Thursday, January 22, 2009

Disgust with RTW!

Today I had to run some errands and I popped in to a major retailer (department store) in my area. The general impression is that it is a more upscale store than Sears or JCPenney, but IMO our local Sears has far better quality women's apparel.

Two years ago I went hunting for some clearance sales at Sears and found a lovely knee length blazer/jacket in a fab print with a matching red skirt embossed with a velvet design and a gold-toned sweater. Total cost, maybe $40 tops. It was a great deal.
Today I went to the "better" department store looking for some school uniform pants for my boys for next year. I did get the pants, but also went snooping for some good deals. Into the dressing room I took 3 blazers/jackets and two tops. Here's my take on my dressing room experience:

  1. Purple print top. Great print, lovely style. Picked a size Small. The neck was gaping horribly in the back, the bust was snug and pulled, but everything was fine from the underbust down.

  2. Lightish/"lime-ish" green top. Wide, circular neckband with I like. It had a little keyhole cutout in the front with a round metal decoration in the cutout. The top actually fit nicely. But why did they every use a flimsy lightweight knit with this heavy metal decoration? I didn't even have a Wonderbra on and the decoration hit right in my cleavage. Forget this style if you're a C-cup or larger. The darn metal object twisted and turned in the hollow space between my boobs and wouldn't lay like it should. Probably a good thing for me since I'm nickel allergic. Had it fit nicely I probably would have bought it and ended up with a big itchy rash between my boobs. Summer heat only makes it worse and this was a short sleeve top.

  3. Red jacket. Cute style. Had the nice bell-styled sleeve bottoms that are so popular now. But a stretch jacket with a non-stretch lining? And it fit great except for the boobs. Too snug.

  4. First black jacket. Fit great every where on my body except for the back neck. Terrible gaping.

  5. Second black jacket. I can live with this one. It seemed roomy and now I know why--I accidentally purchased a Medium. It was $24. I'm still debating whether to keep or take it back. Please help me decide. My issue on it is below.
Here's the black jacket with that red skirt I purchased from Sears a couple of years ago. Not too bad, but a little too roomy I think:
Not too bad, but here's my pet peeve:

This shouldn't be happening. That's an awful fold, and it keeps wanting to cave in like that. You wouldn't believe how thin the fabric is. It feels kind of flimsy. Yet...Here's the crime of it all--the original price tag!


I paid $24. Still not sure and think maybe I paid too much. It's not a great fit, a little on the big side due to my error. You know how sizes end up on different racks with clearance sales. I'm headed back into town tomorrow and wonder if I should take it back. What do you think?
Anyway, I did send in the fabric and lining swatches for the leather match on my next coat. Actually the fabric is jacket weight which was a little disappointing. I didn't realize how thin it was when it was on the hanger. I could go to option two which was the original plan of using the Vogue Retro jacket pattern. So that's another question hanging over my head at this point.
I'm off to work on some business stuff.

5 comments:

Maryissewfast said...

That glaring fold at the neckline closure would have me taking it back...perhaps they will have a size small for exchange that doesn't have that flaw??? Mary

Anonymous said...

Blogged this. Let's see what the experts in RTW say :).
http://www.fashion-incubator.com/archive/pop-quiz-481-whats-wrong-with-this-collar/

Tamara said...

I have found that it is not worth it for me to keep something that doesn't fit even if it is dirt cheap. I am so often lured in by great prices but if I don't absolutely love it it just sits in my closet unworn. So for me it is just a waste of money even if it was a great deal. IMO I would take it back since you don't love it.

Anonymous said...

The interfacing is not heavy enough to support the weight of the collar and button. To fix it would take a lot of picking apart seams and resewing after applying better interfacing all the way down the front, which means redoing button holes. Take it back - shoddy design and poor materials choice should not be purchased as it only encourages the mass producers to further skimp on product.

Cennetta said...

I feel your pain. Often I have the same experience. ..., everything I take into the fitting room does not fit or is poorly made. So I end up not purchasing anything. The great news is we can sew; and we are pretty good at it. The retailers are good inspiration and occasionally we find a good bargain. But sewing is the ultimate satisfaction.