Banana Republic Launches Foodie Fashion Line

Apparently, ripping off Mad Men isn't quite enough and Banana Republic needs another gimmick to lure in customers. This time, they're setting their sights on the fine dining crowd with a brand new line of clothing called Desk to Dinner.

Our first question is, of course, why? Maybe the mid-priced mall retailer isn't luring in customers with their conservative cardigans anymore. Or maybe young professionals no longer yearn to look like characters from a David E. Kelley show. Or maybe they just need a way to make it into the news, and a partnership with reservation site OpenTable and food porn favorite magazine Bon Appetit fits that bill nicely.

Pamela Drucker Mann, VP and publisher at Bon Appetit, tells the New York Times that this collaboration is "as symbiotic as it gets." When you dine out, "what you're wearing is part of the experience, and what you're eating is part of the experience… The culture of food, of going out, is a huge part of the work experience."

We suppose this explains the Desk to Dinner moniker, but the entire enterprise feels a bit strange. Should we start pairing our outfits with certain meals? To a certain extent, we all already do this (no white pants when we're going for burritos) but isn't a designing an entire line around this everyday task a little much? Do we actually need to match our outfits to our cuisine?

Fortunately, the line looks fairly innocuous. Preppy and casual, like everything else sold at the shop. However, if they start selling chefs hats and aprons, someone give us a call. We might have a thing or two to say about that.

Bon Appétit & Banana Republic Team Up For Clothing Line: Desk to Dinner from Eater