Here, Kitty Kitty…
ASOS PU Panel Unitard, $50.00 † Bebe Leatherette Catsuit, $119.00
AA Cotton Spandex Unitard, $32.00 † AllSaints Atlas Paysuit, $105.00
Shiny Black Unitard, $31.95 † ASOS Mesh Panel Unitard, $23.95
Catsuits have been cropping up all over the runway, and in spite of the public-restroom difficulties involved in wearing one, it did seem like a great layering piece that would give me smooth lines, and a perfect answer to the sheer trend. So I began my search for a catsuit. I looked high, and I looked low. I found a couple, like the Atlas from AllSaints, but $100 seems a bit silly to me for something that is basically just a pair of leggings an a tanktop. But where were the inexpensive versions? WHERE?
This was literally a three day search. Then, at two in the morning while searching EBay, I discovered the horrible truth. The new trend in catsuits is calling them ‘unitards’. Like when you were in gymnastics in 3rd grade. It there a WORSE word for a piece of clothing that is supposed to be sexy? Hey, marketing guys… WTF? However, I bit the bullet and googled ‘unitard’, and a whole new world opened up before me. I put a couple in this week’s Haute List- in fact, after much deliberation I went for the ASOS Cross Back Unitard, which was a Haute List pick. Here are the rest of the ones I liked. But I am calling them catsuits, now and forever.
August 24th, 2010 at 8:54 AM
Where to get cheap catsuits: Dance supply shops. They’ll be sturdy. They’ll look amazing. They will, unfortunately, also be called unitards.
August 24th, 2010 at 9:26 AM
SCORE! I designed the first ASOS one, with PU panels!
Cheers for featuring it..
August 24th, 2010 at 11:44 PM
They look great on those models, but I can’t imagine catsuits would be particularly flattering for anyone with a fuller figure!
August 25th, 2010 at 2:26 AM
actually, they’re not bad, even if you are a bit more padded than a model – I had a few that I wore back in the 90′s to industrial clubs, they make your curves nice and smooth.
Also – Starling, nice design! love it.
August 25th, 2010 at 2:30 AM
I feel like calling it a “catsuit” is reserved for onsies in leather, or latex, or maybe even pvc. “Unitard” is for spandex and Lycra.
August 25th, 2010 at 7:27 AM
I really like the first one — well done, Starling!
The others, well… ideal for a tribute to Bob Fosse. That’s not too shabby; just wouldn’t wear them under other circumstances.
April 25th, 2011 at 2:11 PM
Pretty insightful publish. Never thought that it was this simple after all. I had spent a superior deal of my time looking for someone to explain this topic clearly and you’re the only 1 that ever did that. Kudos to you! Keep it up