Cap-sleeve Silver Brocade Cropped Jacket

Here's another jacket we made for the customer who brought in the several yards of vintage brocade (refer to previous post). I LOOOOVE THIS ONE. This one is Anda's design :)

Sentimental Vintage Brocade

This is the brocade tuxedo jacket that I designed for our customer. 

One of our customers asked us what she could do with several pieces of her late mother-in-law's precious silk brocade. She didn't want it to just sit in a wooden chest where the moths could get at it. There was one particular piece that stood out from the rest--that I personally really liked. This cloth was a lustrous powder-ink silk speckled with old Chinese script.  It definitely was a very feminine style of brocade.

The customer didn't want to have a piece made that she could only wear on very rare occasions because then it would just sit in her closet most of the time--meaning it would be no different than just having the original piece of brocade cloth sitting in the wooden chest. The precious cloth needed to be worn and shown off!

I thought: She needs something versatile and fun so she would be comfortable wearing it and not feel too overdressed since brocade is such a luxurious and ornate kind of material. An idea popped into my head: Tuxedo-style Jacket! That's fun, very chic, and super versatile. She could wear it as a statement piece paired with some nice jeans or with a black skirt forming a girlie skirt-suit or with a pair of dressy shorts and heels. The possibilities are endless really. :)

So here it is: A one-of-a-kind brocade tuxedo jacket! The only one in the world too!

To Spend Or Not To Spend?

Not trying to look sinister here. The sun is in my eyes. 

This dress was bought from a widely known "fast-food" fashion store for under $30. But the alterations to be performed on this dress cost $38. The girl, who is even smaller than I am (and I'm what you call "petite" already), bought it one size too big because it was the last one left. She loved it and thought it'd be reasonable to drop another $38 to have it tailored to her body shape. The total cost of this dress is now $68--still a very reasonable price when you know you're getting something that actually fits you. 

*******

In the last several years, with so many "fast-food" fashion chain stores and online clothing stores churning out average to subpar quality items at such irresistibly low prices, how can trend-followers not gobble up what these clothing companies are throwing at them?

In all honesty, I'm guilty of being part of the fast-food fashion culture. I'm not entirely immersed in it--maybe with just my feet in and only ankle-deep. If I can get the same style for much less than what mid-range to high-end clothing stores offer, why not?

When it comes to buying clothes, keep your head on straight: Keep in mind, what you pay is what you get--so don't go nuts and start hoarding when something is cheap. Think before you buy! Because market researchers know that most trend followers prefer quantity over quality, clothing companies can shirk and make compromises in the fabric quality as well as workmanship that goes into making fast-food clothes. Why else are you paying $20 for a dress instead of $100? 

The general rule of thumb is, when you're trying to dress nice and save money, invest in KEY pieces of excellent quality that can stand the test of time and occasionally buy cheaper trend items to enhance your overall outfit. 

From time to time, you may get suckered into buying something you don't even need and probably doesn't even fit because it was "on sale". This happens a lot to our customers. It happens to me. You're stuck with a nice $50 jacket but the sleeves are too long and fits a tad too big. You have three options: 

1.Wear it the way it is and hope that nobody notices the bad fit ( If you pick this option, congratulations! You have the courage that I don't have.)

OR

2. Use the money you saved on the jacket and make it fit you perfectly. (If you pick this option, congratulations! You'll actually get some wear out of it and look good sporting it.)

OR 

3. Shove it into the back of your closet and pretend you never even bought it. (If you pick this option, congratulations! You just wasted $50.) 

Which one did you pick? :)

*******

Our customers fall into two categories: 

1. Those who think, "Wow, I saved this much. I can use what I saved and put it towards alterations to get a perfect fit.  Customers who fall into this category usually really like their purchases and that's why they can justify spending more on a sale item.

2. Those who think, "What?! I paid only $50 for this jacket.  Why on earth would I spend more on it?" Customers who fall into this category usually DON'T really like their purchases all that much and that's why they CANNOT justify spending more on a sale item. If you know you belong in this category, let me ask you this question: Why do you buy things that don't even look good on you? :(

So to answer a common question that I get working here, "Should I spend more fixing this thing I got at such a low price or should I just leave it and either not wear it at all or just wear it the way it is?", you need to ask yourself how much you like what you bought and as well, these complimentary questions:


1. Is the workmanship acceptable?
2. Is the fabric quality decent?
3. Would I wear it again and again?
4. Does the style suit me?

If your answers to these Q's are mostly negative, I'd say just toss the darn thing!