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From: plrlegal
Date: 10-25-2006, 10:06 PM (1 of 15)
are the fabrics and clothing this year just yucky??? I have gone shopping 3 weekends in a row specifically to look for clothes (skirts, tops, etc.) that I can wear to work and have come home with nothing. First of all, the rtw stuff I see (Dillards and Macy's) is the ugliest stuff imaginable, the fabrics they are made of is even worse and the construction is very, very poor. I refuse to wear clingy stretch knit pants and short tops that are skin tight, even the biggest sizes and leave the mid-section exposed and skirts that have big tie belts around the hip area made of cheap polyester stretch fabrics or halter tops with flouncy maternity looking midriffs -- who wears halter tops and spaghetti strap tops in the winter anyway???  I think I'll try shopping in a few consignment shops and thrift stores and see what I come up with.Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: my2girlies
Date: 10-25-2006, 10:35 PM (2 of 15)
| Try the Harold's clean sweep on NW Expressway b/w Meridian and McArthur. I am most unimpressed with Macy's in general. I did not even bother looking in the women's. And I agree with you on Dillard's, too. Not much out there. |
User: my2girlies
Member since: 03-25-2005 Total posts: 154 |
From: Chrysantha
Date: 10-25-2006, 10:54 PM (3 of 15)
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Yep...the 70's is still here and they want 'us' all to dress that way...it was bad enough the first time around (when we were young and looking good to work, if you weren't, didn't matter. Besides back in the 70's we were much too young to care..). I can never find anything for my sister or I to wear... www.landsend.com (they have catalogs too...they have very nice things...not too dressy, good quality, pants, skirts, jackets, blouses, t-shirts, shoes, things run true to size and they give you a WIDE range of sizes for everything..returns are a breeze). www.coldwatercreek.com some dressy, some not...(they have a LOT of red which I like...good quality...not a large range of sizes, but enough for most people.) Our Dillards is sucky...our McCraes were bought out by Belk..(talk about yucky...) Penneys I don't know what happend to them...they used to have clothes... 
Chrys
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User: Chrysantha
Member since: 09-06-2002 Total posts: 2414 
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From: MaryW
Date: 10-26-2006, 08:16 AM (4 of 15)
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I really love Coldwater Creek, their stuff is very nice.
MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542 
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From: plrlegal
Date: 10-26-2006, 03:53 PM (5 of 15)
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I'm not very good with mail ordering clothes. I end up returning most everything and I hate that. Guess I'll just keep looking at patterns until I find something that strikes my fancy. Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: Sancin
Date: 10-26-2006, 06:20 PM (6 of 15)
"the 70's is still here and they want 'us' all to dress that way...it was bad enough the first time " Actually, I see a lot of 60's clothes in fashion departments and dress clothes which wasn't too bad - at least cardigans are back. I haven't been able to find cardigans for years and everyone I know who knits has stopped. The fashion clothes seem to be more casual fitted ala Jackie Kennedy. I don't recognize the stores you are talking about but you seem to be describing stores catering to the young and I agree they are ugly and silly. My biggest beef is that the conservative store I like to shop at - The Bay - has terrible and few large sizes and they are truly ugly. The same companies that make petite also make above average and the petite depart is huge. I think that the buyer must be Chinese and cannot comprehend that larger ladies can be fashionable - and here in the north larger because it is cold outside - seems like a good excuse.  I only shop for clothes when I have too much to sew or quilt. It's very depressing. I like Cold Water Creek as well, Mary, but never can find anything to fit - I do use their ideas in adapting patterns. And my Land's End catalogue came in the mail as I was reading these messages! *~*~*~* Nancy*~*~*~* " I try to take one day at a time - but sometimes several days attack me at once."
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User: Sancin
Member since: 02-13-2005 Total posts: 895 
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From: Sewitseems
Date: 11-02-2006, 04:53 PM (7 of 15)
| Both Coldwater Creek and Lands End are good but I find that I don't buy much either. Coldwater Creek has a great outlet section on line with some really good prices. My sister bought a purple velveteen dress to wear as a Halloween costume (red hat lady) and it turned out to be a really nice dress that she will wear for other occasions. Some of the prices there are really good. |
User: Sewitseems
Member since: 10-30-2006 Total posts: 6 |
From: MaryW
Date: 11-02-2006, 05:27 PM (8 of 15)
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Patsy, have you tried www.petitepluspatterns.com I have spoken with Kathleen a few times, she is very knowledgeable about pattern drafting, etc. MaryW
owner/editor of Sew Whats New |
User: MaryW
Member since: 06-23-2005 Total posts: 2542
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From: yellowrose
Date: 11-02-2006, 09:17 PM (9 of 15)
| Thanks Mary, Very interesting site and very useful hints. Think I will order one of these patterns for my daughter. I think this will fit her well as we always have trouble with other patterns being to small in the bust and tummy areas. Judy |
User: yellowrose
Member since: 07-09-2006 Total posts: 17 |
From: plrlegal
Date: 11-03-2006, 12:04 AM (10 of 15)
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Thanks for the website Mary. I have no idea what motivated me but I've made 2 really cute skirts this past week and a half and I have a pair of gauchos on the cutting table now for tomorrow evening. I think I'm finally getting a handle on the time change and this back pain. Of course, staying drugged on muscle relaxers and pain medication helps me deal with the back pain but the time change is a real bear for me. Patsy Patsy
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User: plrlegal
Member since: 05-19-2001 Total posts: 318 |
From: weezyrider
Date: 11-03-2006, 11:03 AM (11 of 15)
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I've had a problem for years with designers and fabrics. I go hunt around in all the thrift stores for patterns I like and use them. A couple of years ago - some idiot decided chartreuse would be the new "in" color. Do you know anyone who really looks good in chartreuse? Even a sales clerk fom Hancock's who had worked in the garment trade was wondering where the designers' heads were! I liked the really sloppy look. I hope they bring that back! Weezy 
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User: weezyrider
Member since: 08-19-2003 Total posts: 218 
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From: DorothyL
Date: 11-03-2006, 11:11 AM (12 of 15)
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I like chartreuse and have a lot of it. Dorothy |
User: DorothyL
Member since: 12-09-2002 Total posts: 3883 |
From: LeapFrog Libby
Date: 11-04-2006, 12:30 PM (13 of 15)
Everything I see now (well, not EVERY thing) is a yucky brown or some other mud color.. I cannot wear that shade.. all those yellows and browns, and oranges make my skin look very yellow...Jewel tones in the bright shades are my thing.. I just don't buy in the years they don't have good colors for me.. I always wear tailored styles anyway, not the fad stuff.. I like to wear my clothes several years for each garment..Sometimes I will make some quirky item just for fun to wear and then discard after one season, but my thrifty nature does not do that too often..LOL...
Sew With Love
Libby |
User: LeapFrog Libby
Member since: 05-01-2002 Total posts: 2022 
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From: bobbintamer
Date: 11-04-2006, 01:18 PM (14 of 15)
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Welcome to the global economy. I noticed about 2 years ago that the better brands (dana buchman, ellen tracy) made a huge price jump while the mid-priced stand-bys (claiborne, most catalogs) took a dive in quality. Cottons are pilling, shrinking, and losing their shape, jackets don't drape like they used to, and sweaters - don't get me started. I like the colors at chico's but quality is a problem. Anyone want start a new clothing company? |
User: bobbintamer
Member since: 08-07-2006 Total posts: 4 |
From: blackie
Date: 11-04-2006, 04:56 PM (15 of 15)
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http://www.jjill.com/ has lovely stuff AND it comes in a wide range of sizes, including tall sizes and larger petite sizes (what a funny concept when I first realized "petite" doesn't mean "small" but rather, short or short-waisted). The quality is fine. It is expensive but there are sales AND well, sometimes it's worth it to enjoy an extravagent purchase now and then. I have found Lands End to be good quality. The styles are too, um, matronly? for me (but I dress young / sloppy / silly). But they are well-made. I buy some of my kids' clothes there (the ones I don't sew, anyway). It's interesting that a brand or name of clothes can start having entirely different production and you don't even know it. My favorite shoes are Dr. Martens (http://www.drmartens.com/), which in part were famous because they were made in the UK. Someone told me they had been outsourced to China and I thought, "No way!" but looked on my tag and sure enough, they are made in China now. Bummer! So now I have to find a new favorite shoe if I want to continue to support good craftsmanship. I know this is somehwat OT, but sometimes I wish I could research where my clothes are made so I really know what I am supporting / buying, you know? see the mundane life of a housewife.
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User: blackie
Member since: 03-31-2004 Total posts: 594 |
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