Pants on the Ground

The past few days have been cold and rainy and everyone has gone into the closet and gotten out their overcoats and sweaters.  I was standing behind a woman in the elevator today who looked like she picked her coat up from a dirty pile of laundry.  Of course it was wrinkled, but that wasn't the half of it.  The shoulders were too large and the sleeves were too long.  The hardest part for me to ignore, though, was that she had overlooked a very basic part of wearing clothes. She had not removed the stitch from her back vent.  This is a real pet peeve of mine.  It is as basic as removing the tags.

This brings me to another point.  It is so important how your clothes look.  Having a great tailor is key. I had a little lady that I loved, loved, loved.  When she closed up shop and retired, I went into a high panic.  I've found someone who is adequate but couldn't work the magic that women could.  I've reinvented several things beautifully and all to her credit.  If you take care of your clothes, they can last a very long time.

 Too often ladies are wearing pants that are clearly too long: they bag around the ankles and have fray marks on the back where they've been stepped on.  When your are out shopping, be aware of hemlines and lengths.  If the pants are too long, which means they pool on the floor, you will need to get them tailored for the shoes you are planning to wear with them.  If they are going to be worn with heels, they should be hemmed accordingly.  Most of the time, pants for heels cannot be worn with flats. 

Where people get into trouble is buying pants or skirts without taking into account the extra cost of taking them to the tailor. (Or how much a the cost of dry cleaning will be). This cost should be factored in to what you are willing to spend on the garment.  There are times when you you may have lost weight (or gained) and clothes aren't fitting well.  Take into consideration how much the garment is actually worth and what the cost of reworking it will really be.  This can be very expensive, especially when seams are being taken in.  It may not be cost effective to do this, and new clothes may be in order.

In any event, the condition of your clothes is so important.  They must be laundered or dry cleaned and pressed regularly to maintain a long and happy life with them.