Last weekend I ventured down to Savemart in New Lynn. I like that place! It’s good for super ultra basics. Not so much for work basics with a twist. There are lots of too-worn singlets, tanks and camisoles. Formal dresses and ugly boardshorts. But there are invariably gems, if you go at the right time and are lucky enough. You’ve really got to devote the time to combing the racks carefully.
I was looking for some tailored black shorts/three quarter pants, a short cardi and a nice top in a particular colour (kinda pink/maroony/fuschia – it’s a very specific shade I have in mind and can’t find the right piece. On cardis it looks too nanna-ish. So I’m looking for something in a more luxe material, maybe a silky satiny number.) And possibly some sort of skirt for work/play.
What I ended up getting: a pink Cotton On cropped jacket (pretty much the same hue as my pink Cotton On cardi, which I love so, for $6; a black and pink spotted skirt with zigzag hem for $7 and black long Ricochet shorts for $15.
I wasn’t looking for a cropped blazer, and agonised over getting it. I figured, though, I’d need some more professional wear for doing interviews and working on stories this year (especially when we trip out to the regions for a week). I also think I need to get rid of my pastel pink cord blazer which I never wear and replace it with a more neutral, practical colour!
The skirt was just so darn cute. It’s actually from Urban Angel but fits me nicely! I thought it was maybe a bit fussy, but I figured it would be okay for work, and definitely if I end up doing work experience at somewhere like nzgirl (somewhere a little more quirky/funky than a straight up new organisation). See, I was really thinking ahead that day!
And the pants. I had given up on finding anything suitable to try on. Then I wandered down one “Designer” aisle with hardly anything on the racks. Lo and behold, I stumbled upon a hanger bearing one pair of long black shorts. Even before I clocked it, I knew it was a size 8 I had to try it.
It slipped beautifully on and sat just right on my hips. It was fitted, not clingy, not loose, and you could tell it was made to last. They fell JUST below my knees – the perfect length! So when I sit down they don’t ride up too high.
After $6 and $7, I wasn’t sure about paying $15. And I wasn’t sure I needed long shorts anymore. But they were so well made and so well fitted, and where can you get designer pants for $15? I snapped them up and wore them on Monday! That’s an investment; I imagine I’ll wear them for years and they’ll last forever. Unless I gain weight…
It’s made me really realise why it is that people buy designer clothing – and pay designer prices. Sure there’s the whole high fashion aesthetic, but another reason designer stuff costs more is the materials and the manufacturing. They USUALLY use better quality fabric and have better tailoring. Which, for a person like me, is a godsend.
Size 6-8 tops are not hard to find. You can come by them in basically any shop. Not so much pants. And when you do, they rarely fit in any way. Butt. Waist. Width. Cut. Length. That’s a lot of variables, and when they’re all fighting, well, you never ever get them all to line up in cosmic perfection.
So I’m really glad that I came across that one pair of pants hanging lonely on the rack. Someone had obviously tried it on and discarded it. It didn’t fit them, but they fit me perfectly – they could have been MADE for me.
Thank you Ricochet! You know it. And you understand a petite person’s body.
