[catsnhorses]

oh pooh, it's summer again... the humidity had already kicked in and I am miserable. I don;t like snow but I dread summer.

No decent summer clothes to be had - I don't want to bare all or wear tanks and capris, and NO ONE seems to be offering dresses or long bodied long sleeve shirts this summer.

i have a seamstress contact but I am awful at buying fabric. Last time I went to fabricland everything was either hideous or polyester or both. Just like in the stores.

I am willing to try again but need some ideas. Apart from linen or cotton (and I hate to iron!) what fabrics would actually be COOL in humid weather. i don;t want anything clingy or slippery/slimey, just something that willdrape nicely without accentuating curves (I;m a cover-up kinda girl). And I feel the heat wayyyyy more than the average person. b/c people have suggsted various light synthetics and they kill me in the summer.

Please help

or am I dreaming?

[zenor77]

To stay cool you want as much natural fiber in the fabric as possible (to help wick away sweat.) Synthetics don't breath and, I think, contribute to making you feel warmer.

Maybe you can find cotton or linen that has been treated to not wrinkle? Personally I don't iron linen at all because it wrinkles when you move anyway. I figure linen is supposed to look wrinkled, but I don't buy much of it either.

Another option would be silk. If you get raw silk it won't be slippery or too thin. Raw silk has a beautiful nubby texture and should keep you cool.

Do you have any friends that sew that could go fabric shopping with you? I find it's always easier when you have another set of "eyes" along.

Also, have you tried looking in consignment shops, thrift stores, etc? Maybe they'd have more of the styles you are looking for. I think most of they stuff in the stores right now is awful! It's as if the took the worst stuff from the 60's and 70's and decided to make it again.

[catsnhorses]

Thanks for the suggestions. Just some good old fashioned poly-cotton blend would be nice... We are running out of fabric stores around here, they are all going over to craft/upholstery/curtain fabrics. I may end up doing a Von Trapp.

Isn't pure silk expensive? and fragile? or have I got that all wrong?

I agree 110% about the stuff in stores. i have a book by James Lileks called Interior Desecrations about 70s interior design. I wonder if he has done anything on fashion. Poor man must be having flashbacks by now!!

But I digress...

yes, I do hit the thrift stores occasionally, actually only one (Value Village) sorts stuff by size, the others are such a mishmash it is hard to find anything, and I get fed up of looking at skinny clothes after a while. I should go "hunting" again soon, sometimes I get lucky.

[zenor77]

100% silk can be a bit pricey. I don't think it's too fragile though it may need hand washing/delicate cycle care. Some of the best deals can be found online though and most online fabric stores will send you swatches prior to purchasing. I wish I had a good online store to recommend, but I don't remember where I've shopped online previously.

If you are ever in a large city try searching out the garment districts. Good deals can be found and usually people are willing to haggle. At least that's how it is in the LA garment district. I'm not sure about Canadian cities.

I absolutely hate it when thrift shops (or discount shops in general) don't sort by size. That's so annoying! You'd think they'd want to make more money by making things accessible. Of course, staffing might be an issue for them. I've always thought it strange that most sizes are so small in thrift shops. Most of the people I know aren't that small, you'd think they'd have more normal sizes.

[catsnhorses]

hmm, someone else suggested the garment district too. Problem is I don't like cities and really Don't Wanna go downtown. Sigh. But it may come to that. At least I live near enough to a commuter train station.

Maybe if someone goes on a trip I can ask them to bring back some nice fabric. I love Egyptian cotton - but I want to pay Egyptian souq prices not North American mall prices.

I think I know why the thrift stores are full of small clothes. People put on weight, or they thought they could slim down into it. I stopped doing that, it got too depressing. I want clothes for where I am now. If (when?) I lose weight AND the fashions change (b/c everything now is just too hideous) I will go on a shopping spree!