Leggings and Listening

Many of you have heard of a company that sells clothing on a direct sales platform, wholesale to the consultant who sells it for retail. I was first introduced to this company by a member of my downline team, who decided to join the clothing company last winter.
Now, the business model is such that there is a limited number of pieces cut from any particular print of fabric. So it makes the product appealing because of how unique the pieces are. It's mass-production but limited due to the choice of materials. There is a definite draw to it because of the uniqueness. Along with it comes some level of crazy but that's going to happen no matter where you go anymore.

I could talk about the cut of the styles, the fabrics, etc. if you're a fan, I don't need to explain it. If you're not or you never heard of it, all I can say is you need to put your hands on it and wear it to comprehend it. I can't do it justice with my words. It's midnight and I've been busy, so the pistons are shutting down quickly here. But I will tell you the clothing is COMFORTABLE. Seriously, I almost crawled in bed wearing one of the dresses a couple weeks ago.

I was talking with a friend and it occurred to me there was more drawing women to these clothes than the rare find prints, the extreme comfort, the versatility, etc. In the past many years, dare I say over a decade, clothing for women has become more insulting to our intelligence (sizing and fit issues anybody?), more revealing, and mothers across the country are begging the question: "Why do retailers offer skimpy clothing for our daughters, but our sons can find the same standard clothes?" Just do a handy internet search of your own to find any number of blogs and articles lamenting the double standard in what is offered. We have shorter and shorter hemlines being offered to both women and girls. I can't take my daughters shopping without having to nix most of the choices, or stipulate that a camisole must be worn under something because of a fault in the design that doesn't meet our dress standard. And to be clear, we are not horridly strict here. Our girls and I have long femur bones, so it's even more difficult to find shorts that cover where we deem that they should. We have curvy parts that require extra fabric to dress those areas. It's not an option to allow otherwise. We don't do sheer and see-through where a swim team bathing suit would cover. We don't even need to discuss necklines, do we? If I can see cleavage from my vantage point, I am not comfortable wearing it. It's that simple. The way I move, and doing the kind of work I do, that kind of neckline puts me at the edge of sharing parts of me that I do not wish to share.

The revelation I had this evening was that this company is such a draw to women because they offer clothing that fits a variety of ways, is versatile, fun, and here's the biggest thing - it's MODEST. None of these pieces are excessively short, low cut, or scant. Yet, when I wear the pieces, my husband swoons because they flatter my figure, and he thinks it makes me more beautiful, and even sexy. It might be that I'm also insanely comfortable in what I'm wearing, and not tugging, pulling, or checking for exposure. If I have to fight with my clothes, I won't wear it. I fight with enough other more important stuff in my world. The things I wear aren't a priority for fighting.

Women have an option versus the ones offered in stores, and they are voting with their dollars. I'm sure the big box retailers are surveying the landscape and discerning why their bottom line is affected. The reality is that they have been failing us for many many years, our complaints have fallen on deaf ears, and now that we can find something they don't offer and we've been wanting, even begging them to provide, we are taking our business elsewhere.