Archive for February, 2008

We hadn’t been to Kohls in a while and Ginnie needs tops so we wandered over there last night. The problem with Kohls is their larges and extra-larges are not. She’s busty and has a hard time finding clothes that are large enough in the bust and Kohls selection sucks for that.

Anyway, over in the Women’s section I noticed a sign for Simply Vera Wang. Hey, I know that name! Let’s check it out. Yup, it’s simple all right. This shit looks like it was made by junior high girls with no class. I like the material but the neckline has a one-inch hem with what looks like a shoestring holding it up, and the hems are basted. Fugly and cheap looking. This blouse was beautiful from a distance, but up close the outer layer (maybe silk?) has unfinished edges – which means it will fall apart. And these are hand-washables! Where is the finer sewing, the quality, the extras you might be willing to pay extra for?

So not only do you pay out the ass for something cheap looking, you have to hand-wash it if you want it to last through more than one wearing.

I just don’t understand it. The markup on clothes is outrageous! Just to have someone’s name on it? She’s not even trying! I cannot imagine paying that much money for a dress. Am I too cheap?

I like this dress, but not enough to pay $198 for it. It’s nylon! If I had any talent (and patience) for sewing I’m fairly sure I could make four or five of these dresses for two hundred bucks.

el_mcgruffle makes snide comments all the time about ugly clothing. Sure, he can afford to be more selective about his own wardrobe. I’m not bitching about what other people pay for fashion. What I’m saying is where are the attractive choices for people with no money? You want to know why there are so many women walking around in sacks? Because sacks are all they can afford.

I think there’s a conspiracy in the clothing industry. They flood the market with inexpensive cardboard clothing and only design attractive stuff for higher prices on purpose. There’s no reason in the world that you can’t make a line of pretty clothes for decent prices. You do find them occasionally amid the racks and racks of kitchen-curtainesque uglywear.

We with little money don’t chose to dress this way. There are so few choices. The most I can afford to pay for a nice dress is maybe $30. And that’s pushing it for me. I feel guilty if I spend more than that on clothes when there are bills to be paid.

It’s all bullshit. I have got to learn how to sew. But then again, the last time I looked at patterns, they were mostly for those same cheap-ugly clothes in the stores. And I don’t think I’ll ever have aranel13‘s talent to whip something up without a pattern, no matter how hard I try.

Shit.