After seeing these beauties on
Anh and
Elle, I toyed with the thought of getting my own classic red pencil skirt. In China, red symbolizes luck, so I'd finally have something to wear for future lunar new years (I always forget the red undies on that day : / ).
First I got the same Ann Taylor one that Elle has. Sz 0P was the smallest in store, and it was on clearance, but still $40 and required slimming and hem alterations. The material was so stretchy and comfortable, but I wasn't gung ho about spending $65+ on it.
Whoopsies, sorry for the obnoxious "watermark." I hemmed and hawed over this skirt, then magically came across a red 100% wool Petite Sophisticate (RIP) one at my favorite thrift store, Savers (thank you again
Kerry for sharing about this lovely chain of thrift store that sorts items by size), for a more wallet-friendly $7.
The skirt felt crisp and new, but upon further inspection, I noticed a splotchy stain on the front. Yuck! "Okay...it's a no...time to go..." Poor Nick was getting itchy from the thrift store and I could see he was hungering for Taco Bell (a typical reward for his patience during my thrifting), so I had to leave it behind.
A week later I was still thinking about it. You know those things that you leave behind and keep on wondering..."what if?" ...well, I realized it's not worth losing sleep over when it costs $7. So back we went. I asked for a discount due to le stain and they kindly reduced it to $4. Score! Here it is post-alterations:
Skirt + hemming + waist taken in + dry cleaning = $29. Not bad for this vibrant skirt. Unfortunately, the story doesn't end happily here because they made it much too small. My intestines were smooshed, so I had to go back and do what I despise: bravely asking for re-alterations. It's always stressful doing this, because tailors will rarely admit that they didn't do a great job.
Alas, I just got this back from re-alterations, and the waist now fits perfectly but the hips puff out strangely (these pics were taken pre-2nd alteration, so you can't see the puff). I wish my tailors took a little extra time in pinning it but they claim they "know" my body now and were a bit hasty. So now I need to muster up the courage and get it fixed yet again.
Skirt: Petite Sophisticate sz 2P, thrifted and altered (
similar)
On another note, if you haven't come across new
blogger and YouTuber
Wendy's Lookbook yet, prepare to be
completely hooked. Thank you dear bloggy friends
AprilAthena and
DSKSteph for telling me about Wendy. She has an infectious personality, and I'm pretty certain she's on an accelerated path to become the next big YT "guru." I've taken notes aplenty from her styling tips, starting with this
25 (24?) ways to wear a scarf video.
Readers - have you ever received unsatisfactory alterations? Do you sadly suck it up, or go back and demand re-alterations?
