore an old Clash t-shirt, donated to me by a dear old house mate earlier in the year, to work because I genuinely couldn't find anything else black, or clean. Surprisingly, nobody said anything. I'll take that as a sign from the gods that I should be more daring in straying away from my all-black work attire.
I will be working every day up until Christmas day, boo-urns. And I still haven't bought any presents. Or made any new years resolutions.
In less exciting but important news, New Galaxy Cookie Crumble bars are my favourite thing ever. I plan to eat many of them and grow large. Then TV3 can do a show about me.
When I worked in The Academy I ran the bar in the basement (Academy 2) and Andy, a tiny Chinese bloke who spent more time fixing his hair before we opened then I did, ran the VIP bar on the top floor. The VIP bar literally had every drink known to mankind, and Andy used to display them meticulously on the glass shelves behind the bar. For the year and a half that I worked there, most of the bottles were never even opened, or were so rare that it'd cost too much to serve one drink from them. But Andy's prized possession, was a bottle of Campari, that he used to put on the top shelf, front and centre.
If you don't know, Campari is a widely available, inexpensive drink that tastes like piss mixed with petrol. It'd be classed as "bitters", as opposed to spirits or liquors. It took me a long time to figure out exactly what it was, and why Andy was having a passionate love affair with it. I went to my Dad, and he explained what it was and then pulled a bottle of it out of the back of the drinks cabinet (when I say 'drinks cabinet', I mean, the press in my parents house where they keep the cereal, biscuits, tin foil, pots and pans and a few bottles of drink).
After finding out exactly what it was (the off-run of herbs soaked in spirits, with a bit of red dye thrown in for funsies), and that not only did it taste awful, and that it was hardly the next Courvoisier (yes, as in "pass the..") I made Andy try it and he promptly removed it from the top shelf and flung it back to the back of the drinks press where it belongs.
Whenever I see Campari, I always think of Andy's facial expression when he tried it, like I'd made him eat shit by telling him it was chocolate.
Shameless Product Placement
When I was a kid, my sister pointed out a Kylie Minogue video that was sponsored by Impulse, and to a lesser extent, a sporty clothing line. (LocoMotion video if you're looking it up) Yes Impulse, the body spray. It's actually hilarious, there's just random shots of cans of Impulse throughout the video. Ever since I saw that, I've always found product placement in videos really funny.
Which brings me to my LULZ of the day. I was too lazy to change the channel when Lady GaGa's video for 'Love Game' came on, and I noticed a shameless Campari campaign running through the video (it's a bit hard not to notice, they may as well have run a banner across the bottle of the screen saying "drink Campari, it's not that bad!"). I thought surely, there must be some sort of campaign for Campari, and why am I the last person to hear about it? But it appears that few people have noticed the product placement and Jessica Alba is still Campari's poster-girl.
Once blog that did notice however was 'Alcademics, The Study Of Booze With Camper English', saying
"The new Lady Gaga video has some unusual Campari product placement, in that they seem to be enjoying it in an underground station while Lady Gaga, with her usual aversion to wearing pants, waves a light-up Gandalf-style staff around.
Campari, the choice of subway disco wizards since 1860"
