Reformation’s vintage-inspired dresses and dreamy two-piece sets are beloved by a star-studded crew of well-dressed people, including Selena Gomez, Karlie Kloss, and Emily Ratajkowski. But since the brand launched in 2009, there was a noticeable gap in its offerings: inclusive sizing. In 2015 it debuted a petite range; in 2018 it released a limited-edition extended size collection; now, after much anticipation (and plenty of requests on social media), Reformation is introducing its first permanent collection available in sizes 14-24 and 1X-3X.
In a letter announcing the capsule collection last year, Yael Aflalo, Reformation’s founder and CEO, explained that they started noticing customers’ pleas for more inclusive sizing in 2017—and that they agreed that “it’s unfair that we only offer clothing to a limited size range.” (On its website, the link to shop the first range literally read: “Sorry it took us so long.” Now it says: “Let’s do this forever.”) So Aflalo and her team set the wheels in motion to make things right. To ensure it was doing the community justice, Reformation tapped Ali Tate Cutler, a curve model that’s worked with the brand in the past, to design its first size-inclusive collection.
“Our design process started with us sitting with Ali and discussing what she really wants to wear right now,” Aflalo told Glamour. “We wanted to offer a range of effortless styles—think two-piece sets, wrapdresses, and off-the-shoulder tops—all staying true to our sexy silhouettes and sustainable manufacturing practices.” Reformation’s new extended sizes are already shoppable on Reformation’s website and at Nordstrom. Every piece is available in sizes 1X-3X; prices start at $48 and cap off at $278.
Aflalo added that Reformation will “continue to fine-tune our fit as we get feedback from our customers.” “We’re super happy to now offer a bunch of our most popular styles permanently in extended sizing.” Fingers crossed for even more sizes in the near future. Until then, check out Reformation’s permanent size-inclusive collection, ahead.
In the past year, some of the most well-known and beloved brands in the country have worked to make the shopping experience more size-inclusive. J.Crew and LOFT launched their first plus-sizes collections; Old Navy brought its plus-sized line back into stores, after over a decade of online-only merchandising. Now, another retailer is taking a major step to welcome even more customers into the fold.
Anthropologie is expanding into plus sizes for the very first time, with a new collection titled A+nthropologie. (It can also be styled as APlus by Anthropologie.) It launches with 120 pieces from the retailer’s core Spring 2019 assortment—a mix of in-house labels like Pilcro and Essentials by Anthropologie as well as outside brands like Cloth & Stone and DL1961—in sizes 16W to 26W. Prices start at $48 and cap out at $260.
In a statement to Glamour, Richa Srivastava, the retailer’s managing director of design, said this size expansion had been a long time coming:”Only in the past year or so did we arrive at a place where we were confident we could execute in a considered way, and deliver a collection that would suit her wants and needs—and ultimately bring her joy.”
When the collection launches on March 15, Anthropologie’s full range will be 00P to 26W. (The retailer debuted petite sizing in 2012.) A+nthropologie will be available online, as well as in 10 brick-and-mortar location across the United States and Canada.
“For Anthropologie, the goal is to be the place where everyone comes to feel like the best version of themselves,” Anu Narayanan, the retailer’s Chief Merchandising Officer, said. “We want to give every woman a wealth of options—and an experience that exceeds her expectations.”
The first-ever A+nthropologie lookbook features three of our favorite curve models—Ali Tate, Candice Huffine, and Paloma Elsesser—gallivanting around Mexico City in pieces from the collection. Glamour got an exclusive first look at the (incredibly fun) pictures. Check out Anthropologie’s first-ever size-inclusive offering, below.
If you shopped at Madewell between 2013 and 2015 or at sister company J.Crew between 2015 and 2017, you’ve appreciated the work of Somsack Sikhounmuong. The designer had a much-celebrated 16-year career at the company, serving as Madewell’s head of design before replacing Jenna Lyons as chief creative officer of J.Crew. But in September 2017, he left—and has mostly been out of the design spotlight since.
Though he did take some time to travel and not be the creative director of a major American fashion brand, Sikhounmuong has been working behind the scenes on an exciting new fashion project: the creative relaunch of Alex Mill, co-designed with the brand’s founder, Alex Drexler.
Alex Mill is a brand Sikhounmuong not only has a professional connection to—Alex Drexler, who cofounded it in 2012, is the son of former CEO and chairman of the J.Crew Group Mickey Drexler—but also shops at, personally. “I’d always appreciated the brand tenets, whether it was quality or [making] easy clothes for everybody,” Sikhounmuong says. He and the elder Drexler had kept in touch, even after both had left the company. (Drexler departed his position as CEO in 2017, before Sikhounmuong; earlier this year, he stepped down as chairman of the board, but remains an advisor for J.Crew Group.) “He called me up one day and asked if I’d be interested in meeting Alex of Alex Mill. I was like, Yeah, of course—I’d always been a huge fan of the brand, and I [thought I] probably should start looking for something soon,” Sikhounmuong remembers.
For his part, Alex Drexler was interested in Sikhounmuong’s background in women’s design—until now, Alex Mill has only offered menswear, but women have expressed interest in its pieces. It felt like a natural next step for the company, especially with Sikhounmuong on board. Alex Mill’s inaugural women’s collection, for spring 2019, offers “easy clothes, uncomplicated clothes—clothes that you look at and don’t have to think too much [about],” he says. Translation? Tons of pockets.
Courtesy of Alex Mill
Like its menswear, Alex Mill’s womenswear is made up of a laser-focused collection of pieces. “We were talking as a team [about how] people don’t really need more clothes—they just need the right clothes,” Sikhounmuong says. “It’s not five or six pairs of pants. You don’t need a lot to look good. You might just need these few pieces and every season you come back and collect a few more.” It’s a strategy he’s learned about and adopted since joining Alex Mill, and it’ll affect what you see with every coming season: “[Each collection] will be a buildup of the last season. It’s about taking things that we love and not abandoning them, but [rather] tweaking them. For spring, we have this short jacket; in the fall, you’ll see it in a new color and in denim. Sometimes we’ll look at something and [decide] we don’t tweak it—it’s okay to not have to change things every season, because it’s much simpler that way.”
Sikhounmuong’s time off after J.Crew has had an influence on how he approaches this collection too. “I remember thinking every single day how I loved how much time I had, and [thinking about] how to maintain that once I took a job,” he says. “The idea of these clothes is that, hopefully, they’ll save time—you don’t have to overthink what you’re going to wear, so you [can] do other things. You just get up, put it on, and don’t overthink it.”
Courtesy of Alex Mill
In all of Sikhounmuong’s design work, his aim is to create pieces that are approachable and accessible. One of Alex Mill’s mottos is “uniforms for individuals”—the brand interprets “uniform” not as clothes that makes everyone look the same, but rather as outfits that simplify your life. Individuality comes in through small customizable elements incorporated into the design: pins that can be added or removed, hearts stitched between buttons on a blouse that can be revealed or hidden, ties on a trench coat that can be closed or left hanging. The pricing of the collection also aligns with that goal: Everything’s under $200, with most pieces between $35 and $175.
Fans of Sikhounmuong’s work will be happy to know that one of his signatures made it into his first Alex Mill collection. “It’s funny—every time I show this stuff to people, the shirts always come up,” he says. “I always love a great shirt, whether it’s vintage shirt or men’s or oversized.” The Alex Mill version of the classic button-down are pretty standard when it comes to the cut, but are set apart by “very subtle points of designs” (like the hearts between buttons) that bring an emotional element to them.
Courtesy of Alex Mill
“These pieces are built to fold into your own existing closet—a lot of these pieces are ones that are going to be in there forever, hopefully,” he says. “I think so much of this stuff is meant to bring joy. I get that that phrase has sort of been played a lot, but honestly, it’s so true; there are so many things out there that are serious, whether it’s clothing or whatever, and it’s always nice to see something that just makes you smile. It’s just that emotional connection that makes you want to buy something or participate in the brand.”
Alex Mill’s Sikhounmuong-designed collection drops today on the brand’s website, as well as retailers like Nordstrom, Barneys New York, and Goop. Check out the full lookbook and product offering below.
Who needs a good hair day when you can have a whole hair month? It’s bound to happen, considering all of the newcomers hitting shelves this January. And in hair care, that’s a big deal, because just one new formula can make all the difference in your strands. Our editors washed, spritzed, and scrunched our way through all the new hair products that landed our desks—from a shampoo that’s all about scalp health to a lotion that makes your morning blowout a breeze, we’re pretty confident your hair routine is in for an upgrade. The only thing now is to try to stick to your budget. Scroll on to meet your new hair heroes, and check in as we add more favorites throughout the month.
Not to throw shade at new makeup launches—hello, we love a long-wear concealer—but few things are more exciting than the genius innovations and technology that crops up regularly in skin care. This month, especially, a whole new crop of skin-brightening, extra-moisturizing skin care products are landing on shelves. From masks that heat up on the spot to a retinoid serum that won’t irritate your skin (cross our hearts), the latest and greatest formulas offer new options for every skin type and concern. Skin looking duller than an encyclopedia? Need a new moisturizer? Just curious? Whatever the reason, you’ll find everything you’re looking for—and maybe a few surprises—below. Scroll on for the best new skin care products dropping this month.
When Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty in 2017, she did so with 40 different shades of foundation. This inclusive debut collection—and its massive success—disrupted the beauty industry, making it clear to other makeup brands that there was a demand for a wide, diverse range of tones. Rihanna pretty much set a new standard in the space. And she’s not stopping.
Rihanna announced that Fenty Beauty will be introducing Pro Filt’r Concealers. And they’ll be even more inclusive than the brand’s initial launch, available in 50 shades to suit customers’ skin tones. Oh, and you don’t have to wait long to shop them—the drop is only 10 days away.
Giving life to hungover souls on New Year’s Day, Fenty posted a few Instagrams on January 1 to announce the launch. “New year, New #FENTYBEAUTY! ??♀️ We got #THECURE to your #newyearseve hangover! On January 11, we’re dropping 50 BRAND NEW shades of creamy, creaseproof, and longwearing #PROFILTRCONCEALER! Get it at fentybeauty.com, @sephora, @harveynichols, and #SephorainJCP!!”
That’s right: In less than two weeks, Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Concealers will be shoppable at FentyBeauty.com, Sephora (both in stand-alone stores and those in J.C. Penney)—and, for anyone reading this across the pond, at Harvey Nichols.
“We all got a lil’ something to cover up!” reads another Instagram from Fenty announcing the launch. “Blemishes, dark circles, bags, and even hangovers, #PROFILTRCONCEALER is #THECURE to hiding it all in a creamy formula that’s longwearing and creaseproof. Who’s ready to get it on January 11??”
Rihanna herself put up a Pro Filt’r Concealer video tutorial on Youtube, so we know exactly how to apply it when the time comes.
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The product covers; it brightens; it can even be used as highlighter (she applies it on the bridge of her nose and brow bone.) In the video, Rihanna that if you know your Pro Filt’r Foundation shade, there’s a concealer shade that corresponds—taking the guesswork out of finding the perfect shade. She also eliminated one of our pet concealer peeves: “Especially with a formula like this that dries down and matifies eventually, you expect it to start getting tacky, but this formula does not,” she says in the video.
Also dropping January 11? Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Setting Powder in eight translucent shades…
… plus, 10 more Pro Filt’r Foundation Shades—to match the 50 concealer shades, naturally—and great new tools to complement the products: a Powder Puff Setting Brush, Lil Precision Makeup Sponge Duo, and a Concealer Precision Brush.
