I am not good at buying things. Correction: I am not good at buying things that aren't food or immediately practical. When it comes to clothes and accessories, I wish I could just buy everything I needed once and have them last forever. Sadly, most things aren't designed to last forever.
Just over a year ago I bought a new purse. My previous purse had been purchased at Value Village for $4 as a prop for a "Going to the Office" theme party back in 2004. After the party, it easily morphed into my everyday purse. Five years later it was time to get a new purse, and I actually bought it from a real store and paid $25 for it. That is big time for me. Now, only 13 months later, the clasp that holds the purse closed has torn off. Not because of some horribly violent and dramatic tearing open of the purse, it just tore off after a year of regular use. Which really sucks. The last purse was used and cost $4 and lasted 5 years. The new one cost $25 and an integral part of it has died after only a year. Boo! This does not bode well for my desire to only have to buy things once.
After getting over my initial irritation with the broken clasp, I was able to hand sew it back to good. I pulled apart the clasp to see how it had been attached in the first place, then I used some duct tape (!) and some thread and sewed it back into working condition. The clasp is super strong now and will surely have a longer lifespan than the thin piece of cloth that previously held it together. Nice.
Fixing the purse motivated me to fix a few other things. I sewed a hole in a pair of socks and sewed some buttons back onto some comfy pants. With some basic sewing skills, I am able prolong the life of some clothes and accessories, thereby delaying the frequency of having to purchase new items. Not a perfect situation but a compromise I'll accept! :)
Just over a year ago I bought a new purse. My previous purse had been purchased at Value Village for $4 as a prop for a "Going to the Office" theme party back in 2004. After the party, it easily morphed into my everyday purse. Five years later it was time to get a new purse, and I actually bought it from a real store and paid $25 for it. That is big time for me. Now, only 13 months later, the clasp that holds the purse closed has torn off. Not because of some horribly violent and dramatic tearing open of the purse, it just tore off after a year of regular use. Which really sucks. The last purse was used and cost $4 and lasted 5 years. The new one cost $25 and an integral part of it has died after only a year. Boo! This does not bode well for my desire to only have to buy things once.
After getting over my initial irritation with the broken clasp, I was able to hand sew it back to good. I pulled apart the clasp to see how it had been attached in the first place, then I used some duct tape (!) and some thread and sewed it back into working condition. The clasp is super strong now and will surely have a longer lifespan than the thin piece of cloth that previously held it together. Nice.
Fixing the purse motivated me to fix a few other things. I sewed a hole in a pair of socks and sewed some buttons back onto some comfy pants. With some basic sewing skills, I am able prolong the life of some clothes and accessories, thereby delaying the frequency of having to purchase new items. Not a perfect situation but a compromise I'll accept! :)
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Oh duct tape, is there anything you can't do?
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty amazing stuff! This clip from Lost contains my feelings on the subject of duct tape!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZUojH5aH4E
Somebody with some graphic design skills needs to make an "I don't believe in many things, but I do believe in duct tape." t-shirt.
ReplyDeleteThat is an awesome idea! :)
ReplyDelete