A while back I was watching the Today Show and Sarah Jessica Parker was pimping her new clothing line, Bitten. She said something to the effect of the clothes will be for all women, and nothing over $20. That perked my ears so I went in search of the mysterious Steve and Barry’s only to find there wasn’t one near me.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when Sarah Jessica Parker was a guest judge on Project Runway. She presented the challenge to designers to create a two piece look for under $40. The winning design would be part of her Bitten clothing line and sold in Steve and Barry stores nationwide. This made me go searching again, to see how close the nearest store was. And I was so surprised to learn a Steve and Barry’s had opened up here in Chattanooga, this past weekend!

Saturday, instead of staying home and napping, I took off for some me time. I wanted to check out the store and hopefully score some new pants. I spent a few hours, on and off, pouring over the SPJ Bitten website and the Steve and Barry’s website. I saw some really cute things, items I would love to have in my closet, but knew I had to see it in person.

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Bitten manifesto is:

It is every woman’s inalienable right to have a pulled -together stylish, confident wardrobe with money left over to live.

Let’s first address the money: Steve and Barry’s commitment to have no item in their store be over $20 is true to their word. And the quality doesn’t seem to suffer. I did pick up some pants from the Bitten line and thought the material was thin and flimsy, and the t-shirts seemed a bit too thin as well, but those were the only two negatives. I checked out the construction on the jeans and some cords from the Dear line, and liked what I saw. So, I believe when I shop at Steve and Barry’s I could have money “left over to live” and have clothes that will last more than a season.

I want to stress the $20 limit is the Steve and Barry’s promise, not just SJP’s. I checked out the whole store and it really was valid. I purchased five items and spent less than $60. I usually spend over $100 for that many items.

Since I knew S&B’s would live up to the money promise, I wanted to see about the other part of SJP’s manifesto. Would her clothing really be for all women?

When she was on Project Runway, she stressed the looks must move from a size two to a size 20. I have a major frustration of going into clothing stores and seeing cute clothing in the size 2 to 14/16 range, and not seeing the same thing in the Plus Size or Women’s departments. In fact, last week I was in Kohl’s and had an internal rant over Vera Wang’s clothing only being for the small gals. Cute stuff, but obviously she doesn’t want my money.

I also get fed up with clothing designers who have massive clothing lines for the Misses/ Ladies department, and have two or three pieces for Plus Size or Women’s that look nothing like their other collections. The larger pieces miss the pizazz and perkiness of their smaller clothing. When I went into Steve and Barry’s to check out the clothes, I was thrilled to see the same garments available for size two to size 22, all on the same rack. You didn’t have to walk to another part of the store, tucked somewhere between maternity and petites. It was all right there.

[rant]It was Steve and Barry’s Grand Opening and by the time I got to the store, it was a wreck. Clothes were every where, nothing seemed orderly. I had to dig through piles to find the sizes I wanted. I will go back later, when the hoopla dies down and they maybe fold the t-shirts.[/rant]

When I went to the fitting room, that is where my excitement fizzled. First, the sizes are smaller. This is seems to be throughout the store. (And for the purposes of this entry, I am speaking of just the women’s department.) So while I am normally a size 18 in Land’s End and a size 16 in Lane Bryant, I am suddenly a 20 in Steve and Barry’s. I wasn’t too thrilled about that.

I first tried on a pair of jeans (Boyfriend Jeans from Bitten) because I need a second pair of jeans that fit. And well, they didn’t. The problem was in the description of every single pair of jeans on the Steve and Barry’s wall. They all read, “sits low on waist.” The jeans fit just fine on the thighs and hips, but not on the waist- they were huge! These kinds of pants don’t really fit me well and maybe if I had sacrificed length for rise, I could have had a decent fit. But that’s not the point right? We want it all to fit properly?

I tried on a bootcut pair and same problem with the waist. It just doesn’t fit. I decided if I couldn’t be happy with the whole fit, they were not going home with me. I did take home a pair of Dear cords, but missed the label that ready “Skinny Leg.” And when I tried them on at home, I found the same waist problem. Also, I hated the look.

It makes me wonder if fashion really can run linear from a size 2 to a size 22 (and beyond). If a woman is bigger, she has different curves that make the silhouette, lines, and patterns change. I appreciate the attempt to have the same style stretch the size range, but when it comes to pants, it might be the hardest challenge in the fashion world. I might be tempted by the 9.98 jeans, but I am not going to take them home if they don’t fit.

I bought the “Fashion is not a luxury” t-shirt in an XL. I would have preferred a XXL but unlike the other tops, there were no XXL t-shirts to be found. It might not be that they don’t offer them, but I looked and looked and never found a single XXL t-shirt in the women’s section. I plan on looking again, but was disappointed on this first trip.

Of the five items I bought, I returned three today. The boyfriend jeans, the Dear cords, and the t-shirt. I kept a pair of Steve and Barry’s Kakhis and a top. I plan on giving the store more of a chance, when the hype dies down and the store cleans up (one of the reasons I hate shopping at Old Navy- it is always a wreck!). But right now, I’m just not that excited anymore about the Bitten clothing line. If it doesn’t fit me, it’s not going home with me.

Technorati Tags: Bitten, Sarah Jessica Parker, Steve and Barry’s, plus size clothing, shopping, fashion