Guide to women's clothing

by crow messenger

In the last several years with the majority of clothing being made and manufactured outside of the US sizes and sizing have become nightmarish! From shoes to shirts and everything in between there is no guarantee anymore that 'your size' will actually fit you. In light of this I have completely stopped shopping for clothes at major retailers and at discount retailers.

Insted I shop almost exclusively at Goodwill! There I find designer items that are usually close or true to size, most are in excellent condition and the variety is endless plus the prices can't be beat! I have found numerous Ann Taylor, Talbots, Clairborne, Gap, Bannana Republic, Maxx of Milan, Columbia, Ex Officio, Bloomingdales, SAX, Nordstoms, and many other name brand and higher end retail store items of clothing(some with tags still on them!) Shirts, skirts, blouses, jackets, coats, slacks, khakis, you name it, it's there. Of course Goodwill stores vary greatly by location. Smaller towns are not as likely to have such a variety or the number of brand name items. It is still worth a look.

Shoes are just as bad in terms of finding a good fit at a reasonable price. What I have come to discover is that shoes no matter what the name brand fit best and are most comfortable if they are made in Italy, Brazil, or Germany. Many name brand shoe manufactures have thier shoes made in various places. This is I believe the most important thing to pay attention to when purchasing shoes. The quality and fit of shoes made in the countries mentioned above are almost always a great fit, last much longer and have better support. Keep this in mind especially when buying name brand shoes. The names we once trusted are not all made with the quality or sizing we used to rely on, because of where they are being assembled.

I find shopping for anything to wear quite frustrating because of the sizing. Some clothing that has a size of 4 might fit great, while a size 10 is hard to get into! Be prepared no matter where you shop to spend time trying everything on. Check the fiber content, care labels and the "made in" tags.If you find a brand or store that you usually are satisfied with be sure to check these items anyway. I have found that many manufactures with name brands we trust, have a variety of lines that all look the same. Columbia sportswear for example which promotes its clothes for American lifestyles and is based out of the Pacific North West has 'cheaper' lines, still bearing the Columbia label. These items do not fit or hold up nearly as well as the line made in the USA. When you find a clothing label such as this on sale or at a discount store, check the label and be sure to try it on and check the content of material. Stores like Ross carry many 'name brand' items, in all clothing and shoe catagories. This can be a bit deceiving. You will notice the difference in many cases. Overall we have to be wiser shoppers and pay more attention. Sizes don't seem to count for much more than an average anymore. Take your time, read, and try on.