Spending Habits Now and Then

I just found the most excellent article featured on Etsy's front page - it is about "The History of the Cheap Dress." After reading it, I thought about my own closet and what it consists of. In an attempt to be cost effective, I try not to buy anything full price, unless it is impossible to do so. Most of the solid cotton t-shirts I wear are sale rack finds or from the closing sale of a store. My sweaters are a mixed bag, some from Nordstrom's preview sale in the fall or their sale section as well as Target or Kohl's. Only when I get to the other items does it get tricky. As I type, I am wearing shorts from American Eagle last season (which were on sale), a yellow Aeropostale shirt (that was free when presenting a magazine cover a couple years ago), and a pair of silver Havaiana's flip flops (which I bought full price at school the day we made a trip into town and my shoes were giving me blisters). So it does tend to depend on my circumstance. I also frequent TJMaxx and Marshalls (but have much better luck at the former), and have had great luck. My best finds were two past season Nanette Lepore pieces - an eggplant textured boiled wool coat (which I wear all winter) and a navy semi-formal dress (that I wore to my high school graduation). Although my wallet seems to hate the prices, I know that an investment (especially in an expensive piece that was marked down) will help my wardrobe in the long run.

Back to the article, I am a bit appalled by the number of people who shop at places like Forever 21. Their clothing is made horribly and out of cheap fabric, then marked up for people at "cheap prices." I just don't understand it. My bitterness could be a result of the clothes hardly fitting me, but also looking quite sad in comparison to anything more expensive. I do realize that this store is supposed to be good for those trying to cut costs, but I suggest trying another store.

This way of thinking is far from what drives my love of retro and historical clothing and my passion for sewing. No, that is driven by my urge to create beautiful things for others to view both onstage and in my everyday wear (this much less so as I trend towards fanciful costumes). If I had the confidence, I'd wear retro clothes everyday, but I haven't worked up to that yet. Maybe sometime soon.