By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
July 9, 2002
All the trendy fashionistas have a taste for Juicy Couture. The eight-year-old line of casual wear recently got the kind of publicity money can’t buy when Hollywood hotties such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz and Gwen Stefani were photographed wearing their favorite Juicy pieces. Lara Flynn Boyle has proclaimed Juicy her preferred comfort-wear. And Sarah Michelle Gellar went so far as to say Juicy is the only thing she’ll wear to her early morning calls on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
“Everyone wants to feel sexy and comfortable when they’re hanging on sets or traveling,” says Janey Lopaty, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles-based label. “There was a space to be filled for that kind of clothing, and we filled it. People have been fans of the T-shirts and jeans, but it’s our sweat suits that just took off. Even we were surprised at how quickly people took to them.”
But this is not your mother’s athletic sweat suit. The pieces are snuggly soft and form-fitting. Perhaps because they are favored by the L.A. set, the cuts tend to run small. A Juicy medium translates to about a Size 6 in the real world.
The popular pink terry sweat suit favored by Christina Applegate fits like a glove. The pants hug the hips and
derriere, and flare out throughout the leg. The terry, velour and fleece also is thick enough so the wearer doesn’t have to worry about panty lines. The look is fitted, but casual.
As for the hoodies, everyone from Sharon Stone to Madonna to Nelly Furtado has at least one–some of them personalized with their names, or the initials of their significant others.
The company, which was started by Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Taylor, has a children’s line for fashionable toddlers. And the partners are pondering a men’s line.
“Men have expressed interest in getting some pieces made for them because they see their wives and girlfriends wearing our clothes and keep hearing about how comfortable they are,” Lopaty says.
Should that happen, might we suggest a spokesmodel for the men’s collection? Taylor’s husband, musician-actor John Taylor–formerly of Duran Duran–would be a perfect fit.
Juicy Couture is sold locally at Marshall Field’s, Neiman Marcus, Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sugar Magnolia. Prices range from about $32 for a T-shirt to $203 for a cashmere hoodie.
