Women's clothes... buy it for life? What are your favourites?

Catie George wrote:i could see it making sense, but not, personally, now.

My biggest issue is time! Sewing is not hard, but it is fiddly, and quite time consuming to do well (especially when taught by a perfectionist who does everything the '9right' way).

My last project took about 5 days of my Christmas break. Project before that 10 hrs and never finished. One before that (easy circle skirt) 2 weekends + 5 evenings.  Yes, you can save time by reusing patterns and buying the fabric and notions for multiple at once, but it's still a lot! I don't have 15 extra hours in a month to use for sewing at this point in my life.  

Erica Wisner wrote:One long time favorite was olive wool Army pants with button pegged legs, the best for cycling in rain and misty weather.

Nicole Alderman wrote:I
Oooh, I just remembered I can organize the search results by price. $6 for brown 100% wool pants! Eeep!

Catie George wrote:
From my experience:
Buying fabric, pattern, notions, driving, etc  =1.5 hrs.
Cutting out pattern = 1 hr (read instructions, mark cutting lines, cut, iron pattern pieces).
alter pattern =0.5-2 hrs.
prewash + iron fabric = 1.5 hrs.
layout and cut pattern, transfer pattern markings, etc = 1-2 hrs.
Sew long seams and iron flat=1.5 hr.
Sew fiddly bits (plackets, waistband, press and sew darts, pleats, etc)=2 -4hrs.
Install notions,  buttons, clasps, zippers, etc, = 1-2 hrs.

So about  10 hrs to 15.5 hrs, plus more time for my screw ups, etc. About 5+ hrs of screwups on my last project- (button holer not working and 1 way directional fabric that you can only see in strong light, and a lot of seam ripping..)

My last project took about 5 days of my Christmas break. Project before that 10 hrs and never finished. One before that (easy circle skirt) 2 weekends + 5 evenings.  Yes, you can save time by reusing patterns and buying the fabric and notions for multiple at once, but it's still a lot! I don't have 15 extra hours in a month to use for sewing at this point in my life.  

Kate Downham wrote:For sandals I've been really happy with Birkenstock clogs, they last a long time and are easily repaired. My feet are fairly wide, and I've had no issues fitting them.

For boots, I like Dr Martens, because they fit me well and the types I've had seem to last a long time.

Ruth Meyers wrote:
Ah! I had a favorite heavy wool pair.  In fact, I still might.  I know I no longer fit into them, but if I find them I will post them here for a giveaway.  It's hard to just let them go out the door if they won't be appreciated.  Treasures!

Catie George wrote:Thanks for the sewing resources. My mom took professional pattern making and sewing classes, so at one time I planned to sew a lot of my clothes, as she did when she was my age.  If working part time, or no longer working, i could see it making sense, but not, personally, now.

My biggest issue is time! Sewing is not hard, but it is fiddly, and quite time consuming to do well (especially when taught by a perfectionist who does everything the '9right' way). It's also not a hobby I really love.

From my experience:
Buying fabric, pattern, notions, driving, etc  =1.5 hrs.
Cutting out pattern = 1 hr (read instructions, mark cutting lines, cut, iron pattern pieces).
alter pattern =0.5-2 hrs.
prewash + iron fabric = 1.5 hrs.
layout and cut pattern, transfer pattern markings, etc = 1-2 hrs.
Sew long seams and iron flat=1.5 hr.
Sew fiddly bits (plackets, waistband, press and sew darts, pleats, etc)=2 -4hrs.
Install notions,  buttons, clasps, zippers, etc, = 1-2 hrs.

So about  10 hrs to 15.5 hrs, plus more time for my screw ups, etc. About 5+ hrs of screwups on my last project- (button holer not working and 1 way directional fabric that you can only see in strong light, and a lot of seam ripping..)

My last project took about 5 days of my Christmas break. Project before that 10 hrs and never finished. One before that (easy circle skirt) 2 weekends + 5 evenings.  Yes, you can save time by reusing patterns and buying the fabric and notions for multiple at once, but it's still a lot! I don't have 15 extra hours in a month to use for sewing at this point in my life.  

As for elastic... tried it. Looks awful added post construction, works great when integrated into the waistband.

As for purses... my mom's briefcase which she uses now as a massive purse is 30+ years old. Dragged everywhere, thick full grain leather. It has been repaired/reinforced professionally twice at the handles to reinforce it (gotta be 30 lbs, she carries another purse, 2 waterbottles, lunch, sunglasses, notebooks, keys, makeup, OTC meds, etc inside of her purse), and still has years of life left. Our firewood carrier is leather, 25+ years old, and looks nearly brand new.

I am a 3rd generation dressmaker. My grandmother helped me draft my first pattern when I was 8 years old. I don't do as much sewing as I did when I was younger. Your example is a reason why. It also highlights the issue my mother ( she passed away a little over a year ago at age 91)  and I have dealt with for many years. People expect to pay less for something custom made for them. I just don't get it. I have two pairs of jeans from Walmart that have lasted me probably 5 years. I am disabled and wasn't able to work for the last 6 years. I just started working part-time again. I work just 10-15 hours a week at a Tommy Hilfiger outlet store in NH, so we get a lot of Canadian shoppers. Their prices look high, but everything is always on sale, never full price. They also give us a generous 50% off any clothing we can wear to work. I've got jeans there for less than what I paid in Walmart. While the clothes are not made in the USA, they do care for their employees, such as making accommodations for those of us with disabilities. They also care about the employees of their suppliers. Their clothes are not made in horrible sweatshops (I'm sure they are still in large cheap factories, but at least not the horrible ones). As a dressmaker, I can tell you the quality of the stitching is much higher than many of the other stores I've shopped in.

Ashley Cottonwood wrote: I love my wool! I live in Canada and I coach ski racing. My favourite wool company is out of Bozeman Montana called Duckworth. They make amazing wool clothing. The wool is sourced in Montana, processed I believe in South Carolina, and it one of the few companies in the world that does not treat their wool with chlorine! Super soft, super durable! I where my sweater doing everything from skiing, white water kayaking, gardening, camping, you name it! Washes well just don't put it in a dryer :)

Fatima Shajarataddurr wrote:

Cutting out pattern = If I need to trace and add seam allowances this could be 1 hour, it could be 2 hours if I have to assemble the PDF print- at-home pattern.  With regular patterns, probably .5 hour

Nicole Alderman wrote:
I always just look like a dork and tuck my pants into my socks. I do this when I walk around my property, because otherwise my pants wick up the water from the wet grass and I have soggy pants.