Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Halloween Frights


So it's that time of the year again....October 31st .....Halloween. Ghosts, Goblins, and FREE CANDY!!!What a holiday.You can dress up like anything you want and no one says a word other than "good costume." Is it just me ... or have you noticed all the sexy nurse, sexy witch, sexy nun, sexy pumpkin costumes? I realize this is the one time of the year you can dress up and everyone else is too but ....Do we really need to show all our ass(ets)? What happened to just being spooky? Frankly, creepy has taken on a new meaning with all these sexy costumes. I mean who the heck think dressing a pre-teen like a woman of ill -repute ( yes there a few unsavory words you can insert here - but this is a blog after all and I should maintain some decorum) is a ok? Why not drop the sexy nurse or witch costume and just call yourself a pornstar - it's way more honest. Ok that's my rant for the month.

Next frightening item... retailers skimping to boost profits.CNBC reports that there is lower quality in today's clothes. Did you just say "DUH"!! According to associate professor Vincent Quan from the Fashion Institute of Technology, retailers are not relying on consumers to spend more money, but are squeezing whatever costs they can on the production side. Quan said "he is seeing shirts with lower thread counts, less expensive synthetic fibers and no extra buttons."  by sacrificing the fabric, retailers can keep price points stable and continue to offer up the deep discounts consumers have become accustomer to getting. So no more extra buttons ( do you remember those) and cheaper material and dyes. OH JOY!!! But here's the real fright ....According to Brian Sozzi, Belus Capital Advisors CEO and chief equity strategist " The large majority of consumers are not going to reward the retailer for quality investment via a full price purchase.Value continues to reign supreme; So from a risk-reward standpoint, it make no sense. Retailers have trained consumers like dogs to pay prices of yesteryear for merchandise that is of lower quality." So fellow pooches out there - the clothes they are making and selling is CRAP and just get use to it. How delightfully frightening to know the dress that fits like a glove will last for a few wearings and then toss it in the rag bag.

Here's a spooky and creepy thought.... My daughter is allergic to corn. Yeah corn ... so no corn cobs, no candy corn ( its made from corn syrup), no sodas ( unless diet or made from sugar) no mmmm good soup ( it has corn starch) ... well you get how being allergic corn is a pain in the tush ( or thigh if she has to use her epi-pen). So guess what happens? Well let's just say washing clothes has become a new adventure in allergies. Apparently Tide Pods have corn. Yeah, she discovered that after a day of benedryll and itching. She could not figure out why she had welts and was itching all over. So she finally figured out it was happening when she was wearing her newly cleaned clothes ( she doesn't live here - so mom can't bring it to work for her). Then she goes online to look for a list of ingredientes and low and behold ,,,, CORN . Not just in the outside of the pod but the new super cleaning chemical is corn based. So back into the washer,all her stuff has to go with a heaping helping of baking soda.  So if you have allergies or kids with allergies ... you may want to check out your detergent. Oh and your face wash, body wash, and shampoo. Been there Done that with allergy girl.

So that about does it for the Halloween frights from me. Go have a good time, dress like you would want your mom to see you and eat lots of candy ( for my daughter that is mostly limited to Seet Tarts). Scare lots of folk and carve lots of pumpkins. But mostly, have fun.