Boob Belt No More??

Between all the headline happenings this week, what with a failed terrorist attack in Times Square, for which the Pakistani Taliban is claiming responsibility, although the NYPD is investigating a video showing a white male in the vicinity (WHEW!), to the White House Correspondents Dinner where Prez Obama “took digs” at everyone, with the help of index cards, because he left the TOTUS at the University of Michigan after his commencement address, to the mega-fast-super-dooper response to the oil spill by the Obama Administration, it is no wonder this little bit of news flew under the radar:

Remember the purple sheath Mrs. Obama wore the night of the fist bump heard round the world? The teal number at the Democratic National Convention? Or the red dress she wore to meet the Bushes on their way out of the White House? Maria Pinto all, designed right here where both women were born and raised and, over the course of one remarkable election, became stars.

So when Ms. Pinto abruptly put up a “closeout sale” sign in the window of her West Loop boutique and announced that she was folding her fashion business, Chicago — and Pinto devotees all over — reacted with disbelief: What in sartorial heaven happened?

I will tell you what happened, from a female point of view: you can’t sell “frocks” for thousands of dollars just because the First Lady wore them. You have to account for the economic status of people who are NOT living in the Lake District in Chicago. You know, those of us who like shopping at Wal-Mart. In short, Ms. Pinto, you were very short-sighted.

Just back from a month’s break in Barcelona, she pointed to the strain that a sour economy had placed on her business just as it was expanding and gaining major traction beyond a loyal Chicago following.

But Ms. Pinto acknowledged having made some typical startup mistakes in building her brand, in areas like financial management and operations.

Wow, a month in Barcelona, while her business suffered…. you know, I recall my dad, and my uncles never taking vacation while working hard to make sure their businesses got established. But that’s just work ethic. As to the typical “start-up mistakes” one was glaring: she targeted the wrong demographic. Wealthy women will pay thousands for a dress, but  the majority of women cannot do so. Fashion 101: you design a dress for the wealthy woman, and you then take that design, and tweak it, making it “off the rack” and in an affordable fabric for the masses under another umbrella company. Bob Mackie, Isaac Mizrahi, and Michael Kors are among many who learned this lesson. Selling your creations through Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue is not exactly “reaching to the masses.”

In other news, the National Enquirer is claiming a Prez Obama cheating scandal…. wonder what John Edwards is thinking?