DRESSING ROOM

Torrid plus-size boutique to open at McCain Mall

This skeletal-rib-embellished dress ($54.50) is among the myriad offerings at Torrid, which is opening a McCain Mall store in October.
This skeletal-rib-embellished dress ($54.50) is among the myriad offerings at Torrid, which is opening a McCain Mall store in October.

Good news for young ladies of a certain size: A Torrid store is opening at North Little Rock's McCain Mall next month. The retailer offers trendy fashion for women sizes 12 -28. This will be the chain's 270th store.

I first became familiar with Torrid when OneStopPlus.com, the online mall for plus-sizes catalogs, began offering its merchandise (Dressing Room, Nov. 23, 2010). "A glance at Torrid.com reveals that women who complain about there being no 'cute' clothes in plus sizes should definitely be satisfied with these duds," I wrote then.

My assessment still stands. The dress inventory alone includes "body-con" (body-conscious) sheaths featuring front panels in animal-print or faux leather; fashionable fit-and-flare frocks; bodice details that include sheer insets; and asymmetrical hemlines. Ahem, there's even a Little Black Dress whose bodice features a white skeletal-rib embellishment (dressy Halloween-party attire, anyone?).

Mature plus-size women who prefer to wear their career dresses below the knee and their pants less than clingy will find few choices (wow ... fake leather skinny jeans with triangular mesh insets), but they're there, and the elusive boot-cut dress trouser shows up in at least one incarnation. Many pieces fall in the $50-$60 range.

A Grand Opening of the Torrid store -- located on the upper level of the mall, next to Bath & Body Works -- is scheduled for 10 a.m. Oct 11. For more information about the retailer, see the website.

Magna strictoria! (Great Shirt!)

In the June 23, 2013, Dressing Room I introduced MagnaReady, a dress shirt designed for men with disabilities. The shirt features a front and cuffs with decorative buttons that hide magnets for easy fastening. As anticipated, MagnaReady created a women's line, which for now consists of two shirt choices: the Striped Oxford for Women and White Oxford for Women (each $64.95).

The men's line has expanded. There are now four short-sleeve dress shirts: a traditional fit check pinpoint, the blue tattersall, the glen plaid and the white traditional fit (each $62.95). Long-sleeve shirts include the pinpoint white and pinpoint blue oxford traditional fit styles, the blue gingham oxford traditional fit and the pinpoint light blue glen plaid oxford (each $64.95). I had the chance to examine the men's long-sleeve pinpoint light blue glen plaid oxford and was quite impressed with the overall workmanship, the authentic-looking placket of decorative buttons, and the firm fastening power of the hidden magnets.

Founder Maura Horton came up with the MagnaReady after an incident in which her husband, former North Carolina State University assistant football coach Don Horton, became unable to button his shirt in the locker room due to the effects of Parkinson's disease. Visit Magnaready.com.

Making faces

Feinstein's, 5600 Kavanaugh Blvd. in Little Rock, will host a Darphin facial event during regular hours Wednesday and Thursday as well as Friday morning at the store. Facials will be administered by Chicago aesthetician Annie Hamilton.

Customers will be introduced to Darphin's new The Revitalizing Oil, which can be used on the hair, face and body. The oil is a blend of four essential oils -- ylang ylang, jasmine, rosewood and lavender -- and nine plant oils: raspberry seed, evening primrose, tamanu, rose hip, sunflower seed, apricot kernel, sweet almond and argan oils. Jojoba seed oil is included because it is rich in sterols to improve skin barrier function.

To make an appointment for a facial, call (501) 664-7330.

It's shoetime!

QVC Presents the 21st annual "FFANY Shoes on Sale," the three-hour shoe sale broadcast to raise money for breast cancer research, scheduled to air from 5-8 p.m. Oct. 16 on QVC.

Presented by the shopping channel and the the Fashion Footwear Association of New York, this sale will feature 180 donated shoe styles from more than 80 brands at half the manufacturer's suggested retail price. A minimum of 80 percent of each purchase benefits breast cancer research and education at such institutions as the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. In addition to the broadcast, shoe lovers can shop the Shoe of the Day, a special style unveiled each weekday from 6-8 a.m. during the month of October.

More lashes on the cheap

Last Dressing Room I'd mentioned hearing about two mascara-kit lines that deliver the look of high-end lash extensions without the high prices. I highlighted one of the brands, and here's the second: Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes by Younique, a direct-sold cosmetic line.

Moodstruck is a $29 kit whose three-step process combines transplanting gel and natural fibers to help create the appearance of thickness and volume for existing lashes. The 3D Fiber Lashes are water resistant but easily wash off with warm water and facial cleanser at the end of the day. The kit is available as part of bulk-purchase collections -- Eye-tastic ($119.99), Perfect Start ($124.99) and Want It All ($199.99) -- each of which throws in a silver carrying case and other Younique makeup products.

For purchases or more information, contact the Younique presenter through whom I heard of the product -- Stephanie Neipling, at tinyurl.com/m3upr5a -- or another presenter near you.

Got fashion and beauty news? Contact Helaine R. Williams, Dressing Room, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203, or email:

hwilliams@arkansasonline.com

High Profile on 09/28/2014

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