The high cost of buying cheap

Another Christmas shopping frenzy is behind us and once again I ask myself how much of the money spent on all those gifts is staying in this country. I'm guessing not very much.

I suspect that the stores selling this stuff didn't end up with a lot of the money because in order to draw shoppers they had to sell their wares at dirt-cheap prices. Which means they had to cut their profit margins so much, one wonders how they manage to stay in business.

And I know that few American workers profited from it because most of the gifts sold were made in other countries. There is much panic in this land over the high unemployment rate, yet I'm willing to bet that the people doing the loudest shouting about this are the ones who did all their shopping at (insert name of your favorite discount store here) where you'd be hard pressed to find something made in the USA. Can you imagine the jobs that would be created if the manufacturers of these products decided to bring the jobs making them back to this country?

But that's not likely to happen. As usual, greed and the dollar win this contest. Greed of the companies because the people at the top don't want to lose their very cushy lifestyles which they would have to modify if they had to pay American labor to make their goods. Greed of the stock market where the desired direction is "up", no matter who gets trampled on. And of course greed of the American consumer who wants to buy as many items as possible, preferably at prices that exist only because some person in another country gets paid ten cents an hour to produce that sweater, or toy, or whatever.

Do we really need hundreds of items in our closets? Instead of buying all that stuff that's made somewhere else, why not take the money and buy just a few items made here?

Remember, every time you buy something that's made in another country, you are providing employment for a foreign worker. When are you going to wake up and take an interest in the American worker? How bad does it have to get before you demand that your favorite stores carry USA-made product? Would you be willing to live with less stuff if it meant that some of your fellow Americans might have a job again?

Buying more and more things will not save this economy. Making wise choices that bring back American jobs will. This won't happen right away, and perhaps it's too late already. But does anyone really want the children of 2109 to read in school that their country was brought down by greed and mindless consumerism?

I didn't think so.

Happy New Year!

Getting the cold shoulder at Coldwater Creek

While on a mission to find a new pair of boots I stopped at Coldwater Creek yesterday. I knew that they sell footwear in their catalog and hoped to find some in the local store.

Upon walking in I glanced around searching for a shoe display but saw none. A sales associate approached and said: Do you have any questions? To which I replied: I think they're already answered. I've seen shoes in your catalog and hoped to find some here, but I don't see any. Do you carry shoes?
Well I don't know what shoes you're referring to, but we have some.
How about boots?
All that's left are riding boots. We don't have any of the short ones.

Does anyone else see what's wrong here? Obviously I didn't film this little episode and therefore can't share the visuals. But I can tell you that I left at that point because I was annoyed for a variety of reasons.

First of all, at no time during this conversation or her "greeting" me did this person offer a smile. Second, it was Sunday and I was dressed in my Sunday casuals. Jeans, sweater, a nice, very expensive coat. Yet somehow I was made to feel like a leper who had crashed a beautiful skin convention. Or maybe someone who might be planning to do a bit of shoplifting.
But it was her comment about the boots that really ticked me off. I don't know what made her jump to the conclusion that I was looking for short boots. In fact, my search was focused on tall ones. And the way she chose to deliver this bit of info was definitely not geared toward making a sale. Here's what she should have said (with a smile): We don't have a lot left right now, but let me show you what's in stock. I would have looked at them, maybe found what I was searching for, and bought them. As it is, I doubt I'll ever set foot in there again. Partly because of her snippy attitude and partly because I don't care to be "labeled".

Customer service can be a touchy thing. You don't want to overdo it and hover over someone, making a pain in the neck of yourself. But you should know how to properly greet ALL the people coming into your store. You should make them feel welcome and gently guide them toward a purchase. Because that is why they decided to visit you. They want to buy something and you want to sell something. And I'm guessing that all you salespeople in the big, corporate-owned stores work at least partly on commission.

I own a little store and I'm happy to say that I treat my customers a lot better than that. I make all of them welcome and what's more, I know that their visits are what pays my bills. So I'm always glad to see them. Perhaps the only person who didn't get his full measure of friendliness in my shop was the guy who robbed me two years ago, but that's another story for another time.

Sadly,NOT made in the USA

A few days ago someone came into my shop with a beautiful high-priced designer dress in need of some alterations. The client mentioned that this dress cost her $3000.00 and I thought for sure that at that price the dress might actually be made somewhere in the USA. Imagine my surprise when I looked at the tag and read MADE IN CHINA! I was disappointed to see that even a high-end designer selling her clothes for that amount of money can't find it in her heart to have them made in this country.

This is what happens when your profit margin is all you care about. Meanwhile, unemployment in the USA is rising and will likely continue to do so. When will the company owners develop a conscience and bring some of these jobs back to their home country? How about they learn to live on a few million less and use the money to hire local labor at a decent wage?

Alas, it's probably just a dream that won't ever become a reality. All I can say is that I'm very glad I'm not one of them. As always, everything sold in my store and on my website is made right here in Albuquerque, New Mexico and I couldn't be more proud of that fact.

Alteration Success

An important part of getting great alterations is to arrive at your fitting session prepared, because no matter how skilled your seamstress may be, those skills won't be enough if certain other issues are neglected. Following are a few suggestions that will guarantee you getting the best possible start with your alteration project.

For length adjustments, and this goes for women and men, bring the shoes that you're most likely to wear with the garment. This is most important for any kind of jeans or slacks, but it will also give you a better perspective on the length of a skirt or dress.

Fitting formal wear will get you better results if you show up in or bring the same undergarments that you'll be wearing at the actual event. This is important any time, but becomes absolutely essential for any type of strapless garment because a different style of bra can make your dress or top fit quite differently.

Here's one especially for the guys: if you need to have jacket sleeves altered, do wear or bring a dress shirt. It's the only way to ensure that your sleeves will be the perfect length, i.e. with just the right amount of shirtsleeve showing.

And finally, another vital bit of information: many fabrics shrink during their first washing and/or drying cycle. Therefore I strongly recommend that the garment is preshrunk in some way prior to alteration. Just do what you will be doing to it once it has been worn. If you are planning to wash it and dry it in the dryer, do so. If you are just washing and line drying, I suggest doing that. Even dry cleaning may result in some shrinkage due to chemical moisture and steam pressing, which suggests having the garment go through the process once to make sure it won't shrink later.

Not all fabrics shrink. A quick look at your garment label will tell you whether you should take these extra precautions. The fabrics with the most shrinkage overall are rayon, linen, cotton, wool or a combination thereof. If your fabric has 60% or more polyester mixed in, it will tend to be a lot more stable.

I hope this information will be useful to anyone interested in getting quality alterations. If you have any questions just send me an email.

Repair or replace?

The last few months have brought me more clients than ever before looking to repair their clothing or other items-no doubt a symptom of the financially stressed times many of us are going through right now.

I try to give my customers sensible advice on this subject because I do not want them to spend good money on something that's best thrown out. Therefore I tell them this: if it's a treasured piece of clothing that was very expensive initially, or if it's that great item that goes with everything and is his or her favorite, or if it's a priceless family heirloom, by all means let's repair it, regardless of the cost.

But if it's your kid's old play jeans, or the T-shirt that you bought at a concert in 1972 and that now has twentytwo holes in it, or your husband's slacks that you can read a newspaper through they're that worn, forget it! You can replace all of these items (well, maybe not the T-shirt), for very little money at your local thrift shop or for just a bit more during the annual blow-out sale at a department store. So, when I get one of these hopeless cases, my client and I take it out to the parking lot where we set the cherished item on fire.....

Just kidding. But you get the idea.

Welcome!

Greetings and welcome to my blog.

As outlined in my profile, I am a seamstress, fabric artist and part-time writer. I work with clothing and fabrics on a daily basis which has provided me with many years of sewing-related experience. I am also a strong believer in quality, and therefore have a lot of opinions on the disappearance of well-made American merchandise, be it clothing, fabric or any other product. The outsourcing of nearly everything sold in this country today, especially apparel of all kinds, is appalling. I want businesses in America to be successful again which will be greatly helped when people rediscover that they have other options besides buying cheap stuff that falls apart after three times of using it.

I will do my best to make them see that paying a bit more initially will be the better move in the long run.

Shoppers visiting my website www.seamstoyou.com will find that here they are able to buy quality apparel and accessories backed by a strong guarantee---I promise items sold by me to be free of any construction flaws. I doubt that there are many clothing companies around today that can offer the same.

This blog will serve as an outlet to share some of my thoughts on everything related to fashion, apparel and accessories with anyone who is interested in reading them. And, as I said earlier, I am also a writer, so don't be surprised to find the occasional bit on writing-related issues.

I look forward to making this blog a regular part of my life.

Thank you for visiting today!