Saturday 8 August 2009

Clothes maketh the man

I've been having a bit of a clothes crisis. My one suitcase contained mainly workwear - suits, shirts and ties. The ties have proved a total waste of space as open necked shirts are the order of the day at Woolies. Anyway I didn't bring that much casual clothing, thinking it wouldn't be necessary. Trouble is - they keep having casual days at work. Mufti days they are called. And I am lacking in mufti - smart mufti anyway. I do have scruffy mufti.....not exactly what the aspiring executive should be wearing.



So today I wanted to buy some new jeans. You would think that in a major metropolis like Sydney this would be easy....oh no. There are jeans aplenty - but only if you are tall and skinny. Today has really brought home to me just how active the Aussies are, as the shops just don't cater for those of us whose thin days have passed by.



And forget it if you are short.....regular leg lengths of 32" are all you can get. I am a 30" shortarse....so every pair of jeans I tried on had what seemed like several feet of denim trailing behind me. In one store the sales lady gave me a pair of skinny stretch jeans to try on....and I mean trendy urban rock star think Russell brand skinny. I looked like an egg on sticks......and they left nothing to the imagination. The saleslady quite liked me in them......mind you she was no spring chicken and this was probably the closest she'd been to a thrill in years.



We were about to head off to Chinatown where we suspected all the short leg lengths had been sent......when we saw the "General Pants Co" on George St. The salesman here knew his stuff....and directed me to a range of Levis for short, round Brits. Aussie retail redeemed itself. They fitted well.....apart from being too long......But hey, this must be a destination store for all short people as they gave me a voucher for discounted alterations. and the tailor was just across the road in the Dimmocks building. So we headed there and took an old and concerning elevator to the 9th floor. Concerning because it kept stopping and the doors stayed shut.....just when I thought we were in a rereun of some disaster movie, we got to the 9th floor. Wierd. All these shops in what was an office building. The tailor turned out to be a great find - a Vietnamese guy who altered my jeans in just 10 minutes for just $10. And they look like they were always that length - with matching thread on the seams too. Cheaper than flying home to London to shop at The Gap!

2 comments:

  1. Well you know I am just wishing I had a photo of you in those skinny jeans... that is just sooo wrong-- no man should wear those... ever.

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  2. Scruffy Mufti - lol! I went jeans shopping today as well. Not an easy task - skinny jeans everywhere.

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