Pajamas. [Yawn.]

I’m never excited to shop for pajamas because they’re pretty much the same and they’re pretty much boring. There are only so many options for women: nightgowns or shorts/pants with tops. Usually I’m just looking at pajama pants; some are fairly nondescript, being a flat color or an unassuming plaid, but others are blatantly obnoxious. And I can’t help but wonder, who wears these garish colors or likes these tacky patterns? I don’t. And the fabric tends to be nothing special, mostly just jersey or cotton or flannel. 

I understand that pajamas are meant for sleeping in, so the biggest factor is whether or not they’re comfortable. No one wants to be in scratchy or too tight pajamas. However, it’d be nice if there was a tiny bit of design in there because I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pair of pajama pants that I actually wanted. The design just isn’t there; there’s nothing special about any of it.

So I’m extremely lazy about buying pajama pants because I don’t find them interesting to look at, and therefore I almost never look at them in a store. Inevitably, I reach some sort of desperation point where I need new pajama pants and I just buy the least ugly pair I can find at a store for not much money. I’ve had coats, dresses, tops, skirt and shoes that I’ve loved, but I’ve never had pajama pants that I’ve loved.

I feel like pajama pants should be awesome. I spend a good third of my life in them, and there’s no reason that they should be such fashion rejects. So if I can’t find what I want in a store (and I don’t want to pay a ton for them either), then I’ll just make them myself. I’ve made pajama pants before (and they’re not hard to make), and I think can make a way cuter pair than the lackluster pants I’ve seen in the stores.

Simple Pleated Skirt

Not long ago I picked up some blue fabric and a vintage pattern, Simplicity 2433, from a thrift shop, and I used them to create my new skirt. I used this pattern as a starting point, and changed things according to what made sense to me.

I think the skirt portion of this pattern is the simplest thing ever—it’s just a rectangle that is pleated across the top of it. That’s really the only part I used from this pattern. I used a waistband from another skirt (since this pattern had a very narrow waistband and I prefer a thicker one). I also used a zipper instead of snaps as the main closure.
 

And finally, I decided to use a button (instead of an eye and hook) for the closure at the waistband. I thought this would be a good project to finally use a button. I chose a simple plastic button from my jar of buttons I got at a thrift shop. 

I Love Buttons but They Scare Me

For four years I’ve sewn without sewing a button. Part of the reason is that most of the patterns I have don’t require buttons, but instead use zippers and eyes and hooks for closures. Outside of a button-down shirt or coat (neither of which I’ve tried sewing), buttons don’t seem to be very popular closures in many patterns. A practical reason is that sewing a zipper is probably the quickest type of closure to sew, and a zipper is likely cheaper than a row of buttons, so it makes sense that they’re the go-to closure for many patterns.

However, I love buttons. They’re wonderful design elements that can instantly add style to a garment. And I can’t seem to help but collect buttons because they’re pretty. In fact, I have a box of brand-new buttons that I bought in the hopes of using but never did. I also have a jar (filled to the brim) of mostly plastic buttons that I bought from a thrift shop years ago. So I don’t lack buttons. [Pause.] But I lacked the knowledge to use them.

Up until last weekend I’d avoided sewing buttons. They scared me. I kept having flashbacks of when I first learned to put a zipper in, and how it took me forever to do it; (I think it took me half a day…or at least it felt that way). I remembered the frustration and the cursing and I thought it must be just as hard to put in a button (and I didn’t want to go through that aggravation again). I was intimidated.

But I decided to suck it up and try. It was a sewing skill I wanted to learn and I was ready to spend the day learning if it killed me. I braced myself for pain and suffering…only it didn’t come. I followed my sewing machine’s manual of how to create buttonholes and was pleasantly surprised of how easy it was. My sewing machine has a buttonhole foot that does practically everything. I have to do very little; just measure my button size and mark my material, make sure everything is set up on my sewing machine correctly, and then put my foot to pedal and let the machine sew. It’s automatic and awesome.

Now that I know how to make a buttonhole, I want to make lots of buttonholes. Learning one simple technique instantly broadened the range of patterns I’m willing to try and increased my excitement about buttons. I’m even more in love with buttons, now that I can actually use them.

Frugal Snob

When it comes to clothes, I think I’m a frugal snob. This may sound contradictory, but really, I think these attributes easily go hand-in-hand. It comes down to wanting good quality at a good price. A large reason I’ve cut back on my shopping at the mall and discount stores (that sell new items) is because I don’t get enough quality. A vast majority of the time I’m disappointed by the items in a store made with cheap materials for prices I find unacceptable (based upon that lack of quality).

But even when the prices are okay, I’m still not very interested in cheap garments because I’m a snob. And I don’t think this is a bad thing; it means I have standards. With so many options available, there must be a line between “worth it” and “not worth it,” and for me, that line is quality. I’ll see some cute garment in a store (from afar), and when I finally touch its fabric I can’t help but think, “I’m not paying $45 for that.” I hate scratchy fabric. I despise cheap-looking fabric. And I’m vastly annoyed when fabric is too thin for the garment (e.g. skirts and dresses that are practically see-through).

When I was younger, cheap fabric never bothered me, but now cheap fabric is a deal-breaker. And even when the fabric is okay, I’ll still balk at the price of a simple garment and think, “I could just sew this.” (I think this especially when the craftsmanship is shoddy, because if I’m going to wear shoddy craftsmanship, it should at least be my own.)

Even the items that I like in a store, I’ve often gotten too frugal for. I went to a clothing store the other day and was in the sale section and saw some fairly nice sweaters on the hanger for about $30 and I didn’t even bother to try them on. I wasn’t desperate for these sweaters (that were fine but not particularly special), and I thought might eventually find something like it at a thrift shop for less.

The thing is, I’m often attracted to expensive things but don’t feel inclined to buy them at full price (although there are always exceptions to the rule). If I go into a higher-end store, the prices feel too steep to me, so I usually walk away with nothing. So the high-end stores are too expensive (even though I like their stuff), and the average stores are too cheap (in quality), so that leaves me with thrift shopping. Where every so often, among the Target and Old Navy rejects I find something special—a quality piece of clothing that I love for a good price.

Shopping Progression

As a teenager I loved the mall. I spent hours at the mall; friends and I would shop, eat, walk around and just hang out. I can’t say that I usually bought a ton of items (sometimes the only thing I bought was lunch), but the mall was a go-to destination for me for years. 

Later I moved onto discount stores that sold new clothing because I could buy more items for less money. The stores themselves were less glamorous in presentation than the mall, but I was fine sacrificing some ambiance for lower prices. Perhaps that’s where I started to hone my (clothing) hunting skills among long racks of sort of organized stuff and got accustomed to paying less for items.

Now, I prefer thrift shops. It seems like it should be the reverse; that as I grew older (and could afford it) that I would prefer shiny new items to used ones, but more often than not, this isn’t the case. I don’t go to the mall with excitement any more and I don’t want to browse for hours—I want to be in and out…quickly.

It’s not that I don’t shop for new items at the mall or other discount stores (with new items), because I do, but I tend to go to those places for specific items (e.g. shoes). Once in a while I’ll drop by the mall to see what there is (and may find something I like), but it often just feels rather sterile and generic. I prefer thrift shops for the surprises.

It’s fun to shop at thrift shops because there’s such a variety of stuff, and I feel like I can get some good deals because it’s (almost always) cheaper than buying something brand new. For me, it’s usually best if I’m not looking for something specific at a thrift shop, and I can easily spend hours browsing; I’ll just see what they have and see if there’s anything catches my eye. It’s about finding something unexpected; something I didn’t know I wanted until I saw it; and perhaps something different than new items being sold in stores (since I’m not a terribly trendy person to begin with). It’s just more fun.