show and tell

Joan Rivers: The Snuggie Is a Knockoff

This afternoon, furrier Dennis Basso showed an “after-five” collection inspired by Degas ballerinas, replete with petticoats, floral prints, and nude thigh-high fishnets. This being spring, the fur was mostly relegated to trims here and there on dresses and jackets. Silver “diamond-dusted” (whatever that means) python ruled, however, in the form of dress trim, boleros, and cutout jackets that may very well have been inspired by those gas station car-wash scrubbers.

Joan Rivers sat front-row (apparently she was looking for a dress for the Academy Awards). The Basso label is mostly about outerwear, but would she put the Snuggie in that category? “I think the Slanket is an item of fashion, because he was on my show How’d You Get So Rich?” Rivers said. “And he was the original — the Snuggie took it from the Slanket.” We’ve been faced with blatant knockoffs, but never blanket knockoffs. Would she wear her Slanket out of the house? “I would wear a Slanket anywhere. I think it’s great, because it leaves your ass exposed,” she replied. “So you can get to the bathroom fast, which at my age is a plus.”

Backstage, Basso took a break from fawning over a gaggle of his lunching lady customers to disagree. “That’s pushing the envelope. But it depends — at home, can Snuggies fit two people? Can two squeeze into one Snuggie?” Having tried on our brand-new Snuggie from the fashion show this morning, we could definitively say this was a possibility. “That sounds good to me,” he said with a glint in his eye, at which point we just backed away slowly.

Joan Rivers: The Snuggie Is a Knockoff