Cintra Wilson Goes Shopping:Oh, So Close Edition

Critical Shopper Cintra Wilson has wasted no time in getting to Brooks Brothers' new Black Fleece store on Bleecker Street for the Thursday Styles. This is the sort of meeting The Shophound would anticipate. How would the Dolce & Gabbana loving scribe with the neo-Dietrich visage approach designer Thom Browne's starched retro sensibility?
With enthusiasm, it turns out.

Since I believe that the best clothing inspires fear, I’ve been excited by the idea of Thom Browne doing ladies’ haberdashery.

And yet, after a session of trying on piece after piece, the Tom Browne backlash quickly takes effect. So many of those arcane details that make his clothes so intriguing on the hanger turn out to undermine them once they get on your body.

A dress in navy pinstripe suiting with grosgrain shoulder straps ($850) was lined with a nice ticking and fit reasonably well, but a longer flap in back — a detail that bellowed, “Hey! Check out my superior dress lining!” — was a deal-breaker.
A seersucker bustle skirt seemed like a good idea, a kind of Spontaneous Gibson Girl Plays Hopscotch garment. On the body, however, an elastic patch and buttoned strap at the small of the back was strangely infantilizing, like a toddler costume designed for easy diaper access. I found, in most cases, that the proportions were a bit off. The necks were too tight, the skirts too tentlike, the busts flattening. It reminded me of the janky, angular Madonnas of Byzantine art, when the church forbade painters to actually look at genuine women.

Don't take it personally, Cintra. Lots of his clothes suggest that he is equally unfamiliar with the shape of men's bodies. And still, the fascination with Browne remains. In fairness to Brooks Brothers, we think that Black Fleece menswear, though not without its challenges, is easier to fit and wear partly due to fabrics and construction that are softer and lighter (not to mention substantially less expensive) than those from his unforgiving signature label. If La Cintra is having trouble fitting her slender, petite frame into his women's clothes, then clearly the collection needs a little more technical work. Hopefully, customers will be willing to stick by him until he gets it right. Cintra seems willing to give him another chance, as suggested by her final line, "If he can summon the desire and really nail us, we would be very grateful."
Of course, this line could be misinterpreted out of context, and if it's a "nailing" she's waiting for, it could be a long, long wait.
Critical Shopper | Black Fleece Thom Browne for Ladies: Loosen Up! By Cintra Wilson
Brooks Brothers Black Fleece 351 Bleecker Street at West 10th Street, West Village