Onesie is the item predicted by supermarkets and high street stores alike to be the number one Christmas gift for 2012.
Celebrities were early adopters of the trend, with the likes of Rihanna, Robbie Williams, Tulisa, One Direction and Tom Daley all stepping out in their own versions of the adult romper suits.
Holly Willoughby appeared on This Morning wearing one, Keith Lemon stepped out in Asda’s Incredible Hulk onesie and Amy Childs vajazzled a £60 ($90) velour all-in-one, 2,000 of which sold out on her website in two days.
And now, as Christmas approaches, it is clear that the people of Britain have embraced the all-in-one too.
Evidently millions have already bought one for themselves. George at Asda, who are predicting that onesies will be the number one Christmas gift this year – say that sales of onesies have soared by a staggering 606% on year, and the word “onesie” now the most searched-for term on their website.
Marks & Spencer and Debenhams have reported staggering sales results too, with M&S saying last month they would be producing an additional 10 styles of the onesie in time for Christmas, and Debenhams reporting a 155% rise in sales in October than the previous month.
A spokesman said at the time they’d sold 2,075 units in just one week – and that was just the tip of the iceberg.
Onesie is the item predicted by supermarkets and high street stores alike to be the number one Christmas gift for 2012
With Christmas now fast approaching, many more are expected to jump on the onesie bandwagon.
A poll on the George at Asda Facebook page revealed that 42% of customers are planning to buy a onesie as a gift this year, and a third admitting the ultra-forgiving onesie will be their outfit for Christmas day.
As a result, Asda say they have stockpiled one million onesies to meet demand, and have launched an online Onesie Shop for customers. There, shoppers can buy Sponge Bob Square pants onesies, onesies in tiger print and dalmation, a Fair Isle onesie inspired by the Burberry catwalk show – and thatIncredible Hulk onesie as worn by Keith Lemon, which sales analysts at the store predict will sell out in 24 hours (no fighting in the aisles over the last one now please).
Fiona Lambert, George Brand Director said she predicted sales of onesies will go on soaring right up until the big day.
“Onesies are the must-have item for Christmas 2012,” she said.
“Each week at George we see sales soar higher than the week before which we are attributing to celebrity influence.
“Due to such high customer demand we have ordered in thousands of extra onesies and launched our dedicated online <<Onesie Stop Shop>> to ensure our shoppers don’t miss out on the perfect outfit for a cozy Christmas morning, day and night for the whole family.”
Celebrities including Miranda Kerr and actress Melanie Griffith have been spotted creating the illusion of a skinnier size thanks to a dark panel down the side of the trousers.
Now all British women will get a chance to try out the effect, thanks to a £16 ($25) version on sale at Asda.
The beige Illusion Jeans are designed to slim and elongate legs by drawing the eye down the length of the body.
Asda created the jeans, available in sizes 8 to 24, for its George range after a quarter of women aged 16 to 70 said their legs were their main body hang-up.
Designer Kausar Mitha said: “The panel is slightly wider at the top, around the hip and thigh area, and then tapers down the leg.
“This is because women’s widest point is at the top of thigh. The panel draws the eye in and then follows the contour of the body, which creates an illusion of slimmer legs and hips.
“We tried five different-sized panels and this was the one that made the wearer look most svelte. The jeans are also made from stretch cotton, which gives a more toned look. The vertical panel adds an illusion of extra length.”
Miranda Kerr has been spotted creating the illusion of a skinnier size thanks to a dark panel down the side of the trousers
The trousers are Asda’s latest addition to a line that began with the Illusion dress in April.
The frock, which sold out within a week, was followed by the Illusion swimsuit in May. Next month, the retailer will launch a pair of Illusion jeans in blue with a black stripe on the inside thigh, for those who feel this is their problem area.
Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr was spotted last month in a pair of beige-and-black trousers similar to the Asda jeans, while actress Melanie Griffith was recently pictured in a black-and-white version.
Kate Winslet kicked off the trend for optical-illusion clothing when she wore a white-and-nude dress with black panelling to the premiere of Mildred Pierce at the Venice Film Festival last September. Since then, a host of celebrities – from Kate Moss to actress Liv Tyler – have donned the flattering dresses.
Kausar Mitha said: “We have had lots of customer demands for slimming clothes. Legs are always a focus point that people are not happy with so we wanted to give them a product that made them appear a dress size smaller and gave a smoother silhouette.
“Lots of celebrities have been wearing illusion clothes recently. We wanted to give our customers something similar but affordable.”
George brand director Fiona Lambert said: “Shopping for jeans that look and feel great can be hard for women. George has come to the rescue, using clever design to create something flattering in a staple wardrobe item for every woman.”
However, critics last night labelled the burgeoning market in slimming clothing “dangerous”.
Image consultant Angela Marshall, owner of Appearance Management, said: “There is a lot of pressure to be thin. Even very slim celebrities are wearing clothes designed to make them look even smaller. This sends out a dangerous message.
“The trend for slimming clothes has gone too far. A lot of designers don’t even know how to make clothes for a curvy shape.
“I wish the fashion industry would let people be what they are born with. We need to start celebrating healthy bodies.”
Asda is selling beer at less than £0.5 a bottle as the supermarket price war blows retailer promises to tackle binge drinking out of the water.
Asda is selling 24 bottles of 0.33 l Budweiser pack for just £11 under Rollback price cutting scheme.
The supermarket reduced Budweiser price from the normal price of £15.98 as its battle with Tesco over which is the cheapest intensifies.
During the time, bargain drink deals from supermarkets have been criticized by doctors, police and the charity Alcohol Concern for fuelling binge drinking among young people, resulting in violence, disorder and ill-health.
Asda has reduced 24 bottles Budweiser pack price from £15.98 to £11 as its battle with Tesco over which is the cheapest intensifies
According to drink wholesalers, Asda is selling the Budweiser at a “dramatically cheaper” price than they have to pay the big brewers.
Martin Williams, Landmark Wholesale managing director said: “In this day and age of responsible consumption and retailing, offering a major brand for under 50p a bottle completely contradicts all the messages that retailers and wholesalers are giving out.”
Meanwhile, the British government attempts to crack down on supermarkets using alcohol as a loss leader in order to bring in shoppers.
In the past months, British PM David Cameron said: “There is a problem with very cheap alcohol, alcohol being bought at convenience stores and supermarkets that people are using to what’s called <<pre-load>> before they go out. And this is a problem you just can’t ignore.
“We’ve got a situation where in some supermarkets you can walk in and buy incredibly cheap drinks, a lot of which is high strength lager, which people are using to get off their heads before they even go out. That is what we’ve got to hit.”
At that moment, Asda announced it would not sell drink at less than the price of tax – duty plus VAT. But, this does not stop Asda from using it as a loss leader to attract customers from rivals.
Martin Williams from Landmark Wholesale said the Asda price is so low that corner shops and pubs will find it cheaper to buy stocks from the supermarket than from wholesalers.
“Twenty-four bottles is a full-blown wholesale case. At a time when prices are going up in the market and brewers are putting up prices, to retail at that sort of price is crazy.”
Defending the deal, Asda says: “We are as committed to our role as a responsible alcohol retailer as we are to providing affordable deals for our customers.”
