The Real Problem With Ivanka Trump’s Clothes, According to One Epic Tweetstorm

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A lot has been said, written, and tweeted over the past week about Ivanka Trump’s namesake clothing and jewelry lines. After Nordstrom dropped the apparel last Thursday — a move the POTUS called “terrible!” on Twitter — Neiman Marcus, Belk, HSN, and ShopStyle also appeared to back away from the brand. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls employees were instructed not only to move Trump products from featured displays, but also to dispose of any brand signage.

Much has been made of whether these stores’ decisions to drop the first daughter’s lines stem from politics or poor sales. But another piece of analysis remains: Are Ivanka Trump’s designs even good? According to one shopper, writer and editor Megan Carpentier, not at all.

In a lengthy Twitter thread, Carpentier begins by pointing out that poor design — not a dip in overall consumer spending — is the reason for slumping sales at womenswear retailers like Anthropologie and Banana Republic. Ivanka Trump’s brand suffers from the same problem:

Politics aside, her designs — aimed squarely at working women — are overpriced, poorly constructed, and unflattering on anyone who doesn’t share Ivanka Trump’s exact body type. Some (hilarious) examples:

Asked whether she thinks stores have started dropping Ivanka Trump’s brand for political reasons, Carpentier says, “I absolutely 100% believe that her stuff wasn't selling. I've walked through precisely one Nordstrom and one Neiman Marcus in my life and I find it difficult to believe that the drop-off in foot traffic from liberal voters on Twitter drove a decision that fast, given how much in advance these decisions are often made.”

Carpentier adds that she’s never purchased anything from Trump’s collection, largely because of price, and that her friends who have likely “did so through discounters like DSW and T.J. Maxx (which also downgraded her line's visibility this week) rather than at Nordstrom or Needless Markup... I mean, Neiman Marcus.”

“The dresses I've seen at T.J. Maxx (here, again, revealing my finances!) never quite seemed high-end enough, quality-wise, to command their $150-and-up price tags at higher-end retailers,” she added, “though maybe I've just seen the dreckiest of the dreck.”

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