August 28, 1992
Dear Everyone:
Warning: Impulse shopping can get you into trouble.
It all started a couple of weekends ago when
“Jeannie” and I went into Penney’s to get a little something that I
needed. And it turned out that
(surprise!) they were having A Sale (The Magic Word).
Well, it happened that I was
standing next to a rack of slips and I remembered thinking, the last
time I was ironing slips, but it might be a good idea to get some new
ones because these were getting rather frayed.
All that delicate lace that they
insist on putting on the hams starts to fall apart after a few years.
And, let's face it, it's been quite a few years
since I bought new slips. So I
picked up some, sale price. When
I got home and tried them on with the suits that I always wear to work
(except for Casual Fridays), I discovered that the slips were just
exactly 2“ longer than the skirts.
Oh, dear.
What to do?
Lop 2” off the bottoms of the new slips?
Not if you've ever tried to work
with the kind of fabric slips are made from; curly
and slippery!
Definitely not an option.
Besides, one of the reasons I
picked them up is that they didn't have all that obnoxious lace on them,
just a simple picot edge.
Take ‘em back? No,
they were on sale.
Lengthen the skirts?
Let's take a look at those skirts, shall we?
Truth to tell, the hems of the
skirts are just about as bad as those old slips.
After all, I've had the suits a
lot longer than the slips. As
Barney Miller
once said: "A good suit should
last 10 years."
And, let's face it:
It's been more than 10 years for some of my suits.
This is God's way of saying, it's
time to make some new ones. Besides,
“Jeannie” says my wardrobe is boring.
So last Saturday I went to the fabric store to look
at patterns and material. Not
surprisingly, my favorite pattern is long out of print.
I think there was a Democrat in
the White House when I bought that pattern.
But a jacket is pretty much a
jacket and I found several possibilities to choose from.
As for the skirt, I insist on
using the same old pattern I've always used.
I just need to transfer it to new
paper, the old one being more scotch tape than tissue these days.
Once I'd picked out the pattern, I needed to find
fabric, etc. I found a very nice
light gray wool flannel, only $18.98 a yard. But it was
On Sale for 25% off.
When the cutter found out it was
wool, she asked me to wait while she got someone else because she's
allergic to wool. We made a joke
about how she must've been a shepherdess in a previous life and didn't
like it.
In every sewing project, you always learn at least
one new thing, and you always make at least one fatal error.
This time, it was the lining.
A proper suit has a lining, both
for the jacket and the skirt. t
looks better, hangs better and feels better.
So, of course, I'd picked out a
pattern for a lined jacket;
and, of course, I'd added a lining to the skirt pattern a dozen or so
years ago.
And, of course, I picked out a nice, light gray
lining material to go with the wool. Except
that the bolt and had said "black". Well,
I could see with my own eyes that it wasn't black, it was gray.
And it never entered my fuzzy,
little head to open the
fabric up from the bolt to prove that it was just as gray on one side as
it was on the other. Until I got
it home and was getting ready to pre-wash it and discovered that it was,
indeed, very black on the inside.
Oh, dear. What
to do?
Take it back? Of
course, they will take fabric
back if you insist. But it was on
Sale and that might make a difference. Not
to mention how stupid you'd feel explaining your mistake.
No, I had a better idea.
All I needed to do was to get
some real light gray lining
for the flannel suit. And get
some dark gray, or black, fabric to make a suit to go with the lining I
already had.
Not that I could go back to the same store.
1) I already looked and they
didn't have any dark gray. And 2)
after that "shepherdess" remark, they'd be sure to remember me and
wonder why I was buying light gray lining for a black suit.
No problem, there's another branch of the same
store in Pleasant Hill. I just
went down there and found some wonderful dark gray, only $18.98 a yard
and On Sale. And some light gray
lining. And just about everything
else I needed.
So, with a little effort on my part, and a few
hours of time, I'll have to new suits (but with slightly longer skirts)
that “Jeannie” will find just as boring as the old ones.
But I won't have to buy any new shoes to go with
them.
Movie review:
Single White Female. Best
of the crop so far. That's so
far, as
The Last of the Mohicans
looks very promising and it hasn't come out yet.
SWF is a "daughters" movie.
It stars
Peter Fonda's
daughter, Bridget,
and Vic Morrow's
daughter,
Jennifer Jason Leigh. Your
standard, formula thriller with Fonda beginning to suspect that
Something’s-Not-Quite-Right with her new roommate.
Leigh is coming into her own,
now, with the critics raving about her ability to express multiple
layers of emotions all at once. Definitely
worth the price of the popcorn.
Love, as always,
Pete
| Previous | Next |