Friday, September 18, 2009

Button up

You know that expression, "If you don't like something,change it"? Actually, I'm not quite sure if that is technically an "expression" or just something parents say to you during adolescence when you complain. Either way, it is something that gets said and something I take to heart -- especially when it comes to my clothing.

I wish I had the ability to design and sew my own clothing. Well, not so much the ability -- I'm perfectly able -- I could take classes and practice and fail and try again -- so what I really mean is, I wish I had the inate talent/gift of sewing. I always have ideas about the perfect dress/skirt/blouse/etc., but can never find it in the stores. Since I cannot make my own clothes, I must resign to work with what is available. Our market economy depends on people like me. And while this is good for our economy, it can reak havoc on individuality. No one is immune:

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Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Though I cannot make my own clothes, I can certainly make clothes my own -- give it some individuality, put my spin on it. For example, the jacket I wore today did not always look like this.

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I wish I could tell you I cropped it, nipped it, tucked it, and "oh by the way, it use to be a drape", but that did not happen. This jacket was another Nordstrom's Rack find. I bought it last year because (I'm sure that) I read somewhere trench style-jackets: a) will never go out of style; b) are appropriate for all occasions; and c) flatter every figure. I'm a sucker for a three-prong factoid.

I bought this jacket at a very reasonable price. However, the cheap, plastic buttons that originally came on the jacket were, well...cheap and plastic. I'm sure the original buttons lended themselves to the reasonable retail cost, but they compromised the whole look of the jacket. They were perfectly acceptable buttons for "disposable clothing," but not for a piece that was suppose to a-c.

After buying the jacket, I immediately set out to the fabric stores. I searched high and low for luxe buttons that were the right size in a complimentary color. Not as easy as it sounds. I finally located the chocolate-covered-butterscotch-esque buttons you see here. The store had only 2 left in stock, so I had to order more. Yes, I had to special order buttons for this jacket. Then, I had to pay my tailor (what I believe to be) an exorbitant amount of money to remove and replace the old buttons. Though, I really shouldn't complain about the cost. I could have tackled buttons on my own, but some things are best out-sourced to the professionals.

In the end, it breaks down to this:
cropped trench jacket: $20
new luxe buttons: $32
tailor fees: $35
having a jacket a-c: $87 (not exactly priceless, but close)


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t-shirt: Apt. 9
jacket: hinge
jeans: Gap
shoes: Guess
jewelry: Cookie Lee

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