posted
I am officially fed up with women's clothes. I've never liked dresses or skirts because my thighs rub together... and I've never really cared for pantyhose to prevent the chafing because I swear to God, pantyhose was created by Satan... or the Marquis de Sade... I haven't decided yet.
Maybe it's just because I'm a tomboy... a t-shirts and jeans kinda gal. I don't go for all that frilly, pleated, gathered, froo-froo ruffly crap that typically gets marketed to women. I don't need plunging necklines or off-the-shoulder whatsits. See-through tops and anything that would show off the straps of athletic bras are right out. I don't go for "the layered look" and I quite frankly don't give a damn what's "in style" or if orange is the new pink or any of that nonsense.
But the last straw came this summer. After giving birth to my second child, my hips have irretrievably spread past the confines of my current wardrobe, so I needed to buy some more shorts (or else swelter through the summer in my maternity pants). Apparently, skirts are the new shorts or some silly BS, because I couldn't find anything. When I did find shorts, there was nothing in my size.
Finally, after a month of searching, I found two pairs of shorts that SAID they were the right size, but unfortunately, the fabric had no stretch to it, so when I sat down, the fabric would gouge into my leg and then roll up my thighs. I kept looking. Everything I found either was incapable of circumnavigating my mighty backside, did not pull all the way up (I don't do low-riders), was made of unyielding fabric, was the most god-awful colors, or was cut so high that it kind of defeated the whole purpose of stopping my thighs rubbing together.
One last ditch effort, I went to Target. Women's section was a big bust... unless I magically went down to a size 8 without noticing. So I said "screw it" and went into the men's section. WAY in the back in the clearance section, for $5.99 a pop, was EXACTLY what I was looking for: elastic waist, t-shirt type material, leg to mid-thigh. I didn't bother trying them on, because I figured they're men's short, designed for ball-room, so they'd come up over my butt no problem. I snatched up 5 pairs.
Got home, put on a pair, fit like a DREAM. OMG, and there were POCKETS!! WTF is it about women's clothes that nothing has friggin' pockets anymore? I'm in heaven. I give up shopping in the women's section.
-------------------- They just don't make crazed, beserk robots like they used to. --Sheen Estevez, Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
If I manage to post something swipe-worthy that you would like to make your sig, you may do so with my blessing. Posts: 2486 | From: East Stroudsburg, PA | Registered: Oct 2005
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posted
Well...pockets add bulk. So we don't like pockets. At least that's the theory.
Meanwhile, I hate shorts and love skirts, and if pantyhose were more durable I think I'd wear it all the time.
What upsets me is this return to 80's horror, only with tight tops so your every bulge can show. I can't think of anything MORE unflattering on a traditional hourglass shape (which I'm happy to have, though I would like to take off a few pounds so my old clothes fit) than skinny-legged jeans and tight tunics reaching just below the croch. Yuck. I will stick with the full skirts and classic sweater thing from the last few seasons.
Avril
-------------------- There is no failure unless one stops. --Ray Bradbury Posts: 2115 | From: Oklahoma | Registered: Aug 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Avril: Well...pockets add bulk. So we don't like pockets. At least that's the theory.
It's a stupid theory.* Properly-constructed pockets do not add bulk, although carrying bulky things in them will.
I once had a skirt suit that had, wonder of wonders, an inside jacket pocket, like the one inside a man's suitcoat. I'd been told for years that this was impossible, because the suit wouldn't lie properly over the bustline. How did the makers of this particular suit pull it off? They put the pocket below the bustline. (It wasn't a tightly fitted jacket, obviously).
*ETA: No offense, Avril, I know it's not your theory.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I don't understand how women ever find anything that fits them - women's sizing seems really arbitrary.
-------------------- and it's 1 - 2 - 3, what are we fighting for? don't ask me, I don't give a damn Posts: 1319 | From: Florida | Registered: Dec 2002
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posted
Hubby's theory is that women's clothes don't have pockets because women carry purses. But the only reason I carry a purse is because women's clothes don't have pockets! I detest carrying a purse... darn thing is forever sliding off my shoulder and my 2 year old keeps trying to get my credit cards (and anything the size of a credit card) out so he can line them up on the floor.
-------------------- They just don't make crazed, beserk robots like they used to. --Sheen Estevez, Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
If I manage to post something swipe-worthy that you would like to make your sig, you may do so with my blessing. Posts: 2486 | From: East Stroudsburg, PA | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by put it in writing: I don't understand how women ever find anything that fits them - women's sizing seems really arbitrary.
Amen! The waist/inseam measurements they do for men's clothes makes much more sense. Except that women and men are shaped a bit differently, so we'd need waist/hips/inseam. But yeah... what the heck does Size 14 mean? How much bigger is it than a Size 10? Why do ten different manufacturers have ten different Size 14s?
-------------------- They just don't make crazed, beserk robots like they used to. --Sheen Estevez, Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius
If I manage to post something swipe-worthy that you would like to make your sig, you may do so with my blessing. Posts: 2486 | From: East Stroudsburg, PA | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Originally posted by put it in writing: I don't understand how women ever find anything that fits them - women's sizing seems really arbitrary.
That's because it is. I use sizes as a guideline and try everything on. If I find something that fits well and is flattering, I may buy it in multiple colors -- especially basic trousers in neutral colors.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Lainie, I do that, too, with shoes. I loathe shoe shopping, so when I find a good pair of shoes (nice flats, NOT heels!), I buy it in black, brown, navy, and cream (or white). One pair, I even bought in red and green, I liked it so much. (For me, this was a huge deal- I'm all for mixing and matching as much as possible, and the green pair and the red pair only went with something like two outfits each.)
And I'd be another one who'd LOVE it if women's clothing was sized like men's!!
-------------------- "Seize the day! Make your lives extraordinary!" -John Keating, "Dead Poets Society" Posts: 2861 | From: New Jersey | Registered: May 2004
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posted
I think I know why it's arbitrary. I'm told that there's size inflation, or deflation, not sure which to call it. Manufacturers believe* that a woman who wears (let's say) an 8 today is more likely to buy their clothing ten years from now if she's still wearing an 8. If that means changing what an 8 is, that's what they'll do.
* I don't know whether they're right, but I know they spend a lot of money trying to learn these things.
-------------------- "Well, it looks we're on our own ... again."--Rev. Lovejoy Posts: 3572 | From: St. Louis, MO | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I'm glad I'm not the only one going through clothing angst right now. I've been trying to find some cute tank tops since before summer started that fit properly and aren't too expensive. IMPOSSIBLE!
My particular beef is with plus sizes. You have two varieties: The first is the kind you find at Walmart - affordable, but heinous, with Winnie the Pooh prints and shaped like a box. The other is the kind you find in plus size specialty shops - cute, shaped well, but way out of reach to my pocketbook. If the big-box places can make cute tank tops in a size 8 that sell for 4.99, they could make plus sizes in similar styles for a few dollars more. I can't stomach paying 24.99 for a style that would cost me less than ten at Wal-Mart (if they had it).
I think it's a covert form of social punishment for being fat and poor. Just like welfare.
the other thing is i have a boyish shape (no hips.)
what's the deal with not making plain black t-shirts for women? i have two by the way, both pilfered from the mens section of the store.
not only that but i've see shirts for guys that are a lot cooler than the stuff in the womens section, the trick is getting one that fits around the bust line, which isn't difficult, just go up a size or two.
and what's up with everything being tight and tiny?
my other problem the GAP if you're not under a size 18 you cant shop there.
and people wonder why teenagers have self image issues.
Posts: 39 | From: California | Registered: Dec 2005
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Rhiandmoi
Ding Dong! Merrily on High Definition TV
posted
Honestly, I buy Lucky brand jeans because they fit, but I do not like that they are sized lik men's jeans. It is something phsychological about knowing what my waist size is. Maybe if every manufacturer did it, I would be used to it, but as it is I don't like it.
-------------------- I think that hyperbole is the single greatest factor contributing to the decline of society. - My friend Pat.
posted
My mother once found a blouse in the women's section. Needing a new one for work, she decided to buy it. Then she needed some clothing for my dad. So, off to the men's section. What did she find there, but the exact same blouse (what do they call men's button up shirts?), with the buttons set up for men, at half the price! And no, it wasn't on sale at the time. Women's shirt got left behind, men's shirt got picked up and bought. In no way, shape or form do I find shopping in the men's section for women weird.
Most of my very most comfortable clothing has come from that section. And pockets! I love having pockets just to put my hands in. Why, oh, why do women's clothes not come with pockets?
And a lot of clothes over here come with 4 different sizes on the label now: US, UK, Aussie and... you know, I can't remember the 4th one.
I must say, I've never seen size 6 or less clothing for an adult woman over here, though that could be my location.
Err, I think I'm done.
Give me men's comfy clothing any day.
-------------------- You have just been involved in a drive-by posting. Posts: 204 | From: CQ, Australia | Registered: Feb 2006
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posted
Some days I begin to feel like that, especially when dealing with jeans. The odds of finding something that (a) fits around my waist, (b) does not devour my feet, and (c) does not drive a wedge into my crotch seem practically nil.
On the other hand, my dad occasionally shops for shoes in the women's section. He found out that basic men's Reeboks and women's differ only in terms of how they size the suckers, so he just found out what size he wears in a women's shoe and wears that.
Posts: 67 | From: Farmville, Virginia | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Purple Iguana: Got home, put on a pair, fit like a DREAM. OMG, and there were POCKETS!! WTF is it about women's clothes that nothing has friggin' pockets anymore?
You clearly grew up in a different world than I did if you think women's clothing has ever automatically had pockets. Don't you know that women don't need them? We all carry purses 24 hours a day.
Seaboe
-------------------- Education is not the filling of a hard drive, but the lighting of a bulb. -- Yeats via Esprise Me Posts: 5562 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Avril: Well...pockets add bulk. So we don't like pockets. At least that's the theory.
Meanwhile, I hate shorts and love skirts, and if pantyhose were more durable I think I'd wear it all the time.
What upsets me is this return to 80's horror, only with tight tops so your every bulge can show. I can't think of anything MORE unflattering on a traditional hourglass shape (which I'm happy to have, though I would like to take off a few pounds so my old clothes fit) than skinny-legged jeans and tight tunics reaching just below the croch. Yuck. I will stick with the full skirts and classic sweater thing from the last few seasons.
Avril
I hear yah, and they are ballyhooing "skinny jeans" (that they have spent the past 5 seasons telling us NO NO NO Makes you look FAT must buy BIG LEGS) so I think I'm going to go buy a bunch of flare legged jeans with a low to moderate rise (because I'm short waisted and HATE having armpit bands) before they are all gone, enough to last me a decade before they come back again.
I hate jeans shopping but I only have two pairs that FIT right now.
Nothing could be uglier than little peg leggies and big huge shoulder pads but that's what they are about to stick us with again.
-My favorite jeans (but I'm a size too big for them now, alas) were some of my son's. Maybe I'll check out the mens section too, although I don't know if that style exists in men's anymore either.
-------------------- "Wolves, dragons and vampires, man. Draw the nut-bars like big ol' nut-bar magnets." ~evilrabbit
(snurched because one of my nutbar family members is all about wolves and another one is all about dragons...)(with apologies to surfcitydogdad) Posts: 2397 | From: Texarkana, TX | Registered: Mar 2006
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posted
Doesn't anyone sew any more? Can't find ready-to-wear you like--get a few yards of fabric and make something.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Jay Tempura: I think I know why it's arbitrary. I'm told that there's size inflation, or deflation, not sure which to call it. Manufacturers believe* that a woman who wears (let's say) an 8 today is more likely to buy their clothing ten years from now if she's still wearing an 8. If that means changing what an 8 is, that's what they'll do.
That's part of it, but what a particular size means also varies widely from one manufacturer to another, and sometimes among various styles from the same manufacturer. Plus there are different size ranges: odd sizes in juniors, even sizes in misses, then plus sizes, and there used to be half sizes, too which I never understood. Oh, and then there are petite sizes, which are misses sizes scaled down for shorter women, but a size 12P may or may not be smaller through the waist and hips than a regular 12.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
Okay, since this seems to be a good clothing peeve thread, I'll add mine.
Regarding the button question: after 25 years of studying historical clothing as a hobby, I've come to the conclusion that the button thing originated strictly as a means to differentiate men's and women's clothing so as not to violate a Biblical* prohibition on wearing the clothes of the opposite gender. It remained as a good way to gouge women (either on original price or on cleaning cost) because most women don't think to compare prices**.
I'm also a firm believer in no pockets due to purses. Since pockets can be and are designed to limit bulk on men's clothing, why should that be an issue with women's clothing?
Last of all, I'm not a plus size. I'm not petite, but I'm not a plus. This means buying clothing in the men's department is generally not an option (I do have some men's polo shirts--size small!--but that's it). On the other hand, I'm fairly tall and long waisted. And I much prefer to tuck in my shirt and show off my waist. Inexpensive women's clothing always skimps on length, IME.
As a result, I do not like shopping for clothes and do it as infrequently as humanly possible.
Seaboe
*If it's not in the Bible itself, it is in some of the early Biblical studies.
**another area where women are getting ripped off due to the assumption that we're too naive to compare prices is in deodorant/anti-perspirants. Compare price per volume some time.
-------------------- Education is not the filling of a hard drive, but the lighting of a bulb. -- Yeats via Esprise Me Posts: 5562 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker: It remained as a good way to gouge women (either on original price or on cleaning cost) because most women don't think to compare prices**.
**another area where women are getting ripped off due to the assumption that we're too naive to compare prices is in deodorant/anti-perspirants. Compare per volume some time.
(dons flame-retardant suit) If it were not so, the prices would be the same.
-------------------- "Well, it looks we're on our own ... again."--Rev. Lovejoy Posts: 3572 | From: St. Louis, MO | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Elkhound: Doesn't anyone sew any more? Can't find ready-to-wear you like--get a few yards of fabric and make something.
I sew. I don't sew everyday clothes. Why? It's not worth it in terms of either my time or expense. If you think it's easier to sew, more power to you.
Seaboe
-------------------- Education is not the filling of a hard drive, but the lighting of a bulb. -- Yeats via Esprise Me Posts: 5562 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Several years ago I found a wonderful long paisley skirt in a thrift store for 25 cents. Not only that, it has POCKETS!! It's not flattering for my figure because it's cordoroy and just kind of hangs in a box shape, but at least it's a skirt I can wear and not have to lug a purse around.
Yes, dammit, I want pockets - functional ones, not something sewn on a t-shirt sleeve for decoration. I can sew my own clothes but I don't know how to make skirts that sort of billow out so that if you were to stuff anything in the pockets of a skirt it wouldn't be instantly noticeable. The basic skirts I know how to make just sort of hang limp.
-------------------- "There is no constitutional right to sleep with endangered reptiles." -- Carl Hiaasen Won't somebody please think of the adults! Posts: 8254 | From: Florida | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by Elkhound: Doesn't anyone sew any more? Can't find ready-to-wear you like--get a few yards of fabric and make something.
As a matter of fact, I don't sew. It's not a skill that comes automatically with two X chromosomes. It is also not an activity I personally enjoy enough to pursue.
I am, however, perfectly willing to pay a reasonable price for clothes that fit me, are well made, and are practical.
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Avril: Well...pockets add bulk. So we don't like pockets. At least that's the theory.
Meanwhile, I hate shorts and love skirts, and if pantyhose were more durable I think I'd wear it all the time.
What upsets me is this return to 80's horror, only with tight tops so your every bulge can show. I can't think of anything MORE unflattering on a traditional hourglass shape (which I'm happy to have, though I would like to take off a few pounds so my old clothes fit) than skinny-legged jeans and tight tunics reaching just below the croch. Yuck. I will stick with the full skirts and classic sweater thing from the last few seasons.
Avril
Skinny leg jeans, tunics, and leggings with every damn thing. So tiresome. I like the 80s-ish accessories that are springing up, but I am just not going to wear capri leggings every day. Nor am I going to wear gold lame flats. Just no!
-------------------- Officially Heartless Posts: 3065 | From: The Montgomery County of the West Coast- Berkeley, CA | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker: It remained as a good way to gouge women (either on original price or on cleaning cost) because most women don't think to compare prices**.
**another area where women are getting ripped off due to the assumption that we're too naive to compare prices is in deodorant/anti-perspirants. Compare per volume some time.
(dons flame-retardant suit) If it were not so, the prices would be the same.
I don't understand the flame-retardant suit. Sure, the prices would be the same. And the problem with that is...what, exactly? Or do you mean that in the stores you shop the prices are already the same? Because they sure aren't where I live.
Seaboe
-------------------- Education is not the filling of a hard drive, but the lighting of a bulb. -- Yeats via Esprise Me Posts: 5562 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Elkhound: Doesn't anyone sew any more? Can't find ready-to-wear you like--get a few yards of fabric and make something.
I do sew. Proficiently.
I can't find nice fabric with which to construct anything anymore. Nobody is sewing garments. The bulk of the fabrics the stores are carrying are home decor, quilting, or flannels and that fleece stuff.
And it's not cost effective to sew. *IF* I were to find a fabric to make a skirt I liked, by the time I got the pattern (unless I lucked out and got it on sale) and the fabric and the notions and the thread, I've spend 30 bucks, and I still don't know for sure if I will like it once it's done or not, whereas I can find very well made skirts on sale for 30 bucks that I know I will like.
And it takes time to sew - both the shopping for materials and then the construction time - I don't have that much time.
And no matter how well you sew, you can't sew jeans. They look very obviously home made, in a bad way. Same with t-shirts.
-------------------- "Wolves, dragons and vampires, man. Draw the nut-bars like big ol' nut-bar magnets." ~evilrabbit
(snurched because one of my nutbar family members is all about wolves and another one is all about dragons...)(with apologies to surfcitydogdad) Posts: 2397 | From: Texarkana, TX | Registered: Mar 2006
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Don't you know that women don't need them? We all carry purses 24 hours a day.
I have long yearned for the day when it becomes acceptable for a man to carry a purse (that's american for handbag, right?) I am fed up, in the hot weather, when it is inpractical to wear a jacket, of trying to stuff a wallet, keys, credit cards and all of the other junk I need into my trouser pockets. And if I manage it, it's damn uncomfortable.
quote:I've come to the conclusion that the button thing originated strictly as a means to differentiate men's and women's clothing so as not to violate a Biblical* prohibition on wearing the clothes of the opposite gender. It remained as a good way to gouge women (either on original price or on cleaning cost) because most women don't think to compare prices**.
The tale I heard is that the button alignment originated because it made it easier for men to draw their pistols from under their tunics, and for women to breastfeed. Always sounded like a bunch of c##p, so I too would like to know the true reason why.
On the other hand, you can quite quickly tell if you've accidentally put on your wife's blouse, whilst getting ready for work at 3am in the dark.
-------------------- "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what is commonly known as money. It comes in all sizes, colours, and denominations - like people." Posts: 997 | From: Maidstone, UK | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by Lainie: It's not a skill that comes automatically with two X chromosomes.
Ooh, Lainie, may I have this? I know it's out of context now, but that just makes it applicable to more things.
Seaboe
-------------------- Education is not the filling of a hard drive, but the lighting of a bulb. -- Yeats via Esprise Me Posts: 5562 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Jun 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Priestley's Mouse: I'm glad I'm not the only one going through clothing angst right now. I've been trying to find some cute tank tops since before summer started that fit properly and aren't too expensive. IMPOSSIBLE!
My particular beef is with plus sizes. You have two varieties: The first is the kind you find at Walmart - affordable, but heinous, with Winnie the Pooh prints and shaped like a box. The other is the kind you find in plus size specialty shops - cute, shaped well, but way out of reach to my pocketbook. If the big-box places can make cute tank tops in a size 8 that sell for 4.99, they could make plus sizes in similar styles for a few dollars more. I can't stomach paying 24.99 for a style that would cost me less than ten at Wal-Mart (if they had it).
I think it's a covert form of social punishment for being fat and poor. Just like welfare.
PM
I hate that too. (I really loathe the Pooh shirts). I found some great stuff at a mall store (I *think* Lane Bryant- but I can't be positive) but there was no way I could afford it. And the Walmart stuff (which I wear, because I have no choice) is limited to a few color choices. If I find something I like at Walmart (or Shopko, or Kmart), I buy a couple in different colors.
And, I also hate carrying a purse. I only do so in the warmer months when I'm not wearing my leather jacket that has the inside pocket.
-------------------- "Is it ME? Am I a MAGNET for these idiots?"~Pearl Forrester MST3K Die-Hard Engineers, Big Red One my Dad's website "Must be a 'snopes' thing..." ~my entire family when I try to explain something. Posts: 4524 | From: South of Madison, Wisconsin | Registered: May 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Elkhound: Doesn't anyone sew any more? Can't find ready-to-wear you like--get a few yards of fabric and make something.
Unfortunately, not every female in the world is born with the programming to look at a sewing machine and say 'Oh look! I think I'll sew some clothes!' and start making items at the drop of a hat.
I can't sew worth a darn. My mother tried to teach me and I was more interested in baking and computers (don't ask!). My sister on the otherhand makes quilts and repairs her children's clothing when it's needed. She's the domestic diva. I'm the technology diva.
ETA: While I can't sew worth anything, I am pretty good at doing simple repairs (i.e. hole in pocket).
-------------------- Tom, we're flying a giant robot into space! "Safe" isn't the first word that springs to mind! - Colleen, Last Hope, Vol.2 Posts: 2710 | From: Meet me in St. Louis | Registered: Mar 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker: It remained as a good way to gouge women (either on original price or on cleaning cost) because most women don't think to compare prices**.
**another area where women are getting ripped off due to the assumption that we're too naive to compare prices is in deodorant/anti-perspirants. Compare per volume some time.
(dons flame-retardant suit) If it were not so, the prices would be the same.
I don't understand the flame-retardant suit. Sure, the prices would be the same. And the problem with that is...what, exactly? Or do you mean that in the stores you shop the prices are already the same? Because they sure aren't where I live.
Seaboe
The prices are different here, too. You refer to "the assumption that women are too naive to compare prices." The fact that prices are different means either that, indeed, women are too naive to compare prices, or they are comparing them and choosing to pay them, which is functionally equivalent to being naive. No, I certainly wouldn't think there was anything wrong if women's clothes, toiletries, etc., cost the same as men's. (It would leave more money in our household budget for other things.)
-------------------- "Well, it looks we're on our own ... again."--Rev. Lovejoy Posts: 3572 | From: St. Louis, MO | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Eddylizard: The tale I heard is that the button alignment originated because it made it easier for men to draw their pistols from under their tunics, and for women to breastfeed. Always sounded like a bunch of c##p, so I too would like to know the true reason why.
The breastfeeding bit makes no sense at all, since most women have one boob on each side.
Seaboe, be my guest!
-------------------- How homophobic do you have to be to have penguin gaydar? - Lewis Black Posts: 8322 | From: Columbus, OH | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I had always heard that buttons on women's clothing are right over left for the convenience of the ladies' maid who was dressing her helpless mistress.
Elkhound, I also sew, but not pants. I can never get the crotch right. And with patterns running $10 to $15 apiece, not to mention fabric, thread and buttons (which are also quite expensive -- sometimes $3 or $4 apiece), it's just as easy to walk into a store and buy something. When I can it -- if not, I can just go to the tentmaker down the street.
-------------------- "No Biblical hell could ever be worse than the state of perpetual inconsequence." Beatrice in Dangerous Beauty Posts: 1816 | From: Cayuga County, NY | Registered: Nov 2005
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quote:The breastfeeding bit makes no sense at all, since most women have one boob on each side.
Which is why I always thought this theory was stupid.
-------------------- "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what is commonly known as money. It comes in all sizes, colours, and denominations - like people." Posts: 997 | From: Maidstone, UK | Registered: Jun 2006
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quote:Originally posted by quiltsbypam: I had always heard that buttons on women's clothing are right over left for the convenience of the ladies' maid who was dressing her helpless mistress.
Well, you always heard wrong.
The trouble with that explanation is that it doesn't take into account two things:
A. that until the mid-19th century, really upper class men as well as women required assistance dressing (so why was the "backward" buttoning less inconvenient for them?).
2. that only a very small percentage of women had maids (so I guess the rest of the women were expected to put up with "backward" buttons).
Seaboe
-------------------- Education is not the filling of a hard drive, but the lighting of a bulb. -- Yeats via Esprise Me Posts: 5562 | From: Seattle, WA | Registered: Jun 2005
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I don't understand the flame-retardant suit. Sure, the prices would be the same. And the problem with that is...what, exactly? Or do you mean that in the stores you shop the prices are already the same? Because they sure aren't where I live.![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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