Shopping Jan 10, 2008 @ 11:04am

Urban Dreams

by Britt Aboutaleb

Urban swimsuit.jpg We usually don’t shop catalogue, but we’re sort of blown away by Urban Outfitter’s spring preview.

Natalie can’t get over the hazy, retro vibe and Britt can’t believe she wants to buy everything.

We especially loved the Lux tartan bikini. It’s so Dita, a red and blue plaid halter with a high waisted mini-skirt - perfect for the summer afternoons we plan on spending at Coney Island. We were anxiously clicking with our credit card in hand, when the sight of it on Urban’s site immediately squashed our daydream.

Is the photographer a magician?

The catalogue picture’s on the left, and the web image is on the right. We stared for a good five minutes before believing they were indeed one and the same.

The man behind the dreamy paper image is Clarke Tolton, a New York based fashion photographer whose images are both haunting and sexy, thanks to a brilliant use of natural light. He’s done amazing things with Urban’s generally cheap clothes.

Though we won’t be buying the tartan bikini afterall, we will be watching for Tolton’s name in our favorite fashion mags. We think he’d do a hell of a job with some of Chanel’s hard-to-pull-off pieces from Resort.

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posted by guest

Jan 10, 2008 12:25PM

I just got that catalog yesterday and was equally enchanted by that swimsuit. Such a difference online. I definitely won't be shelling out the $ for it now.

posted by Rockmantica

Jan 10, 2008 12:37PM

Got the catalog on Tuesday and I loved it so much. They did a great job. The styling and the photography. The polka dot bathing suit and the floral one were cute too.

posted by Ali

Jan 10, 2008 12:40PM

Urban has some really great clothes, and a lot of them are very well-made - not "generally cheap" as you wrote. I know it might be frowned upon by fashionistas because it mass-produces hipster trends and brings them to suburbanites, but generally it's a great store.

posted by Peter

Jan 10, 2008 12:49PM

The girl in the catalog has her shoulders slouched forward and her chest lowered and deflated and the online girl has her shoulders way back and her chest up and spread... I think that accounts for the less alluring shape of the online girl's top.
I like that first photo though.

posted by courtneym

Jan 10, 2008 1:34PM

revolting - y/n?

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp;jsessionid=96EAD2F126E153F907A7B9722869B64D.app11-node1?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&id=14300917&parentid=W_APP_SWIMWEAR&sortProperties=&navCount=4&navAction=poppush&color=40

even THE MODEL looks horrendous in it; translation: no hope for the rest of us.

posted by miss

Jan 10, 2008 2:18PM

i go to UO a lot and wish wish WISH..the clothes were better made. $68 for a flimsy thingy is NOT cheap.. but cheap in quality.

and that goes for you too Anthropologie! Great catalog appeal but then you go in the store and see this $118 badly-made, quirkly-embellished thingy hanging on the rack and look around at all the suckers eating it up! even the sale rack is a joke because you know that not only are those things badly made, but they fit weirdly too. and all that for $69.99.

posted by oui_oui

Jan 10, 2008 2:26PM

True, the stuff is pricey for the quality, but I love UO.

posted by LMarie

Jan 10, 2008 2:56PM

love urban and cant resist their style everytime I make a "visit" but it's true, their quality is poor and they know it because they put their clothes on sale for $15 and less.

-lisa, trendible.com

posted by guest

Jan 10, 2008 5:23PM

i heard tartan is again going to be big next season too so good purchase all round

posted by astralgirl02

Jan 10, 2008 5:51PM

Great pinning skills by the stylist... and the bottoms are different, notice how they have belt loops in the catalog pic?

But overall, the new catalog is kinda hot... love some of the flats, and the casual tops look OK, too.

I heart catalog shopping, btw....

posted by glttergrl3890

Jan 10, 2008 6:10PM

oh my god thank you for answering the photographer question. i've been trying to figure it out for the past 2 days. i absolutely lovelovelove his work!

posted by jacquelynn

Jan 10, 2008 6:33PM

i think it was more of a combination of the model's athletic build and convexing chest that made the top seem so unflattering.. but in another bathing suit of the same cut with a different pattern ( http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp;jsessionid=9FC72720E0B95551C4C9D55FFD0A5B11.app11-node8?itemdescription=true&itemCount=60&id=14301295&parentid=W_APP_SWIMWEAR&sortProperties=&navCount=59&navAction=poppush&color=10 ), it seems very cute..she's also not standing so awkwardly so that helps. The skirt doesnt really work in either picture because her torso is a bit on the short side. It also seems like in the catalog, they altered the top to give it more of a sweetheart neckline and go to more of a point in the center. I think it could definitly work on someone with a less athletic build and maybe a more complimentary skin tone.

posted by guest

Jan 10, 2008 7:56PM

they really don't look like the same swimsuit...the one on the left definitely looks like the bust is cut a little more deep and the plaid looks different. then again maybe it's the hazy, semi-lit effect?

posted by jolie

Jan 11, 2008 1:08AM

i think the catalog model just isnt that cute =/

posted by guest

Jan 11, 2008 1:13AM

I have this pet peeve about online sites for clothing stores. They don't make the clothes look nearly as attractive as in the catalog or even in the store! A few do it well, most do it badly. Nothing is well photographed and the browse functions of the site are all clunky. Honestly I never buy work clothes from gap.com or bananarepublic.com b/c their sites suck, even though I buy from the stores. BUT I do buy from jcrew.com, b/c they actually spend the $ to have a good site!

posted by guest

Jan 11, 2008 1:54PM

But aren't you all relieved the online shots aren't deceptive? Thus saving your time and energy buying then returning the tartan suit...which begs the question who wants an artistically shot catalog if it doesn't properly represent the clothes?

posted by Sally

Jan 19, 2008 8:38PM

I loved the catalog way more when National Forest in charge and Angela Boatwright was shooting. It looks kind of budget now. In case you forgot what the catalogs used to look like, check here: http://nationalforest.com

posted by guest

Mar 15, 2008 7:31PM

Anyone know the name of the model from the catalogue? I've been dying to know who she is.

posted by guest

Mar 16, 2008 2:01PM

I'd like to know her name too.