Great for Gaga, but do platforms fit your style?
Dear Answer Angel Ellen:
I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while, but the recent coverage of the annual Met Ball and Lady Gaga’s appearance in what look like 5-inch-high, ankle-breaker platform shoes makes me write. What is your opinion of platforms — not 5 inches but 1 or 2? I’m short, so I like the idea, and they seem to be back in style, but I am not sure they’re flattering.
— Cyndi C.
In his lively memoir “IM,” designer Isaac Mizrahi writes of his adored mother, Sarah: “She never wore platform shoes, claiming they were ‘vulgah’ and made everyone look fat.” I agree, with one exception. They definitely do not make Lady Gaga look fat.
Dear Cyndi:
The following readers’ questions beautifully illustrate how manufacturers can’t please everyone …
Dear Answer Angel Ellen:
I took your advice and purchased Pizon’s queensize sheet set last week on Amazon. I really love the feel of these sheets! My problem is that although the contour bottom sheet and pillowcases fit perfectly, the flat top sheet is much too big for my queen size bed and hangs 2 feet below the spread! What can I do? Can this oversized sheet be cut down to size or would that ruin the sheet for good? I have used the sheet now and don’t want to send it back. What do you advise? Thanks, I so appreciate your column.
— Mary W.B.
With the popularity of the “pillow top” mattress, the depth of mattresses is all over the place: roughly 8 to 24 inches. There are no industry
Dear Mary:
wide depth standards. So, to accommodate the deeper mattresses, some manufacturers are making fitted sheets with deep or extra deep pockets, and flat sheets are sized to cover the sides of the very thickest mattresses. I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to bother with is cutting down (and hemming!) too-large flat sheets. I’ve had the same problem as you, but I just jam — I mean “tuck” — in the excess fabric beneath the mattress and call it good.
Dear Answer Angel Ellen:
I have a king mattress with a 2-inch foam topper, and the flat top sheet is just not wide enough. Standard king sheets only cover one side of the bed, leaving about 2 inches on the other side. I was able to find a deep-pocket fitted sheet to fit the mattress, but I cannot find an extra-wide top sheet. Any suggestions?
King sheet “sets” (one fitted, one flat and two pillow cases) likely will give you king pillowcases that are too long for standard pillows. And who wants to go out and buy new, longer pillows? And the top flat sheet might be, as in your case, too skimpy for your needs. What you want to do is to mix and match, and there are many options online. In making your flat sheet selection, read the dimensions carefully as you decide which would best suit your needs. They won’t all be the same size, so buyer beware.
Dear Mary:
And this is not really a question, but a rant that nicely sums up the consumer frustration in today’s mattress/sheet/pillowcase marketplace. Bottom line, although it is no comfort, you’re not alone!
June C. writes: “I’m dismayed (no, infuriated) by the new ‘hybrid’ sizing of bed linens, like ‘standard-full’ or ‘full-queen,’ which translate to too big for one size and too small for the other. Pillowcases flop around off the edge of a standard pillow. Duvet covers don’t even fall to the bottom edges of the mattress, and a comforter can’t be crammed inside. Sometimes the dimensions aren’t even specified on the packaging, and even if they are, does everyone know what the dimensions of a real queen-size bed cover should be? Just sayin’.”
Angelic readers
From Sue C, who read P.D.’s question “regarding thrift-shop leather purses. In your answer on how to identify fake from real leather, I noticed you left out something that can really help identify a real leather purse. It’s been my experience that 99% of the time, an actual leather bag will have a tag stating so somewhere inside the lining of the bag. You really have to look, but it’ll be there.
“Sometimes it’s inside the small zippered pocket on the side and sometimes down in the corner of the lining of the center pocket. The tag may say ‘100% genuine leather’ or ‘outer shell leather, lining 100% rayon.’ To get a feel for how hard the tags can be to locate, check the inside of purses you know to be leather, and find the tags in those.
“People usually don’t cut them out of purses before donating or putting them on consignment. I’ve had to spend a little more time in the purse aisle of T.J. Maxx looking for the tags, but have found some beautiful and classic stylish bags in genuine leather — and on clearance.”
From Ellen: It’s not often (perhaps never) that I quote President Ronald Reagan in this column. His often-repeated phrase “Trust but verify” comes to mind here. If there is even the smallest doubt in your mind — even if the tag says it’s leather — the measures I suggested will help ease your mind, whether you’re looking for real leather or want only faux.
Reader rant
“I was glad to hear Karen’s lament in a recent reader rant when she complained that plus-size women are finally being charged more for clothing. I don’t know how widespread that is, but I’ve felt that I’m overpaying if I pay the same for my size 6 as a garment that uses twice the amount of fabric. You pay by the yard in a fabric store, right?”
— Shirley N.
Now it’s your turn
Send your questions, rants, tips, favorite finds — on style, shopping, makeup, fashion and beauty — to answerangelellen @gmail.com.