Alteration Costs

[k9ophile]

Let me preface this with the fact that I didn't get any of my "fat" clothes altered. None of them were worth it or were such that if it was worth it, it wouldn't fit in a couple of months anyway. Fast forward to today. I will be attending a convention where the banquet is formal dress. I've never owned a fancy gown. (I got married in jeans.) I found a gorgeous dress on-line at Dillard's. I was absolutely thrilled to get it at around 75% off. Thanks to aging and osteoporosis, I've shrunk. Plus I understand why dresses like that would be sold in longer lengths to accommodate a range of heights . I went to pick it up today and experienced sticker shock. I had 2 pair of work casual slacks and the dress hemmed. There wasn't a break-down for each item, yet I suspect hemming that dress cost more than I paid for it. I will have to attend the same organization's banquet next year. I'll wear the same dress.

I guess if I had any of my fat clothes altered, I would have been forewarned. But a hem? I just wasn't expecting it to be so much. It's a good thing it looks good on me. LOL

 

[DianaCox]

I just recycled the MOTB dress I wore in 2007 to my daughter’s first wedding for the 6th or 7th time. And I’m 20 lbs lighter now. Sheath A-line scarf style with short jacket covers a wide range of shapes.

 

[JackieOnLine]

It's a good thing it looks good on me

 

[k9ophile]

I just recycled the MOTB dress I wore in 2007 to my daughter’s first wedding for the 6th or 7th time. And I’m 20 lbs lighter now. Sheath A-line scarf style with short jacket covers a wide range of shapes.

Since losing, I have obtained some beautiful dressy dresses. Alas, they are not floor length. However, I am once again enjoying nice dresses when I can. Nice pre-DS dresses were hard to find. I was lucky to find a new closet for them. I knew a woman who had WLS in the 80's. I think it was a usual type WLS surgery for the times, yet she gained it all back plus. As much as some of today's doctors fail their patients, none compare to her post-op advice: don't eat potatoes for a year.

 

[southernlady]

Over the last 7 years, I have collected a total of THREE dresses...all of which take back seat to the ONE skirt I own. And I've worn each one once. The skirt has been used about 5 times. Mostly memorial services.

 

[k9ophile]

My dresses are Marry 'Em/Bury 'Em. I'm at an age where they're needed more for funerals or memorial services. I have been able to wear dress slacks, yet I'm more comfortable in a dress or skirt. The loss of decorum at funerals saddens me. So far I've been able to keep quiet. However, if I see one more person in a ratty baseball cap worn backwards, I may be arrested for assault when I slap it off the head of the jerk who's wearing it.

 

[southernlady]

Yeah, people use to dress in their “Sunday best” for funerals. Now most look like they came from a bar after work. I understand comfort, but sometimes comfort is taken a bit too far.

 

[Whit]

I love a good dress. I went a bit nuts at Ann Taylor when I was a 2-4 and bought a bunch of really lovely frocks. I wandered in to a store in Marin and everything was 75% off the sale price. Needless to say I bounced back about 10 pounds and then we moved to the desert. So they are to tight and to warm for current climate. I shipped them all off to my nieces in Canada. No I mostly wear Shorts, Linen dresses, jeans in the winter.

 

[k9ophile]

I love a good dress. I went a bit nuts at Ann Taylor when I was a 2-4 and bought a bunch of really lovely frocks. I wandered in to a store in Marin and everything was 75% off the sale price. Needless to say I bounced back about 10 pounds and then we moved to the desert. So they are to tight and to warm for current climate. I shipped them all off to my nieces in Canada. No I mostly wear Shorts, Linen dresses, jeans in the winter.

I'm sure the nieces were glad to get them.

 

[RedSkittles]

My issue now is that I can wear clothes so long because I stay the same size that sometimes they just wear out or the hem falls out and I need to get them repaired. And yes, some clothing repair is robbery.

I had a fallen hem that was sewn in some sort of hidden seam way (too skilled for me to do at home and still look nice); couldn't believe how much I got charged to fix 7" of hem!

 

[Sheanie]

In defense of seamstresses, a machine costs several THOUSAND dollars. Altering formalwear is a nightmare. And a "simple hem" isnt simple at all. If it were, you wouldnt need a seamstress!

Matching thread color alone costs $3-$5. And when will I ever use that color again?

 

[k9ophile]

Sheanie Where the hell have you been? It's good to see you again. BTW, I didn't begrudge the seamstress because as you say, if hemming were easy or simple, I would have done it myself. Sometimes I live in a bubble and when it gets broken by reality, I am either amused or appalled. On this occasion, I was merely in surprise. Kind of like I saw a pay phone the other day. A real pay phone. Excepts for airports or other places where there may be banks of them, I haven't seen a lone one on the street for years. And mail boxes that used to be on just about every other street corner, are seen infrequently. Sometimes I feel like Rip Van Winkle.