I have to smile!

Copyright - Salvation Army Stores, WA

Yes, this countenance of mine sometimes breaks into a smile (lots of times into outright laughter).

You see the reason for my smiles this morning was the fact that I've been  receiving so many emails and reminders of fantastic New Year sales, that it seems to me that businesses haven't realised we're already into February. This brings me to a simple question.  If retailers are so over-stocked that they're pushing Christmas/New Year sales for more than three months now, (yes - they began back in November in the lead up to Christmas), then why aren't these garments available at a lower price all the time.   Then a lot more of us would be satisfied, wouldn't we?

Of course we LOVE the sales.   We wouldn't be intelligent, professional women if we didn't.  But there's another side to this "sale" business.

Where are all these clothes coming from?   I include the better known labels as well as the much less expensive little items that you can buy from your nearest shopping mall from little Asian store sprinkled around the place.  And don't get me wrong.  These little shops have some really great clothes at really great prices.

But all the clothing, whether it be the top labels or the cheaper offerings are all made overseas.  You can't get away from it.   Even if you disagree with the fact that "slave labour" has to be involved, and you go out of your way to buy something with a better label, and a higher price, thinking that well, it's an Australian label and therefore obviously is made here in Australia, you can be completely wrong!  (Take for instance the recent Sonja Kruger line which is made off-shore).

So let's get back to my "smile" this morning.  (And it wasn't because I thought of something funny).  

Dressing on a shoestring 

is the latest plug for buying sale garments.   A shoestring?  Do these people know the meaning of dressing on a shoe string?  Because they then go on to provide pages of garments all priced, wait for it, around $100.   Well that doesn't sound too bad, does it?   It's a very expensive shoe-string as far as I'm concerned.  But make your own mind up when you look at the garments.

Once again, inferior fabric and not too imaginative styles.  You could save your money and pop down to K Mart and get almost the same for around a quarter of the price.

Now don't get me wrong.   I'm all for patronising Australian retailers who provide good, well-made, well-thought-out styles and designs, in very good quality fabric.   This is why I highlight those that I believe fall into this higher category.  But there are others, with recognised names, who I don't always see eye to eye with.  

Not everyone has $100 to spend on a garment.   (Some of course have no budgetry constraints).  But let's face it, every woman likes to look good and feel good in what she wears.

Give the local smaller retailers a fair go - those who provide good quality garments with the plus-size woman's needs as far as styles, sizes and fabric are concerned.   They too, have "sales" and this is where a shrewd fashion buyer will spend her money.  

Money is getting somewhat tighter - no matter what we're told by the so-called economists (they're still earning $200K a year so what do they know?)  We know what's left in our purse at the end of a week.  And there are other options available to those of us who are plus-size and who can't quite find something that really takes our eye.   Op Shops and pre-loved boutiques are doing a thriving business, and so they should.   For it's here too, that we can find absolute bargains that enhance our wardrobes and certainly enhance our feelings of self-worth.  Do these clothes look or feel second-hand.  From my point of view - definitely not.  

Fashion Make-Overs

Do you have clothing in your wardrobe that you've grown out of? Or perhaps find some of them to be too big?

There's no doubt our bodies change shape over the years, and while we may not actually "lose" weight, often we will notice that our clothes don't quite fit the way they used to, or should do. Following pregnancy and the birth of a baby quite a few clothes need to be altered too, and this can help the budget especially when the garments are favourites.

While it's expensive to have your own personal dressmaker, a lot of women have taken up the challenge and now offer "alteration services". These range from sewing hems on jeans, pants, skirts as well as putting new elastic around the waistlines. However, a lot of these people actually do dressmaking and have found a valuable market in providing their services to the every-day woman who wants to upgrade her wardrobe without having to buy new clothes.

As a very proficient, qualified dressmaker said recently, "knowing someone's body and shape is the key to doing good alterations work". A good alteration expert can tell if the shoulder is dropped and the hip is high and remake garments taking into account all the important aspects of a good fitting garment.

Suggestions may range from changing a hemline by not merely following the fashion, but looking at the vertical line of their height and to judge according to the hemline, and that good tailoring makes it more fashionable. Adding darts can make all the difference from a dowdy looking garment to a smart, stylish fitted garment - even if you are plus size!

Above all, tailoring to YOUR body can better the look of the garment, making it appear superior in quality and cut.

"It doesn't have to be Chanel - it can be Target. But if it fits well, you look good and you feel good.", says Frances Le-Caria of Camberwell, Victoria.

Pre-loved versus Second Hand (it's all in the wording)!

There's been a flurry of activity here with the Buy Nothing New campaign for October.  In fact the concept has been so popular that many participants have made a conscious decision to follow the principles all year round.  What is so good about this is that, as far as the pre-loved garment market is concerned, it can not only be ongoing but increase in ways of utilising the Buy Nothing New principle.

"Second-hand" for some reason of another has taken on a negative thought in many people's minds.  It's as though being "second-hand", it should only be relegated to the waste bin.   I guess it all comes down to the way you think about things.

For instance - you may go into a leading boutique and buy a highly priced garment which in your thinking is "new".   Has it ever occurred to you that that particular garment may have been bought by someone else, taken home, tried on, and then returned to the boutique as being "unsuitable"?  It does happen you know.

As a comparison you enter one of the major Charity Stores, such as St Vinnys, Brotherhood of St Laurence or one of my favourite haunts, the Salvation Army Thrift shops or Family Stores, and you are surrounded by, in many cases, absolutely new garments that have never been worn.  They still retain their swing tickets, and they have been carefully and lovingly checked and rechecked as being squeaky clean without any blemishes, by professional people within these organisations before being distributed to the store outlets.

Even obvious second-hand clothes have been dry-cleaned, buttons sewn on, hems and sewing checked, and presented in such a way that you don't "see" the second-handedness of the garment, but that it is something that appeals to you, that fits you, and more often than not, is totally affordable.   And in many cases, these garments are priced so low that they shouldn't be missed!

I read in a national newspaper that three mature aged ladies had bought themselves lovely pre-loved wedding gowns which they have had altered, and which they intend to wear to the Melbourne Cup!  "We said to each other, let's dress up!  And none of us had ever been dressed as brides when we married, so this was a great opportunity!"

Women who were born during and following the Second World War, and indeed their children, grew up with what used to be termed, "hand-me-downs".  There was never a thought that they were not appreciated and in fact many times a garment such as this became a firm favourite.   These garments would never have been afforded, but with the advent of passing one garment to another person, meant that each was given the opportunity of having nice clothes to wear.   And for many women, that continued throughout their married lives, when money was tight - and let's face it, money is tight in many families all the time, not just occasionally.

So there are many reasons why the Buy Nothing New campaign has been a success - of course to many of us it's been a way of life for a long time.