Reply #115: It's no longer a bargain to sew your own clothes. [View All]

Wedding dresses, party dresses, yes, perhaps. Curtains, definitely. But everyday wear? No. I can sew, I own a machine, but I'd only make clothing for fun.

Decent fabric for clothes is expensive, in my area, anyway. What I find in the stores is geared for seasonal crafts, quilting, upholstery, baby items, etc. I also find the clothing fabric (aside from bridal/party) to be of inferior quality to what I used years ago when I made many of my own clothes.

Women used to have TIME to sew. I assume your mother and grandmother were homemakers and didn't work a 40-hour week outside the home for a paltry salary to make ends meet.

The bargain for women these days is to find a couple of decent blazers/jackets at Goodwill, buy pants on sale (and with a coupon) at DressBarn (ugh), mix and match with some T-shirts from Kohl's, and throw on some cute costume jewelry. It'll give you a week's worth (or more) of clothes for the office, it's fast, and it's cheap. When it gets a bit shabby, it become weekend wear.

I do miss sewing...