Sunday, June 19, 2011

Want great style at low cost? Check out the pajamas!

I hate shopping for clothes. Despise it. But about four times a year, after I get my hair cut at the big Tyson's Galleria mall (Tyson's Corner,Virginia), I give shopping a whirl to see if it is as awful as I remember it. (It generally is.)

Last week, I meandered through several 'designer' stores (with horrible clothes at exorbitant prices) and then ended up in Macy's.  I wandered through Macy's, taking in the horror. Striped, cropped pants paired with a flowered shirt, belted with a bright sash, and accessorized with a sequined scarf. Gad. Everything was just horrible. And the items that weren't quite as horrible were overpriced and cheaply made in another country (usually China). I really needed a pair of black slacks, so I tried on a few, but they were awful. Too tight at the top, huge at the bottom. Do these things actually fit people?

Like my 'sundress'?
I had given up and was getting ready to leave, but decided to visit the ladies' room first. I had to walk through Pajamas/Lingerie (a.k.a., 'Intimates') and Maternity to get to there. And that's when I hit the jackpot. The clothes in these two sections were actually good looking and were generally half the price of the 'normal' clothes.  I grabbed a few and tried them on. Not too bad a fit. Not bad at all. Pretty cheaply made, overseas, but definitely a better value than the rest of the store provided.

My friend Carolina and I would always joke that the best kept secret was maternity underwear (comfy, stretchy, fabulous). It appears now that the whole intimate department may be jumping on that bandwagon. I actually ended up buying several pieces of clothing from what I tried on. I've already worn some of them out, and gotten compliments. I got a pair of $15 black sleek pajama bottoms that I wore for an evening out, with a silver shaw. I also a $19 pajama top that makes a great sundress.

I'm not sure what to make of a world where the only clothes that I like are in the PJ section. Maybe it means I shouldn't get up in the morning. Then again, maybe it just means that the best designers are currently making intimate apparel while they build up enough 'street cred' to move up. I'm sure hoping it is the latter.

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