Clothing Engineer

Yesterday I hit the thrift stores in the area. I picked up seven pairs of pants, one Columbia Sportswear button-down shirt, a GAP cotton jacket, and a leather jacket for $106. Some of the pants were only $2. (Yes, you can buy two pairs of pants for less than the price of one gallon of gas in CT.) A khaki skirt from Talbots that looked brand-new was $6. The leather jacket was marked down to $21. The most expensive item I picked up was a $30 pair of G1 Outdoor Gear khakis. (Some amazing details on those pants I would love to copy.)

You could hardly tell most of them had been used. I was thinking of sewing a pair of cargo pants, but when you can buy a brand-new pair of $38 Gloria Vanderbilt cargos with tags for $12, is it really worth spending all that time? For the typical casual weekend clothes it almost isn’t even worth the effort, especially something as detailed as these cargo pants. But attractive suits, dresses, and business casual clothes in wool and silk seem hard to come by. I could not find one business blazer/jacket in my size that looked good. Looks like I know where my sewing focus will be for a while…

I was actually quite restrained this time. 90% of what I bought was on my list. I haven’t been there since July.

The key to effective weight loss for sewers is to buy a lot of fabric and notions, then have no money for food. Or time to eat.