New clothes
Harley Quinn, there is little to say about it, is one of the pivotal characters of The Suicide Squad. In this latest cinematic incarnation, signed by director James Gunn, our beloved Harley will not only be able to show off a rich and varied wardrobe, enough to drive any fashion influencer crazy, but she will also have a truly respectable arsenal!On the set of the new DC movie, the interpreter of the beautiful Harley, the splendid Margot Robbie, specified that her character will present herself to the "trial by fire" with a sort of evening dress, outfit that will undergo quite a few upheavals during the entire duration of the story. And this is not only about the clothes, but also the various weapons that Harley will not be afraid to use during the film!
In The Suicide Squad, we will see Harley Quinn begin the story in a "glamorous" version, with the 'red dress that can be glimpsed in some trailers, a dress that will undergo substantial (and "destructive") changes throughout the course of the story, coming to count three "versions" of the same dress. More and more reduced, to the delight of the fans.
According to Margot Robbie, each piece of Harley's dress that disappears corresponds to a specific mood and growth of the character, not connected only to a sort of strip tease that progresses more and more as you fight.
But Harley Quinn will not only have a new outfit in The Suicide Squad ... In addition to the stylistic additions, the former partner of the Joker will have also at his disposal a kind of super power, the Harley Vision. In practice, an augmented perception of reality, revisited by Harley's crazy mind, which will allow her to capture elements that others do not see, all in the form of crazy visions of rainbows, birds and similar amenities!
If this expedient is used in a reasoned way, it could add an extra touch of madness to The Suicide Squad, due out on August 6th, which definitely doesn't hurt!
A pandemic clothing purge is on as normal life resumes in US
NEW YORK (AP) — Alina Clark is about as tired of her pandemic wardrobe as her comfort clothes are stretched and torn.
“I have four sets of jeans, seven shirts and five sweaters that I wear every week,” said Clark, co-founder of a software development company in Los Angeles. “They're everything I've worn in the last two years. Me and my wardrobe are suffering from COVID fatigue.'
A wardrobe purge is on for some as vaccinations have taken hold, restrictions have lifted, and offices reopen or finalize plans to do so. The primary beneficiaries: resale sites online and brick-and-mortar donation spots, continuing a trend that's been building for the last several years.
At the resale site Poshmark, orders are up for handbags and work-worthy dresses when compared to last year. The same goes for blazers, suit jackets and heels.
Projections show the trend growing stronger. The secondhand clothing business is expected to more than double, from $36 billion to $77 billion in 2025, according to a recent report commissioned by the secondhand marketplace ThredUP and the research firm GlobalData.
The growth is driven by an influx of new sellers putting high-quality clothing into the market, said James Reinhart, co-founder and CEO of ThredUP. He estimates that 9 billion clothing items that are hardly worn are sitting in shoppers’ closets.
Even before COVID, buying and selling secondhand clothing was popular, but the pandemic made the appetite for thrift even more appealing.
The post-pandemic shopper is more environmentally conscious and is showing a greater appetite for clothes that have good resale value, rather than disposable fast fashion, Reinhart said. People who haven't been able to wear most of the items in their closets for a year are more aware of waste and want to put their clothes back in circulation.
“There’s a new mindset around clothing consumption,” Reinhart said. “It’s not this buy, wear, throw out. There is this consciousness that happened during the pandemic where people were much more sensitive to this notion of waste.”
Maia DiDomenico's mother introduced her to ThredUp during the pandemic. A recent college graduate who began a new job working with kids on the autism spectrum, the 23-year-old in Cranford, New Jersey, purged some Athleta sportswear on the site and received $557.60 in Athleta gift cards in exchange.
“It cleans your closet out quickly, and you have the chance to donate unwanted clothes,” she said.
For months, the 29-year-old Clark has had the urge to declutter her overflowing wardrobe, and she began piling up clothes for donation several weeks ago. But she'll be purchasing new clothes.
She's looking for some “glitz and glamour” as her Zoom life soon ends and physical get-togethers have begun.
Consumers are purging more than their worn-out pandemic wear.
At the luxury resale site TheRealReal, with more than 22 million members, the total value of pre-owned goods sold this year through May was about $239 million, up by 53 percent from the same period in 2019, said Julie Wainwright, the founder and CEO.
Some are taking the opportunity to reinvent their personal style, said Jessica Richards, a trend forecaster and fashion director for the Accessories Council, a nonprofit trade group.
“We saw a lot of consumers abandon their mindless shopping habits and instead focus on investment dressing. Less of being ‘sick’ of their pandemic wardrobes but more wondering why they might own as much or what is the breadth of their closet,” she said. “It’s now about streamlining and zeroing in on what their desired personal style image should be.”
Not everybody is looking to abandon their COVID style, however.
In Lynchburg, Virginia, 33-year-old Cameron Howe is ready to burn just about everything she has worn during the pandemic — except her impressive legging collection — as she transitions from a school career.
“I bought 15 to 20 plus pairs of leggings,” she said. “In a few weeks, I'll start a new career as a project manager for a local nonprofit. I plan on wearing leggings to work. Thankfully, both my past and new employer are legging-friendly. I don’t really want to wear real pants again. I developed an absolute love of leggings during the pandemic.”
Among those benefiting from the pandemic reawakening in clothes are dry cleaners.
Tom Ryan, vice president of franchising for CD One Price Cleaners, with 34 locations in the Chicago area, said they've been seeing an upward turn in dry-cleaning customers after a plunge of 80 percent during the pandemic.
“In March, we started making progress again given the vaccine distribution,” he said. “As more people go back to work, we're finally starting to see more people bringing their in-office clothes back for professional cleaning. Still, we expect post-pandemic attire and fashion trends to be different going forward with more people in the office less often.”
Ryan expects business casual to be more the new normal — swapping out button-up shirts for more polo-style wear.
While piles of pandemic clothes are going to churches, donation boxes, and online thrift and resale sites, some people are keeping them in the family.
Samantina Zeon, like many, has gained weight during the pandemic. She has plenty of great clothes she can no longer fit into, so she plans to send the stylish ones to a cousin in Haiti in a 77-gallon blue barrel.
“It's something many people that have families in different countries do. I have done it before to send food,” said the 31-year-old Zeon, in Queens, New York. “She plans on reselling them in her neighborhood for extra cash.”
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Associated Press retail writer Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report.