Tartans, matching patterns, cheap clothes versus designer clothes, the joys of clothes clutter, dress of the day number 512 by author Angela Lansbury

 Tartans, plaids, Burberry. Black Watch.

Angela Lansbury wearing red, white and black Shein blouse at a Toastmasters International speakers' club. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

This blouse label is Shein. I thought the red colour was jolly, black co-ordinates with black skirts and accessories practical. White adds freshness, cleanliness.

Only when I looked at the photo did I realise what was wrong with the pattern. The horizontal lines on the left and right don't match up. The two sides have been cut separately. They should have been either from one piece, cut vertically down the middle, or not economised on fabric but lined it up. 

Why was it made like this? How did it get past the supervisor, past quality control? Maybe it is 'seconds', a sale item. 

Maybe an amateur. Maybe cost-cuttiing.

Somewhere I read an article investigating how clothes are made so cheaply. The manufacturer in a village or city where lots of people are seeking work offers work where each person is paid by the number of garments they make.  So if they are given a template or garment to copy and they can make so many an hour, the faster they work, the more they are paid. 

The fabric is cheap and the seamstress or sewer is paid very little. But if they cut dozens of the same garment,, as fast as they can, wonky seams, ends of cotton not tied up neartly, so long as it gets by the superviser, they are earning a lot more than if they were unemployed. 

Churn out huge numbers of garments, sold at low prices to get big sales.  

Low paid workers, but glad to be in work. From the point of view of customers, garments good enough for one wear or two, before faults are found. So the item you bought is so cheap that  you can chuck it away or pass it on to a charity shop, or sell it second hand. Happiness all round.

Cost Per Wearing

I bought it for one pound in St Luke's in Hatch End which suports hospices in London. I was quite happy for a few days. It was warm, comfortable. Until I saw the picture. But it was cheap. If every new outfit costs me one pound, and I bought one item a day, I could afford to spend a pound a day and have a new outfit every day, and still spend 365 pounds a year. 

I have a friend who spends about three hundred pounds at the start of the year on one really good three piece outfit which she wears every day. She reckons on looking smart every day of the year. At the end of the year she is tired of the otufit, sells it second hand, recouping half the cost. (She sold a three piece black crepe outfit of trousers, top and jacket to me.)

She is a minimalist. Her house is spotless and empty. Empty shelves and work surfaces. Like a show house. 

My house is full of clutter. Crammed full. 

I had one friend who stood on the doorstep and said, "I'm not even cioming into your hall. just looking at it makes me feel ill."

I was depressed for a few days. Until a little girl came to see me for an English lesson. Her eyes were wide with astonishment and excitement. She eclaimed, "Your house is wonderful. So full of things to look at. Like a toy shop!"

I get exercise and entertainment walking to the shop and buying something new every day. Actually, I don't, I try to avoid buying every day. I go in about once a week and end up buying about seven items a week on average.

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