Fashion Fussing
Oct. 17th, 2011 11:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pen_gruntD and I went thrift-store shopping over the weekend. This is in our repertoire of weekend things fairly often--and we both enjoy the experience. It's like a treasure hunt.
For instance, this weekend, D found a steel canopy/structure for $30. He wants to use it for tailgating. He has been looking at these for a long time with great longing. This particular model usually runs about $400. He also found a triad of golf clubs all taped together at a total price of $4.95. One of the clubs is complete junk--but the other two are worth over $100 each. I found a brand-new Banana Republic coat for $20. Checking online it's about $200.
Of course, nothing is a bargain--no matter how cheap--unless you have use for it. So we don't just get stuff we don't need/want. We get stuff that we've curiously had our eyes on for a while.
This is how I've acquired most of my good-quality work clothes. Banana Republic, Express, Limited, Ann Taylor, etc. My boss will ask me where I got something and the answer is almost always: At the thrift store. There's a trick to finding nice stuff. The boss says I should write a blog about it--my finds, tips, tricks, best places to go, etc.--but I'm not sure that it would be terribly interesting to anyone but me.
There are some frustrating things about thrifting, though. Sizes have fluctuated widely in the past 10 years. What was a size 4 is now a size 2 or even a size 0. You can't just pull something off the rack--sometimes something in your "size" will be disappointingly too small or too large. This brings me to the ridiculousness of vanity sizing.
I'm reasonably slender/fit, but I'm not the smallest person in the world. There is absolutely NO reason why an Ann Taylor size 0 skirt or dress should be too big for me. None whatsoever. I know that clothing manufacturers think I should be ecstatic that I'm fitting into a smaller size--but I'm *not* a size 0, it's all fake. Therefore it's just patronizing and frustrating. Later I'll find something cute from about 10 years ago and be suddenly disappointed that the size 4 or 6 is a bit snug. Don't even get me started on vintage sizes or European sizes.
For instance, this weekend, D found a steel canopy/structure for $30. He wants to use it for tailgating. He has been looking at these for a long time with great longing. This particular model usually runs about $400. He also found a triad of golf clubs all taped together at a total price of $4.95. One of the clubs is complete junk--but the other two are worth over $100 each. I found a brand-new Banana Republic coat for $20. Checking online it's about $200.
Of course, nothing is a bargain--no matter how cheap--unless you have use for it. So we don't just get stuff we don't need/want. We get stuff that we've curiously had our eyes on for a while.
This is how I've acquired most of my good-quality work clothes. Banana Republic, Express, Limited, Ann Taylor, etc. My boss will ask me where I got something and the answer is almost always: At the thrift store. There's a trick to finding nice stuff. The boss says I should write a blog about it--my finds, tips, tricks, best places to go, etc.--but I'm not sure that it would be terribly interesting to anyone but me.
There are some frustrating things about thrifting, though. Sizes have fluctuated widely in the past 10 years. What was a size 4 is now a size 2 or even a size 0. You can't just pull something off the rack--sometimes something in your "size" will be disappointingly too small or too large. This brings me to the ridiculousness of vanity sizing.
I'm reasonably slender/fit, but I'm not the smallest person in the world. There is absolutely NO reason why an Ann Taylor size 0 skirt or dress should be too big for me. None whatsoever. I know that clothing manufacturers think I should be ecstatic that I'm fitting into a smaller size--but I'm *not* a size 0, it's all fake. Therefore it's just patronizing and frustrating. Later I'll find something cute from about 10 years ago and be suddenly disappointed that the size 4 or 6 is a bit snug. Don't even get me started on vintage sizes or European sizes.
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no subject
Date: 2011-10-18 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-24 08:29 pm (UTC)Though, if there were two articles of clothing that were exactly the same and fit me exactly the same and one was a 2 and one was a 4... Yeah, I'd buy the 2.
*Hangshead*