By: Anne M. Raso
It seems that most foodies seem to stay a stylish size 4 or 6—why is that the case? I always assumed it was good genetics or they just taste and then spit! It is hard to be a fashionista and foodie at the same time (that is not exactly news), so where do you get stylish clothes if you are a size 18, middle-aged and don’t want to spend $500 and up one piece? You look for stuff that stretches!
My personal “stretchy” fashion fave is the Ming Wang line which is sold at Nordstrom’s and other fine department stores. The St. John-inspired line offers a patented stretchy fabric that doesn’t wrinkle, making these pieces perfect for travel. You probably could live forever on their basic sleeveless “little lack jacket” and two or three of the jackets and twin sets they offer in the same fabulous fabric. The pieces are generally priced in the from $98 to $250 range but you can sometimes find deals on the net simply by searching “Ming Wang and sale.”
Pictured here is yours truly sporting the aforementioned dressed and ruffle front matching jacket at one of Ming Wang’s recent affairs at Dashing Diva Salon’s Upper East Side location. (And yes, I am getting a pedicure in this photo!) I couldn’t resist wearing a company’s products to their own party and I noticed four other journo ladies plus the PR gals sporting the little black dress—apparently it looks good on everyone from 21 to 71 and hits right in the middle of the knee on someone 5’4” or so. Jackie O would have been proud.
Just so you know, sizing is done XS to XL, covering sizes 0 to 18 with that range. Of course, their items stretch in should you loose 10 or 20 pounds—and who hasn’t been dieting during the first few months of the new decade? And for those of you nervous about sporting bright stretchy prints, you can throw a classic black jacket over it and look like you just stepped off a New York Fashion Week runway. (It is pictured below.) From now on you’ll say, “I’m mingin’ it!”
