[aldn]

lapin depending on the items and what you need done to the garment it's quite inexpensive.

[YoninahAliza]

I'm starting a new part-time job working in a retail shop. Apparently we have a strict wardrobe requirement of which we can only wear black. So black dress, black pants with a nice top, black skirt and top, etc. We can wear a colored shirt if it's under a blazer though. Basically I was told that if my back was to the customer then all they should see is black clothing. It's to make us easy to identify for the customers I guess. However or accessories and shoes can be any color. So while I love the color black I've come to realize that I don't have much of it in my wardrobe apparently. I have three black dresses, one black skirt, one black cardigan, and one or two appropriate black shirts. So it's quite limited I suppose. Which means it looks like I'll have to purchase a black blazer and another shirt at least.
Anyways, my question is how do I spice up my work look without breaking the rules? I want to look professional yet stylish so that customer will want me to help them. This is my first retail job and I guess I just want to make the right impression.

[MimiV]

When we had an all black uniform at work I used to "cheat" by putting a colorful thin belt (sometimes matched with my socks ) and always colorful nail polish.
If you're allowed to wear colorful tops I'd buy colorful t-shirts and blouses in silk. Also, I'd recommend investing in a few tailored black trousers! For me that's what I ended up wearing the most even though I normally prefer skirts and dresses.

I personally put the most emphasis on jewelry since that's going to be the only personal touch to the professional look.

[ShoestringTravel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lapin de Lune Does a perception crisis qualify as a fashion tragedy? If not please feel free to delete this. Lately, I have come to the conclusion that I simply do not suit clothes. And by this I mean clothes in general. At first glance, this might appear to have something to do with self esteem issues, which I have certainly explored, but I'm not quite so sure. I am quite accepting of the way I look, and have a pretty average (height/weight), if small body shape, which I am relatively happy with. I just simply don't feel at all well put together lately, regardless what I wear, whether it's high street or designer, causal or smart. Although I do possess a certain style of my own, and feel quite comfortable with my choices, the clothes themselves always tend to look 'wrong' when I actually wear them. Could this be a common issue? In fact, it is something that I have never mentioned out loud before and am quite curious as to how prevalent this sort of thing is. I simply feel as though I make the clothes look ungainly, shabby, badly put together. Several high quality pieces which I have acquired over the past 4 months literally swamp me, even though they are the smallest size, and were not described or intended to be worn oversized or loose fitting. I have almost grown tired of shopping for this reason alone, and am developing a fair amount of distrust of my choices. My style is reasonably minimal, and I am attracted to more classic, timeless garments, items which ought to at least work decently for anybody, but alas not for me. Luck may come into it, i admit: one pair of trousers feels slightly too tight, the next size up overwhelms me. Coats unreasonably bury my shoulders, almost any cut of jeans makes me look disproportionate, and skirts are either too short or hang too low on the hips. I wonder if my ability to dress myself is deteriorating, or whether I am simply choosing the wrong stuff. And as much as I adore fashion, I am starting to feel a little bit fed up. Several months ago I made a pact with myself to ditch fast fashion and to concentrate upon owning less yet higher quality pieces that I loved. Unfortunately, the situation hasn't actually improved anything, even though I have been careful with my recent selections. The only clothes which I feel comfortable wearing at the moment are shortish skirts and loose fitting tops/shirts. Perhaps I simply don't suit my other choices (pants with smart shirts/jeans/tee's) and have to accept my limitations. I am actually confused by this issue, and wonder how so many other people manage to look so well turned out, whether they're sporting just a tee and jeans or more elaborate ensembles.

I agree with the others who recommended a tailor. It's very affordable here in the U.S. (usually $10-$20), and if your clothes are on the large side, it's easier to size down than do the opposite. Taking in the seam at the back of a pair of pants or a skirt can make a huge difference in how the garment sits on your hips and appears, as can hemming a pair of pants for exactly the pair of shoes you want to wear them with. This sounds a bit complicated, and no, I am not one of those people who has a huge wardrobe of clothes and shoes, but I try to buy and think of my shoes in the category of heel heights--I know I have a few shoes that I can wear with the pair of pants hemmed this way, and a few pairs of shoes with the pants that are hemmed at this other length. That way, when I buy more pants and get them hemmed, I know which shoes I'll wear them with before I even take them home.

Blouses can be taken in along the darts in the front or back, for a more fitted look. Buttons can be moved over one way or the other for a little more or less room, usually up to about 1/2" or so, but that can make quite a difference for certain garments.

I imagine it's fairly similar in the U.K., but clothing manufacturers have different body models that they use for fitting their clothes (I had a friend who was a fitting model for Columbia Sportswear who explained this to me one time). So you may find that some brands just never fit well, and others fit great. For instance, the Banana Republic brand here just fits me terribly, but I can walk into the GAP, and most things fit fine. I've found that BR clothes are generally cut for someone with a shorter waist and a smaller chest size; the GAP has a shoulder-to-waist ratio that fits me much better. It's very individual. So if some brands just don't work, don't sweat it! Find the ones that do. I've found that the more expensive brands seem to be better cut in general--I can't find a Banana Republic blazer that fits me perfectly without alteration to save my life, but a Hugo Boss size 8 fits like a dream.

Shop a lot and try a lot of different clothes on from different manufacturers/designers. It takes a lot of time, but once you know what works, it will save time in the end.

[Lapin de Lune]

ShoestringTravel - thanks so much!

I have been feeling much more positive recently, and hope to be stumbling out of my sartorial malaise!

I think that most of my issues arise due to me purchasing online, which is pretty much the only way that I can obtain what I feel to be quality garments at present. My home town is rather small and most of the high street stores are a little too trend led for my tastes, and the stores which I would like to visit are located in cities much too far away for me to visit on a whim. (or even for less than £100 train fare).

A recent disaster was my new APC coat: gorgeous, exquisite thing, but the XS literally swamps me. I was so upset by that, but was aware of the risk when purchasing it from Sweden. I have missed my return date, too, so am hoping to sell it for at least something close to what I paid (which was an insane amount for me, admittedly).

Still, I shall learn from this, and persevere. I will also do a bit of local research into alterations.

[ShoestringTravel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lapin de Lune ShoestringTravel - thanks so much! I have been feeling much more positive recently, and hope to be stumbling out of my sartorial malaise! I think that most of my issues arise due to me purchasing online, which is pretty much the only way that I can obtain what I feel to be quality garments at present. My home town is rather small and most of the high street stores are a little too trend led for my tastes, and the stores which I would like to visit are located in cities much too far away for me to visit on a whim. (or even for less than £100 train fare). A recent disaster was my new APC coat: gorgeous, exquisite thing, but the XS literally swamps me. I was so upset by that, but was aware of the risk when purchasing it from Sweden. I have missed my return date, too, so am hoping to sell it for at least something close to what I paid (which was an insane amount for me, admittedly). Still, I shall learn from this, and persevere. I will also do a bit of local research into alterations.

I've had thick wool coats altered, too, if that helps! They can take in just about any seam on the thing; I recently had one wool coat that fit great, but was ridiculously long, so the tailor lopped off 12 inches of it, and now it's a nice trench coat length. Maybe a tailor could take in the side seams and adjust the sleeve lengths for you? Good luck!

[Jenna-maria]

i have never had anything tailored...it seems, so hard work
and here it is super expensive, so i rather buy things that fit or not buy it at all.

yesterday one thing popped in my mind:
last year i did not wear anything except black tights with dresses/skirts/shorts or leggings with tunic dresses/dresses.
but this year it have been all about jeans and loose fit, cozy shirts.
i cannot image to wear leggings ever again.

just asking everybody (who wanna answer),
have you find your dream pair of jeans?

i have!

they are from h&m (some wierd reason h&m jeans works me the best, i just buy the more expensive jeans...not those stupid stretch jeans that cost 12euros...), dark denim and fit perfectly. i actually bought them late last year but they were too small and now they fit perfectly! YAY!

i would buy anothe pair but they do not sell it anymore.

[softgrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by YoninahAliza I'm starting a new part-time job working in a retail shop. Apparently we have a strict wardrobe requirement of which we can only wear black. So black dress, black pants with a nice top, black skirt and top, etc. We can wear a colored shirt if it's under a blazer though. Basically I was told that if my back was to the customer then all they should see is black clothing. It's to make us easy to identify for the customers I guess. However or accessories and shoes can be any color. So while I love the color black I've come to realize that I don't have much of it in my wardrobe apparently. I have three black dresses, one black skirt, one black cardigan, and one or two appropriate black shirts. So it's quite limited I suppose. Which means it looks like I'll have to purchase a black blazer and another shirt at least. Anyways, my question is how do I spice up my work look without breaking the rules? I want to look professional yet stylish so that customer will want me to help them. This is my first retail job and I guess I just want to make the right impression.

we have a couple of threads on this that you many want to look up...
one on all black, all the time...
and another on how do you wear black...

the main thing that comes out of both threads though is that it is about TEXTURE...
mixing different fabrics adds another layer of interest to an all black look and works beautifully...
good luck with the new job...

[softgrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenna-maria i have never had anything tailored...it seems, so hard work and here it is super expensive, so i rather buy things that fit or not buy it at all. yesterday one thing popped in my mind: last year i did not wear anything except black tights with dresses/skirts/shorts or leggings with tunic dresses/dresses. but this year it have been all about jeans and loose fit, cozy shirts. i cannot image to wear leggings ever again. just asking everybody (who wanna answer), have you find your dream pair of jeans? i have! they are from h&m (some wierd reason h&m jeans works me the best, i just buy the more expensive jeans...not those stupid stretch jeans that cost 12euros...), dark denim and fit perfectly. i actually bought them late last year but they were too small and now they fit perfectly! YAY! i would buy another pair but they do not sell it anymore.

we also have a thread on jeans which you might be interested in...
i think it's called all about your jeans...

...

[Jenna-maria]

OK, I will check it out!
Thank you

[Lapin de Lune]

Could anyone advise with regards to locating a good tailor?
I live in a small town (UK) and so far I have only noticed small, alteration shops that I wouldn't be happy to trust with an expensive item (say a wool coat).
I would love some tips in what to look out for or ask if I call any.

[Lapin de Lune]

oh, and Jenna Maria I have been searching for the perfect jeans for over 12 yrs. It has become painful ..

[softgrey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lapin de Lune Could anyone advise with regards to locating a good tailor? I live in a small town (UK) and so far I have only noticed small, alteration shops that I wouldn't be happy to trust with an expensive item (say a wool coat). I would love some tips in what to look out for or ask if I call any.

i think for something like a coat-
look for a MENS tailor...
they are the most experienced in altering tailored items like that because they do men's suiting and it's a similar concept...

they would have a hard time with jersey fabrics- because menswear doesn't have a lot of that and jersey is tricky to sew because it stretches...
but for anything tailored, a classically trained tailor should be able to do a fine job...

and i wouldn't worry that it's a small town, clothing construction is basically the same all over ---unless we are talking about a beaded evening gown, it shouldn't really make a difference.

[vandekamp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lapin de Lune oh, and Jenna Maria I have been searching for the perfect jeans for over 12 yrs. It has become painful ..

ughhh tell me about it.

[Lapin de Lune]

Quote:

Originally Posted by softgrey i think for something like a coat- look for a MENS tailor... they are the most experienced in altering tailored items like that because they do men's suiting and it's a similar concept... they would have a hard time with jersey fabrics- because menswear doesn't have a lot of that and jersey is tricky to sew because it stretches... but for anything tailored, a classically trained tailor should be able to do a fine job... and i wouldn't worry that it's a small town, clothing construction is basically the same all over ---unless we are talking about a beaded evening gown, it shouldn't really make a difference.

Thanks for the tip! I have actually decided to keep my coat - which looks utterly transformed when the sleeves are shortened. I am going to make some enquiries into tailoring after the weekend.