Funny you should mention this, I was browsing in Macy's the other day and every top was embellished with beads or metal doo dads of some sort, but the fabrics were all polyester, spandex or rayon instead of cotton. I've heard this was coming and it is. The price of cotton has gone through the roof.

Just a couple of days ago we had a thread about sewing and I wrote when we no longer get cheap labor and the prices of clothing goes up, home sewing will return. The cost of cotton has been increasing...and other countries are trying very hard to earn more than "slave-like" wages. Seems like we Americans might think about that playing field becoming more level....as OUR ecomomy suffers, we are experiencing some of the hardships other countries have esxperienced for years. Think "Global Economy". We don;t like it, but we have benefited from the lop-siddedness for a very long time. JMHO and sorry if it is hard to hear.

I just hate all those beads and metal doodads mentioned by Fran. Seems like the front and shoulder area of every top is covered in them, either that or lots of gathers. It draws too much attention to my shoulders and bust area and makes them look even bigger. I tried to learn to sew while in high school and it is definitely not something I'm good at!

I am really getting tired of the crxxp of the clothing both in catalogs and in the story. I will NOT buy fron Lands End any more due to the mess last year and quality of tops I bought for my GD. Yes they got returned but oh what a mess (another store) As a senior I want made in America by good materials. Cotton grown in America etc I have had to throw away tee shirts only year or so old, because the fabic is coming apart. We need better material and better designs. And bigger button holes (not large, but not tiny). I am very vocal in some stores because I do not want flimsy, droppy, sheer blouses.
Enough of my ranting.
We need to let the manafactures what we will buy and what we won't.

Do I hear someone claiming that the current tops ...

... are a bust??

o j

I really like LL Bean's supima cotton Tshirts, both long and short sleeve. Nice material and a normal fit.

Made in USA? The cost of labor alone, especially in a union factory, would make your head spin.

Ditto Monica..Just like Detroit and all the car manufacturing states, the union has priced America out of work and out of decently priced "American made".

Sewing is not that difficult and it's lots of fun so I have been sewing forever......People say fabric is so expensive as well as patterns. it is cheaper to buy retail. I say No ..that's not true.......you would be shocked at the number of young women who are sewing beautiful outfits for themselves...

I always get a kick out of oj! LOL

Unfortunately I would have to confess that I would never have the patience to sew. As with many things, I can get go gung ho then run into a problem, or even get bored with something, and not complete. This is surely my greatest flaw.

Trying to clothes shop anymore is such a chore, though.

Joyfulguy, that just about sums it up!

Clothing "Made in the USA" sounds like a business opportunity for someone willing to take it on.

I've been frustrated for several years about the thin cloth all of the tops are made out of now, because they are so awful-looking on my body. Even tops from the higher-priced stores are the same, though better made of course. I would certainly pay extra to buy a shirt with more heft to it to hide my multitude of sins.

Awwww, Monica and Ruthie, I can't let your comments pass. In order to feed a family of 4, one has to make enough money to feed and house them which is not what manufacturers nor consumers are willing to pay, now that we're used to cheap clothing. I for one do not want to go back to the days of the robber barons, though that's where those in the top echelon would like to send us.

I have worked in retail, altering clothing, for over thirty years.

Part of the equation is that as a country, we prefer to own lots of clothes, rather than fewer, better made pieces. Plus, we have grown accustomed to the prices of clothing made overseas, where labor is much, much cheaper.

When I worked in a bridal salon, customers were sometimes outraged at the price of alterations: they did not know or care that the woman fitting their dress or gown may have years of experience in altering or sewing clothing. It never occurred to them there was a disparity between the subsistence wage for an entry level position in China and a living wage for skilled labor in the US.

I don't sew much clothing for myself. Retail clothing, in my experience, is made of better material than I find at Joann's. I can buy a pair of pants at TJMaxx and wear them a couple times a week for a year or more. My last Joann's purchase pilled so badly after four wearings that I threw them out. I had a woolen winter coat that lasted for 11 years. My "everyday" winter coat cost about $125, and has lasted at least four or five years, so far. It would have cost more to make than to buy.

That being said, if one learns to sew, one can buy clothing on sale and make it fit better. One can repair things instead of paying someone at the dry cleaner or throwing the clothing out. We charge $25 to $35 to replace a zipper in a winter coat. I'm always a little surprised when someone says they'll just buy a new one. If they'd rather have a cheap, new coat every year or so than spend a little more for one that will last four or five years, retail will respond to that desire.

Another issue would be getting Americans so see sewing as a genuine skill, so that they would want a job like that. With so many people of the opinion that "anyone" can do it, that would be a hard sell.

I'm a little offended at the "picking our pockets" headline, especially since the article also discusses the increased cost of labor and materials. Yes, stores are in business to make a profit! That's how they pay their employees, subsidize their health insurance, buy new stock, keep the lights on, keep the building heated and cooled, the rent for the retail space paid, the parking lot plowed, the floors swept, the bathrooms cleaned, the windows re-merchandised, pay dividends to their stockholders (not just rich people, you know, the retirees who own shares in in mutual funds own stock, too!)

That's how they pay for ships which bring goods from overseas, and the trucks that transport them from the coasts to the stores.

No one forces people to buy all new clothes every fall. It's a choice. I am reminded to a woman who was amazed at her French exchange student who brought all the clothes she needed for the school year in two suitcases- while her own daughters with overstuffed closets moaned they had nothing to wear.

Well said, Eva. Though I have to say I think that it seems that CEOs, etc. on the whole make waaaaaaaaaaay too much money.

It's the big shots who make the money.

And they say to their workers, "If you don't like that level of wage ...

... I can get it made in China/Viet Nam ... etc."

That said - I've lived among people in distant countries who were operating at the bottom end of the totem pole (or near it) ...

... and I find it hard to begrudge them a means of earning a decent income, as well.

We have something of an obsession with novelty ... with new stuff, having become so enticed by the advertisers, over the years.

How come quite a few fridges that were made 50 years ago, about ten years after they started manufacturing the things, lasted for about 40 years ...

... but the ones that they make now last for about ten years?

Takes a lot of work ... and a lot of precious energy, to mine the ore and build and transport the parts and then a fridge ... and it takes a lot more petroleum/natural gas to make the plastic that we put into them, as well.

We are some dumb (to copy from, another thread)!

ole joyful

If you feel clothing is overpriced, you can fight back. Break out the sewing machine and build some of your garments yourself. You will be total control of fit, lenght, materials, and style. That what houswives did in the early 1900s.

Do I hear yelling and screeming about that is too much work, or too hard to do? Maybe todays prices are not out of line. However, I bet that some of you could beat the current quality and fit.

They're trying to make a living, same as any other manufacturer/business these days.

I bought a brand new sewing machine at a garage sale last year...it took me a year to get it out just to do some mending...(it's old but does everything I need it to do and the $20.00 price tag was wonderful!)now I'm ready to take on making some shorts...maybe even some tops...I like stretchy tops so we'll have to see...I'm not afraid...just got to find the time!!