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This is such an informative post! I've noticed that just in the last few years, Macy's in my area has suddenly cut out almost entirely the professional clothing lines (what you describe as being for "older" women), in favor of more cheap-looking, trendy cr@p for the teen and early 20's set. But I know women in their early-to-mid 20's who used to shop in Style & Co., Claiborne, and the other designer items. They don't want the cheap, trendy stuff, either. I still think there's a demand for the more classic styles, though I also know that women outside of "juniors" age buy "juniors". But that's for leisure wear. People need something for the office, in addition to whatever they choose for leisure wear.
I have been looking for a slightly trendy blazer for a zillion years. I don't need formal formal work clothes, but I have been wanted to class up my work wardrobe and can't find anything. Our Macy's doesn't have any stylish formal clothes. Are all really dowdy and cheaply made.
Also, if you happen to live close to any Amish settlements, their stores (general and/or dry goods) have nice fabrics.
i see a lot of fabrics sold online. i don;t know how to shop for them with fell the touch and drape of it. the stores around here Joann Fabrics has very bad selection and mostly carry quilting stuff.
I like Lands End for knits and sweaters; I like LL Bean for some other sporty things. Both places do good sweaters (esp. LL Bean.) I love clothing found in the Orvis line, but I've never ordered anything. I used to find things at Talbots, but they aren't my style now. I also like Chico's. Too bad there isn't one near me. Chico's clothing is designed for more mature women, but I don't think all that highly of the quality vs price. However, I've gotten some good things there. And Chico's is quite stylish.
Lands End is pushing their newish line of jeans, and I intend to try out some narrow legged and some trouser jeans, as well a the denim dress and skirt. Their new fall stuff looks good to me.
I think when they changed direction, to younger fashions, their built up clientele abandoned them. At least that is what I think. I checked their offerings a while back and found they had totally changed. It looks like they are now catering to a more mature clientele again. I think I'll have a closer look.
i see a lot of fabrics sold online. i don;t know how to shop for them with fell the touch and drape of it. the stores around here Joann Fabrics has very bad selection and mostly carry quilting stuff.
Did you try the independent store locator? I was surprised at how many places were around me.
I'm reluctant to buy fabric online too. I want to be able to feel the material and see the print because descriptions and pictures can vary widely from actuality. There are some online stores with swatch services. If I were ever going to purchase fabric online, I'd take advantage of that. Fabric.com , emmaonesock.com , and finefabrics.com will all provide swatches for free or for a minimal fee.
I have a couple of old blouses that belonged to my mother in the 40's, and I'll tell ya - they don't make clothes like that anymore. In fact, one of my thrills in watching movies from 30's and 40's are the magnificent clothes back then.
But, y'know, I did buy an "active wear" shirt from Target the other day that I just love. The bright purple color caught my eye, but the unusual polyester material should last a while and I think the color will, too. May go buy more. Because I, too, am tired of cheap, thin cotton materials.
Google: Flax, Matchpoint, Citron silk--not cheap but wears like iron and relatively easy care. Wash on delicate-low spin, hang up, smoothing seams (pulling gently), dry with no ironing needed. You can mix and match a wardrobe for day to evening with these.
I have been looking for a slightly trendy blazer for a zillion years. I don't need formal formal work clothes, but I have been wanted to class up my work wardrobe and can't find anything. Our Macy's doesn't have any stylish formal clothes. Are all really dowdy and cheaply made.
Try a Polo Ralph Lauren equestrian jacket on EBAY. I bought a beautiful wool riding jacket for $35 and it will look great as a casual blazer with jeans or cords.
I'm sure there is some article somewhere about the advent of jersey circa 2009 when the economy tanked. It allowed us have a variety of new styles inexpensively. Frankly, I like it though for casual clothes, especially with my changing body as I age. Waterfall, asymmetrical and ruching in the right places can be very flattering.
Other fabrics I like are cottons, denims and linens. I don't mind if they're thin--for casual wear, that is. I will never find sheer appropriate for business wear.
Speaking of appropriate business wear, I had jury duty recently. I was really shocked what the staff was wearing. The bailiff wore one of those pencil lace skirts (see through) with a miniskirt underneath. One of the attorneys wore a neon suit which had skinny, cropped pants. Neon. Neon. I can't wrap my head around this.
I am not that conservative with my own casual dress, and I don't really care what others wear for casual occasions, honestly. I believe most occasions do not require dressing up, but if court is not one of those, then what is?!
Last edited by imagineAA; 08-09-2015 at 10:34 AM..
I agree with your posts and as a 64 year old woman, remember the days of fine clothing made in the USA. I grew up in southern New York state and we'd drive to PA to the clothing factories where we'd shop the outlet stores in Reading, Scranton, etc. So I grew up wearing high quality clothing. I'm not in a position to pay thousands of dollars for an outfit and it's ridiculous to do so! So.... I shop EBAY. There are several folks/companies on EBAY that sell designer high quality clothing on consignment. The only problem I have is figuring out my size. It seems each designer has a different idea of what a size 4 is. Then, there is the entire European size chart thing. So if you shop EBAY in this manner, be sure to check and see if you can return the item. I have bought some marvelous items this way.
I agree.
You can never be sure what your size is though as sizes vary from brand to brand and even within a brand.
Ebay is a good clothing source but first you need to know which brands you prefer and that usually fit you. THEN you need to buy from a seller who lists the measurements. For instance, I will not buy a jacket if they don't list the shoulder width and arm length measurements even if it IS my size and my usual brand. If they don't have the measurements in the listing, I'll "contact the seller" and ask.
The quality varies within a brand too. I have an L.L. Bean outlet near me and some of their stuff is just plain cheap and horrible now. Other things are nice quality. Some of their shoes are very cheaply made in China, other shoes are well made. My husband bought a nice pair of sandals there last year. They fell apart. He took them back and the employee said that there have been a lot of returns on those sandals due to the poor quality. He said that they had just sent a representative in China to try to remedy the problem.
L.L. Bean boots are still high quality because they started out making hunting boots and they still pride themselves on their boots.
Some of their pants are really good and others are flimsy.
Someone mentioned Flax--yes, I agree. Mostly for linen clothing, it's a quality brand and I think it's made in Lithuania. For basics, I still like Talbots, but if you want anything more out of the ordinary, I think you'd have to look elsewhere. My MIL who was a seamstress, always said that Talbots was consistently good quality.
I like J. Jill clothing but sometimes the quality isn't there either. It can fit wrong on me too. I like Chico's Travelers for....travel. It's slinky and comfortable and seems to hold up.
I buy things on ebay, in thrift stores, and outlets. I don't bother with the mall anymore and the poor quality clothing at high prices. Buying clothing isn't as easy as it used to be. So much of the quality is just gone.
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