Belt Proves Recycling Can Be a Real Cinch
DEAR HOT SHOPPERS: At last--a way to make your garbage truly fashionable. We’ve found an item that lets you recycle all your losing lottery tickets or torn-up job rejection letters. It’s a clear, plastic belt with an overlapping slit in back that allows you to insert whatever flat, flexible items you desire--from mash notes to wallet-size photos of yourself from elementary school.
This wardrobe accessory is available from Sassy magazine, the hip teen magazine. The belt sells for $8.95 and comes in two sizes, one for waists 21 inches to 27 inches and another for waists 27 inches to 33 inches. You can’t order the belt by phone, but there are order blanks in the October and November issues of the magazine in the Sassy Club pages, where other mail-order merchandise is offered as well.
Another item we thought you should know about is a new board game called Mall Madness. You’ve lived it--now you can play it.
The game, designed for players ages 9 and up, simulates the sometimes exhilarating, sometimes frustrating Shopping Experience. The object is to buy six items before your friends do and be the first to get back to the parking lot.
The game is controlled not by rolls of dice, but electronically--by a recorded “Voice of the Mall” vaguely reminiscent of “Attention, K mart shoppers” announcements. Players receive the good news--”There is a sale at the computer store”--and the bad news--”I’m sorry; we’re out of stock, try again later.”
Although we would have preferred more realistic rejoinders (“You paid full retail? What a chump !”), we are happy to see our favorite sport immortalized with a board game. For those unfortunate enough to buy it undiscounted, Mall Madness retails for about $33. It’s at Toys R Us and other toy stores throughout the country.
DEAR HOT: It’s October, it’s still fairly warm, but all I see are wool jackets, wool dresses, sweaters and heavy coats--and they’ve been on the racks since July. Why can’t I buy clothes that I can wear now?
MISS STEIN SUGGESTS: Fall clothing appears in the stores in the middle of summer because many consumers plan ahead and like to have their wardrobes together before a new season begins. Retailers also need time to sell goods and don’t want to be caught in the position of trying to unload swimsuits in October when there’s little demand. Much of what’s in stores now is transitional merchandise--clothes for both warm and cool weather. If you buy fall/winter clothes now, when the weather cools off you may be the trendiest one around, while others are scrambling to find the hottest looks.
MISS KRIER BEGS TO DIFFER: While I am not as much a shameless slave to trendiness as my colleague, I am fond of instant gratification. I think retailers are completely nuts to stockpile off-season clothing three or four months before it’s time to start wearing it. The only benefit is that by the time a given season finally arrives, that season’s clothes are already on sale.
If you prefer to see stores stock merchandise closer to the season they’re intended for, write that request on one of those suggestion cards many retailers are leaving on counters. Or send a note to stores you patronize. Meanwhile, the millions of us let’s-wear-it-tonight types will have to be content with the growing amount of leftovers we find on sale.
Wondering how to afford new clothes when your budget is as bankrupt as the U.S. government’s?
