The new look of Torrid

Posted by HSG on April 14, 2004 at 01:07:11:

As many Torrid aficionados already know, the company will soon begin introducing a new look for its stores, and for its Web site. In place of its dark, Goth-like environment, Torrid will feature a fresher, more colourful look. Some fans have raised concerns about the new look, asking whether the company might be going "old," but Torrid affirms the opposite. Today, it sent out a mailer with the following cheeky text: Fun and flirty, with the same cute clothes! Remember how you felt when you first discovered Torrid? Finally, a place where you can go to find an amazing array of clothes that fit you! All those great punk, rockabilly and Renaissance outfits are still here. We're also adding in fresh, new colors and juniors' fashions so every plus-size girl can be as cute and sexy as she wants to be. Why should you have to shop at places made for your grandma? You're much hotter than that! Torrid.com is lightening and brightening to make it welcoming for every girl whose life changes when she discovers Torrid. We always get a kick out of Torrid's saucy little jabs at its competition. Some might miss the visibly "alternative" spirit of Torrid, but it will still be there where it matters most--in the fashions. But the company is undoubtedly wise in reaching out to girls who have not yet discovered their inner femme fatale, and who might have felt intimidated by the dark atmosphere of Torrid's stores. If a voluptuous young vixen doesn't find the nerve to visit Torrid in the first place, she might never obtain that one, special halter dress that will enable her to steal the captain of the football squad away from his underweight cheerleader girlfriend. The change also underscores an important fact about "alternative" plus-size fashion that the mass media has not yet realized (or acknowledged): it is no longer "alternative" in any world except the media world. Here on planet Earth, it is entirely mainstream, since girls size 14 and up comprise the distinct majority of the young female population of North America. It is only a matter of time before society takes an honest look at today's living goddesses, compares their beauty to the artificial standard that the media has imposed, and joins Torrid in affirming: "You're much hotter than that!" Fresh-faced Rhiannon, from the (current) Torrid site: Torrid.com