Back in business, but without a fitting room

July 10, 2020July 9, 2020 / edebock / 3 Comments

Our local thrift store reopened on Tuesday. My main reason for going in that afternoon was to drop off a load of things that I’d sorted out of my closet, the storage room, and the kitchen cupboards over the past few months. I also wanted to see if I could find some more books to read because I’d finished most of the ones I picked up prior to Covid-19. Of course, I couldn’t be in the store for the first time in over four months and not take at least a quick look at the clothes too!

Almost immediately, I spied a cute pair of Simon Chang capri pants. They looked like they might be the right size, but as I’ve mentioned before, I have a hard time finding pants that fit my boyish figure. If they fit at the waist, they often bag at the hips. If the hips fit properly, they’re too tight at the waist. Like many stores, however, there were some restrictions in place due to the pandemic and the fitting room was closed. Should I buy the pants anyway? At just $3, what did I have to lose? There are no refunds, but if they didn’t fit I could simply donate them back.

OR… I could try them on anyway! That’s right. Savvy thrift store shoppers know that not every second-hand store has a fitting room, though most of them do. As I mentioned in a post entitled 18 Tips for Successful Thrift Store Shopping, if you have to try things on in the aisles, you want to be able to do it easily and modestly, so it’s a good idea to dress with that in mind. Even if there is a dressing room available, wearing leggings, a cami, and slip on shoes makes trying things on a breeze, but on Tuesday I hadn’t come prepared. I was wearing pants, not leggings. How could I try on those cute capris?

I wouldn’t do this in a regular retail store, but I simply took those pants over to the circular rack of skirts and dresses which is up against one wall of the store and found a long skirt with an elastic waist. Standing where I was largely out of view, I slipped it on over my pants, and you guessed it… I discretely removed my pants from beneath the skirt and pulled on the capris! There weren’t many shoppers in the store at the time and I don’t think anyone even noticed. Sometimes unusual times call for unusual measures!

The pull-on capris are made of a very comfortable stretch fabric with a nice wide waistband, but it was the tiny polka dots that attracted my attention. Polka dots are very much on trend this season and I’ve been wanting to add some to my wardrobe.

I’m wearing my new pants with one of my brightly coloured golf shirts, my Nordgreen watch with it’s navy leather band, and a pair of Naturalizer sandals that I’ve had for years.

HOOFING IT Across Canada update:

I’ve walked 22.99 kilometres since starting the challenge on July 1st and thanks to many generous donors, I’m slightly over half way to my fundraising goal of $1500 for neuroendocrine cancer research.

Chinos

July 3, 2020July 4, 2020 / edebock / 8 Comments

I finally went clothes shopping this week! To be more truthful, we were in the city for an appointment and I went into one clothing store. Just one!

After weeding several things out of my closet that should never have made the cut when I did my seasonal closet switch last fall, I identified a couple of significant holes in my summer wardrobe. As I mentioned two Friday’s ago, I have lots to wear when the weather is hot, but where we live I need things that are suitable for cooler summer days like the ones we’ve been having recently. One thing that I clearly needed was a couple of pairs of pants that would be warmer than my shorts and capris, but cooler than jeans.

Though I don’t shop for clothes online, the internet is a great place to do some scouting, especially during these days of Covid-19 when I don’t want to spend a lot of time browsing. I’d much prefer to go into a store, buy what I want, and leave again without lingering. When I knew that we’d be going to the city, I checked out the Mark’s website in advance and decided that their chinos might be just what I was looking for. Chinos are a nice middle ground between dress pants and jeans for both men and women.

The first thing I did when I entered the store was check to see if the fitting rooms were open. If I couldn’t try the pants on, there’d be no point in me even looking at them. Thankfully, a limited number of them were in use and there weren’t a lot of customers in the store so I didn’t even have to wait in line.

Finding pants that fit well is often a struggle for me, but Mark’s slim-fitting, tapered leg chinos were perfect for my boyish figure. The toughest decision was which of the several colours to choose! I settled on two pairs; one in a light tan called Stone and the other in a dark Olive. Both will be very versatile. I’m showing you the light pair today, but I’m sure that the others will show up on the blog sometime soon. The bottom hem is meant to be rolled to ankle length, but they can also be worn down.

I didn’t realize until after we’d finished taking the pictures that I’d forgotten to put on any lipstick, so this is my au naturel, at home look! Actually, I’d just got back from having several vials of blood taken at the local hospital, so perhaps I was even a bit paler than usual!

Being a word nerd, I couldn’t help doing a bit of research to find out how chinos got their name and what it actually meant. Apparently, the word was first used to describe khaki coloured military trousers that were worn during the Spanish American war of 1898. They were made from a cotton twill fabric that was sourced from China, so the name came from the fact that Chino is the Spanish word for Chinese. Thankfully, my new pants, which are made of a stretch cotton blend, were not made in China as one of my fashion goals for this year is to avoid buying Chinese products as much as possible. Of course, I have no idea where the fabric came from. As I’ve mentioned before, being a truly ethical shopper is very difficult, but I try.

What happens to your returns?

June 12, 2020June 9, 2020 / edebock / 7 Comments

In last Friday’s post, I shared some of the reasons why I prefer shopping for clothes in person rather than online. Today, I want to discuss what I consider to be another very big strike against online shopping.

Do you know what happens to the items that you return? In far too many cases, they end up in the landfill! That’s right! It’s estimated that more than 25% of all returns go into the garbage! I was shocked and appalled when a reader brought this to my attention.

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In a time when people are doing more than ever before to protect the environment, consumers usually don’t realize that their online shopping habits could be undoing a lot of the good that they are doing in other areas. While it might be convenient to order a pair of jeans in two or three different sizes, keep the one that fits, and return the others, most people would probably think twice about doing that if they knew that the pairs they are returning might end up in the garbage.

So why is this happening? It’s all about money, of course. It costs companies more to employ the people required to check returns for damage and, in the case of clothing, to re-press and repackage each item than it does to simply incinerate them or throw them in the dumpster. Not only does the environment suffer, but we, the consumers, end up paying more for products because retailers have to increase their prices to recoup their losses.

So how big is this problem? In Canada alone, we are returning $46 billion worth of goods every year. In the US, over 4 billion pounds of brand new returned apparel end up in the landfills annually. That’s approximately the equivalent to every family in the country throwing one laundry load of clothing in the garbage every year. This dirty ~~little~~ secret isn’t exclusively an online shopping problem. About 5 to 10 percent of in-store purchases are returned, but that rises to 15 to 40 percent for purchases made online. Clothing and shoes bought online typically have the highest rates with 30 to 40 percent returned.

If I wasn’t already committed to shopping in person, I definitely would be after looking into this! I learn a lot from my readers, so please keep the comments coming. 🙂

Online or brick and mortar?

June 5, 2020June 4, 2020 / edebock / 5 Comments

Online shopping has grown in popularity over the past few years, but Covid-19 has taken it to a whole new level. Here in Canada, e-commerce giant, Amazon, uses the postal system to ship parcels. For the past couple of months, Canada Post has been handling volume comparable to the usual Christmas rush. I’ve made a couple of orders myself, but when it comes to clothing, I’m definitely a brick and mortar shopper even though I live in a teeny, tiny town that doesn’t boast a single clothing store!

There are several reasons why I prefer to shop in conventional stores. First of all, I like to actually see the garment that I’m considering buying, feel the fabric, and examine the workmanship. I can’t do that looking at an image on my computer screen.

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Fit is another important reason why I choose to shop in person. Size charts and customer Screen Shot 2020-06-03 at 2.00.26 PM reviews are helpful, but nothing beats trying the garment on and standing in front of a three way mirror. I could probably do quite well ordering tops online, but pants are my nemesis. I’m tall and thin with a very boyish figure, sometimes referred to as a pencil body type. Made for more curvy girls, pants that fit my waist often bag at the hips. I usually have to try on several pairs to find the ones that fit me well and flatter my body type.

Shoes are another item that I would have a very hard time buying online (except for this pair that I had already tried on in store). My feet are very narrow, so again, finding ones that fit well sometimes involves trying on several pairs.

I realize that online purchases can be returned and that many companies seek to make that process as simple as possible, but it’s still a hassle and there’s often additional cost involved. The fact that our town doesn’t have a drop off point for any of the courier services adds further complication. I do wonder how often someone ends up keeping a garment that would have been returned to the rack if they had picked it up in a brick and mortar store. Chances are those items don’t get worn very often if at all.

There’s also an emotional and social aspect to personal shopping that’s absent when purchasing online. While setting aside time and actually going to the store requires more effort, the personal attention of trained customer service staff often enhances the experience and, of course, in-store shopping can also be shared with friends. Finally, there’s the luxury of walking out of a store with exactly what you want and not having to wait for delivery.

As pandemic restrictions gradually lift, we’re likely going to see long-term changes to the shopping landscape. Sadly, some retailers, especially those that were already struggling financially, may disappear entirely and others may move to an online presence only. Hopefully, however, there will always be a place for in-store shopping!

Do you prefer to shop in person or online? If you shop online, do you have any tips that you can share?

They wanted to be mine!

May 1, 2020April 30, 2020 / edebock / 13 Comments

Never would I have imagined that a virus like Covid-19 would help me meet my fashion goals for 2020, but one of those goals stated that “I will strive to buy less and experiment with new ways to wear what I already have” and that is most certainly what has been happening! Unlike many women, I don’t like shopping for clothes online. I like to touch and feel the fabric, look at the workmanship, and try things on before I buy. Consequently, until this week, it had been over two months since I last bought a fashion item of any kind.

The last time we were out and about before we started sheltering in place, my husband wanted to check out a sale on men’s jeans at a Mark’s. Originally called Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Mark’s is a popular Canadian workwear and casual clothing retailer. Knowing that it would take hubby awhile to try on jeans and decide what to buy, I headed for the women’s section to browse. There, I spotted a pair of shoes that were part of a display and I immediately heard them called my name!

Flora Leather Lace Up Sneaker

It was the quilted side panels and the little bit of bling that caught my eye and it was definitely love at first sight!

Changing direction, I made my way to the shoe department to try them on. They had my size. They fit perfectly. I walked around the store and they were comfortable, but then I reminded myself that I really didn’t need another pair of sneakers. Feeling quite virtuous, I bid them a fond farewell and left the store without them.

A few days later, a Mark’s flyer arrived in the mail and there were the shoes in a photograph on the very front page! I eagerly poured through the pages only to discover that they weren’t actually included in the sale. I even looked them up online to be sure. That was, perhaps, my fatal error! We all know what happens once you look something up on the internet. Every time I went online, there were those shoes calling out to me from side panels and advertising banners. They simply wouldn’t leave me alone! Scrolling on Facebook? There were the shoes. Reading the news? Those shoes again! Checking blogs? You guessed it. The shoes were there too! I couldn’t escape them. They really wanted to be mine, but I continued to resist. I didn’t need more sneakers.

Screen Shot 2020-04-29 at 2.32.40 PM Then one day it happened. They were there again, but this time, this is what I saw! Believe it or not, I continued to resist. I mentioned the shoes that wouldn’t leave me alone to hubby and he told me that I ought to order them. Finally, after days of arguing with myself and reminding myself that I really didn’t need another pair of sneakers, the shoes won out and I placed the order!

I was very impressed with the service I received. Not only has Mark’s done away with shipping fees for the duration of the pandemic store closures, but I ordered on Friday evening and the shoes were delivered to my door in a small rural community on Tuesday morning! On the other hand, I was less than impressed to discover that the price of the shoes has dropped even more in the few days since I bought them! Oh well, they really wanted to be mine and now they are! I’m sure we’ll enjoy a long and happy relationship!

Wear it 3 ways

March 20, 2020March 19, 2020 / edebock / 7 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I seldom shop for clothes online. I know I’m old school, but I like to touch and feel the fabric, examine the workmanship, and try things on before I buy. In these uncertain days when we should all be staying home as much as possible, many retailers are temporarily closing their doors and going to online shopping only. Rather than shopping for anything new, I’ll be playing with the things that are already in my closet. This is not a bad thing. In fact, it fits perfectly with one of my fashion goals for 2020… “I will strive to buy less and experiment with new ways to wear what I already have.”

One of the things that I like to ask myself when I’m considering adding something to my wardrobe is can I wear this at least three different ways with items that I already have in my closet? If so, it will probably be a good purchase. This won’t always work for something like a special occasion dress, but it’s a good rule of thumb for most other wardrobe purchases.

For today’s post, let’s look at three different ways to style an item from my closet. I randomly chose the Garden Blouse from the cabi Fall 2018 collection.

Here’s a colourful, casual look suitable for daytime outings and lunch with friends. I’ve paired the Garden Blouse with my Brick Dust Skinny pants, also from cabi. They were part of the Spring 2018 Collection, but one of the things that I like about cabi is that the company is intentional about ensuring that new releases coordinate with items from previous collections so that over time a customer can build a cohesive wardrobe. I’ve finished the look with a cute pair of flats in a floral pattern similar to the top.

Now let’s glam it up a bit for an evening out with my hubby.

I’ve tucked the top into a pair of dressy black pants, added the little jacket that has appeared on the blog numerous times before, and changed the accessories. Black isn’t the best colour on me, particularly close to my face, and I’ll be adding less of it to my wardrobe in the future, but for now I’ll be wearing what I have.

Though it was part of a fall collection, the blouse is very lightweight and the sheer sleeves and overlay are right on trend for spring 2020, so let’s look at a spring/summer look featuring the same top. I had to dig into storage for this one as I won’t be transitioning to my warm season wardrobe for awhile yet. We still have lots of snow on the ground here in Alberta, but a girl can dream, can’t she?

As with many pieces in my closet, I can easily dress the Garden Blouse up or down and I can wear it with many other things that I already own. This makes it very versatile and greatly reduces it’s cost per wear.

And yes, if you’ve been wondering, I do have a new hairdo. I actually had it cut a month ago, but I haven’t posted any pictures of myself on the blog since then. It looks a bit wild and crazy sometimes, but after fighting with my natural curls for much of my life, I’m embracing them!

Fashion or function?

January 24, 2020January 23, 2020 / edebock / 7 Comments

I love a stylish pair of sneakers. You’ve seen some of my favourites here before.

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I also love the fact that sneakers are no longer only for wearing to the gym or for running. In fact, a pair like these from Circus by Sam Edelman wouldn’t even be suitable for those pursuits. I have, however, worn them with a dress.

Then there’s this pair that I bought specifically for walking in Europe last spring.

Here I’m wearing them overlooking a beautiful stretch of sandy beach in Belgium.

My husband gave me these metallic blue ones for Christmas just over a year ago. They look especially good with jeans.

Naturalizer Women’s Cairo 3 Sneaker

But sometimes what a shoe looks like isn’t the most important factor. One of my goals for the new year was to get back into the habit of walking on the treadmill at least three times a week (on the days that I don’t lift weights) and for that I needed a new pair of comfortable, supportive shoes. At the sporting goods store I was confronted with an entire wall of running shoes and trainers and I had no idea where to begin! Of course, my eye was drawn to the cutest and most colourful ones, but I had to remind myself that that wasn’t why I was there. Thankfully, a very knowledgeable sales clerk steered me in the right direction. If I was only going to use the shoes on the treadmill and not for other gym activities, she recommended running shoes as opposed to trainers. That narrowed the search to half the wall! Looking at my feet, she immediately realized that they’re narrow and suggested two brands that I should consider. These are the ones that I settled on.

ASICS Women’s GT2000 6 Running Shoes

I’ve only put about 8.5 kilometres (5.3 miles) on them so far, but I think they were a good choice. They’re lightweight but sturdy, and gel technology in the heel and the forefoot provides plenty of cushioning. The fact that I also like what they look like is simply a bonus! I’ve added them to my list of clothing purchases for 2020, but I really think of them as an investment in my health as opposed to a fashion item. Sometimes function takes precedence over fashion!

2019 fashion shopping review

January 3, 2020January 2, 2020 / edebock / 6 Comments

For the second year in a row, I kept a list of all the clothing purchases that I made over the past year so that I could analyse my shopping habits and establish goals for the following year. I started doing this at the beginning of 2018 in part because I wanted to be a more ethical shopper. I was also interested in finding out more about my spending habits and I wanted to be more intentional about wardrobe development.

Based on what I learned in 2018, I came up with the following goals for 2019. Let’s see how I did.

I will continue tracking my purchases for the coming year so that I can review and evaluate my shopping habits again a year from now. Done!
I would like to buy less and spend less. Partial success. I actually purchased more items, but I spent less.
I intend to buy basics that I need and items I love that work well with what I already have. Mostly successful. I did buy two thrifted items, a tank top and a necklace, that didn’t fit into my wardrobe very well. Both have already been returned to be enjoyed by someone else.
I will resist the pressure of friends to buy pieces that they like, but that aren’t right for me. Complete success!
I will continue to buy quality pieces, not wasting money on fast fashion items that are poorly made and end up in the landfill after only a few wearings. Success!
I will continue to write a weekly fashion post! Done!

It’s difficult to find accurate information on women’s shopping habits and it clearly varies from place to place, but it appears that on average most women purchase approximately 70 items of clothing a year and spend somewhere between $150 and $400 a month or approximately $1800 to $4800 annually. Personally, I can’t imagine buying or spending anywhere near that much! Over the past year, I spent a total of $1071.74 CAD or approximately $89 a month. With that, I purchased 43 items including clothing, accessories, and footwear. The biggest change from the previous year was the number of accessories I bought which included two hats, two purses, one belt, one scarf, and several pieces of jewelry. Accessories take up very little space and don’t have to be expensive, but they are the finishing touches that add interest, individuality, and detail to an outfit.

Another difference from the previous year was the number of thrifted items that I added to my wardrobe. I bought only 5 second-hand pieces in 2018, but 14 in 2019 and some of those are amongst my favourite purchases. I paid full price for only 9 items over the past year. The majority of the brand new garments that I bought were on sale. I also added several cabi pieces to my wardrobe at half price by hosting a party in my home in September. The most expensive item that I bought all year cost $99. I have no idea what the total value of my purchases was because I don’t know the original prices of the thrifted items, but I do know that if I’d paid full price for all the brand new items, those pieces alone would have cost me $1609.80. All in all, I’m very satisfied with my wardrobe spending over the past year.

When it comes to shopping ethically, however, I wouldn’t consider myself particularly successful. Finding accurate information in order to make wise choices is extremely difficult. In late June I wrote this post outlining my concerns about purchasing items made in China. I thought seriously about refusing to buy anything else that was produced in that country and for awhile I tried. I read labels and even walked away from a few items, but I soon found myself caving in. In spite of my increased concern, I did only marginally better than the previous year. Some of my thrifted purchases were missing their labels so I don’t know where they were made, but I knowingly bought 18 made in China items in 2019 compared to 20 the year before. Many of the others were made in third world countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh. I have no way of knowing if they were manufactured in factories that are socially and environmentally responsible or sweatshops where workers are exploited and forced to work in unsafe conditions, but at least those countries are not the threat to Canada that I believe China to be.

So what are my goals for 2020? Many are the same as last year, but I’ve revised some a bit and added a couple of new ones.

I will continue tracking my purchases for at least one more year so that I can review and evaluate my shopping habits again a year from now.
I will continue to buy things that I need and items I love that work well with what I already have.
I will strive to buy less and experiment with new ways to wear what I already have.
I will continue to buy quality pieces and not waste money on fast fashion.
When considering a purchase that was made in China, I will attempt to find a suitable alternative made elsewhere.
When adding to my closet, I will consider five adjectives that begin with C… classy, confident, comfortable, casual, and creative. These words all describe what I’d like my wardrobe to say about me. Thank you, Pam Lutrell, for inspiring this one!
I will continue to write a Fashion Friday post each week.

As I look at my list of purchases from 2019, it’s difficult to choose just a few favourites to share with you here because I truly love so many of them! You’ve seen most of them on the blog before, but here’s a small sample:

This is what I wore on New Year’s Eve for an evening of fine dining and dancing with my hubby. The little black jacket was my first purchase of 2019 and has been worth it’s weight in gold. It has appeared on the blog several times throughout the past year as it can be worn with so many things in my closet. The Dream Dress from cabi was bought half price at the end of the Spring/Summer season and I picked up the vintage evening purse at our local thrift store for just $3!

The Airwalk Speed Vitesse sneakers that I purchased at a Payless closing out sale were absolutely perfect for walking the streets of Europe in May and have continued to serve me well ever since. They were amongst several items that were bought specifically for traveling in 2019.

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In this photo, taken in beautiful Bruges, Belgium, I’m wearing a favourite thrifted top and carrying the anti-theft crossbody bag that kept my valuables safe while we traveled.

I can hardly wait for summer to return so that I can wear my DIY frayed white jeans again! They were also thrifted and cost just $2 plus a few minutes work to let down the hems and fray the edges.

Here I am on a hiking trail wearing two more favourite purchases from 2019, a lightweight thrifted hoodie and my Uniqlo ultra light down vest. Both have proved to be great travel companions!

And finally, here’s my zebra print top from cabi.

Environmentally conscious shopping

December 13, 2019December 12, 2019 / edebock / 8 Comments

Increasing interest in sustainability, climate concerns, and other environmental issues is having a significant impact on the fashion industry which is said to be responsible for 8 to 10 percent of global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined! It’s also a huge consumer of water. It takes approximately 1800 gallons to grow enough cotton to produce just one pair of blue jeans!

The industry has been increasingly coming under attack for what is known as fast fashion. Fast fashion, or disposable clothing as I like to call it, refers to a phenomenon that sees retailers introducing new products as often as multiple times a week. Garments are manufactured quickly and inexpensively allowing consumers to fill their wardrobes with trendy styles without spending a great deal to do so. These clothes are usually characterized by shoddy workmanship and low quality fabrics and quickly end up in the landfill.

Fast fashion’s target market, young, style-conscious shoppers on a budget, are also among those most concerned about the health of the planet. As environmental consciousness increases, their buying habits are changing. Dwindling sales forced fast fashion chain Forever 21 into bankruptcy at the end of September and is resulting in the closure of up to 350 stores internationally including all 44 locations across Canada. Some see this as signalling the end of an era in shopping.

One of the noticeable effects of this shift is a change in attitude toward second-hand clothing. The stigma that was once associated with wearing someone else’s hand-me-downs is rapidly disappearing. Now it’s the environmentally conscious thing to do!

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you know that I’ve been an avid thrift store shopper for years. I much prefer smaller not-for-profit stores to ones like Value Village where the prices are higher and very little of the revenue goes to charity. Most of my second-hand clothing comes from two small volunteer run shops, one in the town where I live and the other just a few kilometres away. Here I’m wearing a couple of recent purchases.

When I put my tall winter boots away last spring, I knew that they were nearing the end of their life, but I was hoping to get one more season out of them. The first time I wore them this winter, however, my feet got wet! Clearly they needed to be replaced, but the closest shoe store is an hour away. I decided to check out our local thrift store and luck was with me! I snagged this like-new pair for just four dollars! They’re even dark brown, one of this seasons most popular colours. I bought the cardigan for three dollars.

I’m wearing the two thrifted items with the comfy corduroy pants that have been a workhorse in my wardrobe for several years, a sleeveless V-neck top recently purchased at Cleo, and a black pearl necklace from a previous cabi season. No fast fashion for this frugal fashionista!

For 18 tips on successful thrift store shopping, check out this post.

Checkmate!

October 11, 2019October 11, 2019 / edebock / 11 Comments

My husband is a very generous man who loves to surprise me with unexpected gifts. Last Friday was my birthday and he definitely outdid himself! When cabi’s Fall 2019 Collection was released, I fell in love with the cozy Checkmate Jacket, but I balked at the price and decided not to buy it. Apparently, although I don’t remember the conversation, Richard overheard me telling our daughter about it. Engaging the help of my cabi stylist friend and another friend who was hosting a cabi party, he arranged to buy it for my birthday!

He’s definitely a winner! Checkmate!

The jacket’s roomy, double-breasted style, shoulder pads, and faux horn buttons give it a slightly retro vibe and the soft polyester blend feels like I’m wearing a hug! Panels of stretch fabric on the inner sides of the sleeves reduce bulk and add to the comfort.

I wore it to the city on Tuesday. After seeing my doctor, hearing the good news that there’s been no significant change to my thyroid cancer, and making the decision to simply continue monitoring it, we headed over to West Edmonton Mall to check out the brand new Uniqlo store. I wasn’t really planning to buy anything, but one of the first things I spotted was this lovely orange blouse on sale for a very reasonable price.

It was immediately obvious that it would coordinate beautifully with the jacket, so I snapped it up. I especially like the 3/4 sleeves and the shirttail hem that’s longer at the back, but I wouldn’t have bought it if I hadn’t known that I could also wear it with several other things in my closet.