Are the Kardashians the Fashionisters They're Marketed As?

by B Condon 4:02 PM

Now, I love the Kardashians, they are hilarious and their Mom at times really is like watching family videos of my mother some of the time (beer pong, anyone?). Khloe is hysterical ("Lucky charms are fun! Tickle my lucky charms...." and "I hear the pitter patter of dinosaur feet.") and is able to laugh at her ignorance while being a step-mother to two kids at such a young age. I oddly identify with Kim, the too-nice, commitment-addict, neurotic and OCD clean-freak, middle sibling syndrome. Clearly we can see how she's as neurotic as she is she gets into situations; but everyone would rather dwell on the effects than the "how" being a child of divorce and parental death, no one can blame her for being the way she is. And Kourtney? Well, she gets humorous when around Khloe (remember the incident on waxing Khloe in Miami or playing with Khloe's pet giraffe Henry in New York) but otherwise, big bitch. Not a fan.

As much as I could talk about the Kardashian girls' characters, I really want to focus on their mission statement in fashion and beauty products which has no bearing on who they are as people. I also understand, and oddly weirded out, at the cheapness of their products. First, their nail polish. My nail muse, Musings from Manhattan, has reviewed three of the fifteen, and honestly, it sounds grim. The only color that attracts me on their palate, Khloe Had a Little Lam-Lam (*hangs head feeling sorry for the man*) was reviewed as "smell[ing] a little funny" but with a great formula. The other two that were reviewed, seemed moderate like nothing to get excited over. This is a problem, especially with having to use over five coats of It's All About the Glam. Can I also say I'm not the biggest fan of OPI polish to begin with: from being too expensive and not the best of formula. This screams cheap!

Second criteria moves on to their Kardashian Kollection at .. wait for it ... Sears. Why Sears? No girl my age would be caught dead in Sears as it is mostly misses-chic in a Croft and Barrow kind of way. But maybe that was the point in trying to get more girls back into this very-dead department store. I'm guessing that Forever 21 or Rue 21 would have been a better niche for the fashionable sisters, who I think should be better described as fashion consultants. The popular knowledge that they designed these clothes just aren't too, they, rather, inspired by their style. Australian designer Bruno Schiavi worked with them as a consultant so they cannot take full credit either! Where is Schiavi's name in any of this other than to go into interviews all complimentary? And what about the clothes themselves? Is it because being sold at Sears, at a lower price ($13.99 to $68.99) versus higher price clothing and deal with Forever 21 or Rue 21. The Kardashian Girls have become more of a commodity to raise interest in Sears and unfortunately it didn't happen like Sears had hoped.

The Sears website also does not tell us what kind of fabric is used in this case, but according to a fashion blogger on stylemeprissy says that the use of stretchy fabric has made it more important for body shape. That has to be good, right? One good thing the Kardashians can do for fashion, especially Khloe, is to push down on the barriers on plus size. (May I also include that Kim's ex-sister-in-law, Kaela Humphries is also a plus size runway model?) It's clear the Kardashian's are abusing their name for the worst in selling out to Sears. Yes, I do think their clothes should be branched out to the rest of America, but through the Dash brand. Whatever happened to Dash in Calabasas? What about the fact of Smooch, the children's clothing store both Kourtney and Kris own together? Or even what about Kris's mother's store? Clearly this is a dynasty of women with great fashion minds, they just need to use them in business and not let the system get them such is the case with Sears. They need to start thinking with their heads and not their wallets, that is, if Kris will stop thinking for them. I would like to see the girls really work for it as fashion consultations especially for the cause of plus or curvier fashion options.

Here's my final thoughts, Seacrest (producer of all the Kardashian shows): water the shows into simply Keeping Up the Kardashians, have a show that only documents all store and fashion business with them (it can go up against Scouted) and keep only Khloe & Lamar on 'cos let's face it, Khloe is the only one worth watching. They need to get back to what made them great in the first place, being fashion-minded store-owners.