Dear Reese Witherspoon: We Need to Talk About Draper James
Dear Reese,
When I heard you were launching a new fashion and home brand called Draper James, I was plum tickled. Despite your Hollywood A-list status, you’ve always seemed so down to earth, so approachable- I reckon you’re the kind of gal who could fix a running toilet while dressed in a Dior ballgown, or change a poonami diaper without needing help from more than one personal assistant.
“There is a special breed of charm and grace that’s signature to the American South,” you wrote in your welcome note on the Draper James site.
Source: Flickr, Creative Commons license
Source: Flickr, Creative Commons license
Uhhhh. Okay.
As it turned out, though, you had another American South in mind — that fairytale version of the South made popular in flowery novels written by women with three names. Your American South is populated with immaculately turned out ladies who speak in a honeyed drawl, wear their grandmother’s pearls, regularly attend tea parties, and know how to make the perfect coconut cake.
The kind of imaginary ladies who, you’re hoping, just might take a shine to an outfit like this one.
Oh, bless your heart, Reese. Bless your sweet heart.
I assume ‘Shelby’ was a 14-year-old home economics student who made this jacket and shorts set for her end-of-semester sewing project back in 1963. That’s the only way I can make sense of this hot gingham mess. I mean, seriously, Reese. $385 dollars for that? Land sakes, even the model looks pissed off.
But of course, you have more to offer us than double gingham.
Oh! A printed floral tank top! Why, this looks nothing at all like 90% of the inventory at Forever 21 right now!
I mean, why buy a tank top for $10.80 when you can get one for $150? We southern women just adore that kind of logic, Reese!
But wait! There’s more!
Can you believe it, girls? A jacket, made of… wait for it… DENIM. Did you ever? Why Reese, how in heaven’s name did you manage to create this first-of-its-kind masterpiece for under $200?
It’s no wonder you won an Oscar, is all I’m sayin.’
Of course, some of us are on a budget– That’s why I’m pleased as punch to see you designed a t-shirt any good southern girl can call her own… so long as she’s willing to part with $58.
But there’s so much more to you than fashion, right Reese?
Take this precious BIG PILLOW, for example. I predict tens of women will be snatching up your utterly unique Draper James BIG PILLOW.
Source: Etsy
The fact that I was able to find a nearly-identical BIG PILLOW (lots of them, actually) on Etsy for $30 has absolutely nothing to do with anything.
In fact, let’s not speak of it again.
I’d rather focus instead on your $14 pencil set. Let that sink in, ladies. Fourteen dollar. Pencil. Set.
Are pencils a thing now among southern women? Did I miss the memo on that?
But as you know all too well, Reese, woman cannot live on gingham, pillows, and pencils alone.
Oh, no. We also need a tube of red lipstick.
A $50 tube of red lipstick.
I mean, really. It’s just so…. so….
So Draper James.
Darling Reese. Best of luck to you in your new endeavor. I’d love to stay and chat longer–
But I’ve got a tea party to get to.
xoxo,
Lindsay Delilah Beauregard Ferrier
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It is a very limited collection and yes it appears many of the items can be and are be sold by other retailers. Not very “unique” I suppose. However on the price point. Many of her garments are being made domestically. And as many people love to preach “buy local”…Buy local comes with a price tag. Granted a markup is also involved to go back to Mrs. RW but it does bring some production back home. Something Forever 21 will not.
I don’t believe anyone should feel they have to pay $195 in order to own an American-made denim jacket. If you’re saying that’s how much it costs to ‘buy American’, then we absolutely SHOULD be getting our clothes overseas.
I disagree with your reasoning. Yes it’s quite a bit more, but that’s what USA production requires in order to pay people well, pay their insurance and overhead. Because of that it will always be substantially more expensive than what you’d pay for overseas production. I’d bet the quality of their workplace here is substantially better as well.
I can’t even imagine being the kind of person who can pay $58 for a t-shirt. Probably 90% of my wardrobe came from the Goodwill; where the most expensive thing was a nice winter coat for $6. Even if I won millions in the lottery I don’t think I could bring myself to pay $58 for a t-shirt.
The ryman jacket outfit is clearly straight off the fair dance scene of sweet home Alabama. I’ll see your big pillow and subtract 130 dollars at tj maxx. You can also find some fetching one dollar southern pencil kits at the dollar general in any town below the Mason Dixon line.
I make pillows like that all the time. I have two of them just off the embroidering machine right now for wedding gift. Maybe I should put an ‘expensive’ tag on them! 🙂
she went to harpeth hall. enough said.
Hey now.
The gingham says that’s $395 for the jacket. I would venture a guess that the shorts are not included.
Nope. The shorts are separate.
I so hate to admit how out of touch I am, but what exactly is a southern pencil???
Dear Reese, did you know Ulta is selling your lipstick? Or are you selling their’s? Someone might wanna call a lawyer.
http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod5981752
Ouch! Well, at least she’s not marking it up from the Ulta price…
love you and your snark!
No words.
[…] guess I should just be grateful that our district hasn’t discovered Reese Witherspoon’s $14 pencils yet– although I fear that it’s only a matter of time. She does live here in Nashville, […]
YES. Someone finally said it. THANK YOU!!!
So, I am supposed to buy a more expensive, just as frumpy and boring as Talbots clothing line?
Poor Reese, guess all her rich friends will support her. Even the store looks like Talbots! Love, love, love this letter
I met Reese a while bk, won’t go into details, but she is really sweet or at least she seemed. So given I have southern roots as well I decided I would order a couple things from her clothing line. I ordered a pair of the side zip pants, a DJ tee and 2 sets of linen tea towels. I tried the pants on first, mind you I’m a size 2, but I don’t have a skinny waist. They fit really well through the hips and thighs, but the waist had a couple inches of room. As I go to unzip them the zipper blows out, so I had to cut it where the zipper head was to get them off bc the zipper head wouldn’t slide down. I’m a loyal J. Crew customer, 95% of the clothes in my closet are J. Crew. I seldom pay more than $148 for their dress capris comparable in style to these, which were $168.
Then the hem in the tee was too short as in “let’s save a little money by not making the hem in the tees appropriately long enough”, I also sew and know the little tactics clothing companies take to cut corners to save money here and there, a short hem is the #1way. Saves $$$$$$$$$. It’s usually the thing you get from wal-mart and target, although I have to say the tees I get at target are much better quality fabric and a length that isn’t indicative of cutting corners on cost. The embroidery on the tea towels is very chintzy looking, once again I’ve seen higher quality looking embroidery on towels you can find at target, tj maxx and at a price that indicates you have some common sense. Do you notice there’s a consistent comparison btwn DJ and target bu now? Same goes with the fabric of the pants and as I mentioned the that of the tee, I’ve bought pants of this same style at target for $29.99 who’s fabric was higher quality.
Bottomline, as much as I appreciate her effort to having her line “Made in the USA”, she’s going to have to improve the quality that’s inline with the prices she’s charging. Eileen Fisher is also made in the US, but you get what you pay for with her merchandise, which is not that much more than the prices DJ is charging.
I returned the pants and tee, but forgot to put the tea towels in so I’m stuck with some really expensive chintzy linen towels that I’m embarrassed to say how much I paid for them. I have to admit I like things monogrammed but I’d like to think it’s with taste, so if you do as well I’ll share a little secret as to how to get quality monogrammed items for very little money. Go on aliexpress or or marshall’s or tj maxx or even target sometimes has them and buy some plain linen tee towels and take them to an embroidery shop. You can sit down with them and design your own monogram or sweet little saying on them and they will look like you bought them as a special order item from Neiman-Marcus.