Today on my personal blog, I wrote about a catalog that scares the heck out of me:
Soft Surroundings.
You can read what I had to say about it over there, but it got me thinking about catalogs in general — which ones I love and which ones I hate.
I share my best and worst if you share yours!
Check my picks out after the jump and add your own best and worst list in the comments!
Hands down, my favorite catalog has to be Nordstrom.
I FINALLY made it onto Nordstrom's mailing list (by, you know, actually BUYING stuff there), but you can look at Nordstrom catalogs online by going to this link. Nordstrom and J.Crew catalogs both are great resources when it comes to looking stylish in clothing that you can actually afford. And even if you're not in the Nordstrom/J.Crew price range, it's easy to copy their looks. In that respect, they're better even than fashion magazines, which too often feature thousand-dollar-plus clothes that I'd never wear in a thousand years.
Boden's catalog also inspires me. The Boden look reminds me of that mom we all know who always looks effortlessly perfect for every occasion. Garnet Hill is much the same way, and their bedding is to die for!
As for least favorite catalogs, well, Soft Surroundings is one (although I love many of the things in it) because it makes me feel like I'm getting old. Talbots also has a decidedly frumpy vibe (excluding the time they hired Julianne Moore). Victoria's Secret actually has some cute, affordable clothing, but I get sick of trying to figure out what a real woman would look like in their clothes, as opposed to the pouting supermodels featured in their catalogs, with their boobs falling out of every outfit. Puh-leeze.
And there are multiple catalogs I get that go straight in the trashcan, so I can't even remember their names. Suffice it to say that if the cover features an aging model in an ankle-length skirt and cardigan, I don't want to know what's in it. And I get a lot of those lately. And I'm not happy about it.
What about you? What are your favorite catalogs? And which ones do you loathe? Let me know in the comments!
