The Curve Cult brings trendy to plus-sized fashion

Source: The Curve Cult Facebook
page. The top fits UK18.

Indie fashion is very much in evidence at Far East Plaza, a mall just off the Orchard Road shopping belt in Singapore. Students go there to buy prom wear, or just something different to wear.

In an age where blog shops offer yet multiple outlets for fashion, going niche is a smart move. Rani Dhaschainey, co-owner of The Curve Cult, has gone from pop-up shops to a real store-front at Far East Plaza. Opening less than a week ago, at #05-126a, she stocks plus-sized fashion, from UK sizes 14 up to about 22.

Source: The Curve Cult Facebook
page.

Her collection is a mix of casual, business and evening wear to suit a wide range of tastes, and with very few pieces of each item, often custom-ordered from India, in cheerful prints as well as trendy solid colours. Dhaschainey models the clothes herself on The Curve Cult's Facebook page so she knows exactly how the items will drape on the body, and can advise customers accordingly.

Interested?

Like the Facebook page and see what's available before going down to buy. The owners are happy to mention prices online

Yes, your handwriting does say something about you

Your signature, to be precise. A research study published in PLOS One studied how the size of the signature varied depending on how research subjects felt about themselves, even if they were not aware of it.

Dr Adhip Rawal, a lecturer in developmental psychology at the University of Sussex, School of Psychology in the UK, was the principal researcher who looked at whether the way people think about themselves would be reflected in signature size.

AIA campaign involving a face consisting of signatures

In one experiment, university students who were shown a positive word for 16 ms in a word recognition task signed their names 13% larger than they had on a psychological test taken before the task. There was a 0.8% increase in signature size if they had not seen the positive word. This effect was independent of what they reported as their mood at the time, and none of them reported seeing the positive word which had been flashed in front of them for just 16 ms, a time that had been previously shown to be beneath conscious awareness. 

While the research does not address this, the implications could be that customers, partners and colleagues whose handwriting is larger than normal might be more receptive to negotiations in your favour. And, that positive words flashed subliminally in presentations do have an effect on mood, even if viewers are unaware of them and if asked, would report no mood changes.

The challenge would be to get samples of signatures as a baseline. With everything electronic these days, handwriting has become as rare as hen's teeth.