Critical Shopping

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A visit to the "studiously austere" COS ("shorthand for Collection of Style, a longer explanation scuttled in favor of a single-syllable cough, equally intelligible or unintelligible the world over") was made in hopes of decoding the Swedish brand's mysterious allure. What was learned? Its "un-basic basics" "aims to draw those who have graduated from the most disposable of fast-fashion offerings" (like sister brand H&M)—but alas, it only "caters to what might be euphemistically called a Scandinavian body type." [NYT; Previously]