Monday, August 31, 2009

Tongue In...What?

Many people ask about my shop name - Tongue In Chic Design (Chic is pronounced 'Sheeek' not CHICK - it's French).
I based the name on the English phrase 'Tongue in cheek' - an expression in use since the 1800s that means (according to Wikipedia): "Tongue-in-cheek is a term used to refer to humor in which a statement, or an entire fictional work, is not meant to be taken seriously, but its lack of seriousness is subtle." 
Since the entire design sensibility of my shop is 'classic clothing with an off-beat sensibility' - clothes that are not tied to trends and are subtly witty in a way that Chanel is just classic with no wit, I decided to make a pun on that phrase, substituting the word Chic (which is pronounced almost the same as Cheek), which means something fashionable. 

I invite you to stop in and see exactly what we mean by unserious clothes - and we don't mean funny or silly!  If you want to look smashing, not classically boring, and you want something with panache and flair (panache and flair are sold separately  ;>  ), Tongue In Chic is the shop for you!

Men's underwear predicts economy...

While we've always known to watch women's hemlines as an economic predictor, it now seems that men haven't been ignored. Men, who as we all know just *love* to shop, base their tightie-whities purchases on the economy. When things are bad, they'll keep wearing their old ones until they get too gross even for them, but when the money is rolling in, they're quick to replace old undies. Fortunately, this trend can be tracked without spot-checking men on the street, but it does still require more effort (and less joy) than watching women's skirt lines.....