Get The Best Prices On Clothe

If you make an unplanned visit to a clothing store, the regular prices can really kill your budget. But only suckers pay those prices. Here's how to spend significantly less than full price.Patient shoppers get the best deals by holding out for seasonal clearance sales, when stores unload their end-of-the-season inventory at discounts of 50% or more. Shopping these sales doesn't mean you'll have to wait until next year to wear your purchases or that you'll always be a year behind in fashion, either. That's because the end of a store's season doesn't coincide with the end of nature's seasons. Look for winter clearance sales in late December, January and early February, when you'll still have at least two months to wear your new sweaters and jackets. Summer clearance sales typically take place in August. Your favorite retailer might also have clearance sales at other times of the year, so keep an eye on the store's website to keep track of its sales.
It's true that your selection will be limited, and the jacket you love might be sold out in your size by the time a seasonal clearance rolls around. However, if you shop both in-store and online, you'll improve your chances of finding what you want. In-store inventories can differ significantly from online ones. A style or size that's sold out in one place might be available in the other.Some stores offer promotions that encourage you to buy now with the promise of additional savings later.Dual-base clothing swap highlights month of military child.For example, they might give you a coupon for $25 off your next $50 purchase when you spend $50 today. If you plan your purchases down to the dollar, you can get $100 worth of clothing for $75.
These deals usually have two caveats, however. First, some stores very carefully price their merchandise so that you almost have to spend more than the minimum to take advantage of the deal. It can be hard to spend an even $50 when the store's prices end in 90 cents. Second, these deals may only apply to full-priced merchandise, meaning you can't stack them on top of sale and clearance prices.Always visit a store's website before you visit the store in person to check for printable coupons, and look at the store's homepage for coupon codes before making an online purchase. Don't forget to actually enter that code when shopping online. A store will often announce a promotion on its home page but not remind you about it at checkout.

Dual-base clothing swap highlights month of military child

Antoinette Ross listened intently at a recent Peterson Spouses Club board meeting when one of her fellow spouses announced some exciting news. She was expecting a new baby, her fourth.Following a round of congratulations, the spouse then announced the news came with a predicament: since her other children were much older, she would need to purchase new baby clothingA light bulb immediately went off inside Ross' head. Why not host a children's clothing swap for area military families?
"Children typically don't wear out their clothes, they outgrow them," Ross said. "I assisted with this type of event while we lived at Patrick Air Force Base and it was a huge success."Ross, wife of Col. James Ross, 50th Space Wing commander, spoke with Kayreen.Crawford, wife of 21st Space Wing Commander, Col. Chris Crawford and together, the group began laying the groundwork for their dual-base effort.Given an enthusiastic go-ahead from wing leaders, the Airman and Family Readiness Centers settled on a time, date and place for the event.
The children's clothing swap hosted by the 50th and 21st Space Wings will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 21 at the Schriever Fitness Center and is open to everyone who has access to the base."There's an added benefit because a lot of people based at Peterson, the U.S. Air Force Academy and Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station have never been out to Schriever," said Christina Stump, community readiness consultant and event organizer. "This is a great opportunity for us to open our door and showcase our base."Since it coincides with the Month of the Military Child, Stump and her fellow A&FRC organizers figured the swap would also be the perfect time and place to host an information fair at the same time. Representatives from the Schriever Health and Wellness Center, Family Advocacy, New Parent Support Program, Peterson Spouses Club and Mothers of Preschoolers will be on hand to provide information about their programs. Kids attending along with their parents can test their skills in an on-site children's maze and bounce castle as well.
"In our conversations, Mrs. Crawford and I spoke about how tough the current economy has been for families and how every little big might help," Ross said. "There are zero costs associated with this event, it helps the environment by recycling clothing and provides a specific benefit to our families."

Man armed with knife attempts to steal $1,500 in clothes from Sears

A man wielding a knife attempted to steal about $1,500 in clothes Friday from Sears before dropping the items and escaping, according to police.Ann Arbor police Lt. Renee Bush said the man walked into the store, 900 Briarwood Circle, and began collecting racks of clothing at about 7:30 p.m. Friday. Loss prevention officers from the store were observing the man grabbing shirts and shorts by the handful and placing them on a rack near the store's exit, Bush said.
The man then grabbed the clothing, some of which was still on hangars, and left the building without attempting to pay, Bush said.One of the loss prevention officers approached the man as he was walking out of the store and ordered him to drop the clothing, Bush said. The man dropped the clothes in the parking lot and continued to walk away, she said.The loss prevention officer ran after the man as he started to sprint, and he ordered him to stop, Bush said. The man turned around and pulled a knife from his pocket, causing the loss prevention officer to give up the chase, Bush said.
The man ran to a nearby gas station, where he got into a car and escaped, Bush said.The man is described as white, with straight brown hair, a goatee and mustache, fair complexion, thin, between 5-feet-8 inches and six feet tall and weighing about 140 pounds.Cheaper Clothes And Shorter Stories: On Soaps, Strange 'Days' Indeed.The car was described as a late-1990s green Mercury Sable, Bush said.Marian Wright Edelmen, in her piece "Walking While Black," points out the major "crime" that Martin committed—happening to fit a stereotype of someone "up to no good," determined not just by clothing, but very much by race. She explains the burden that black parents have on teaching their children—specifically, their sons—how to act so that they don't seem dangerous to others. She also points out that sadly, the Trayvon Martin case is not unique, and that black males age 15 to 19 were eight times as likely as white males to be victims of homicide in 2008 and 2009."We won't get it," Edelman says, "Until we have a culture that sees every child as a child of God and sacred, instead of seeing some as expendable statistics, and others as threats and ‘no good' because of the color of their skin or because they chose to walk home wearing a hood in the rain.""We are very proud to be recognized by ArcWear," said Jennifer McCoy, Vice President of Marketing and Product Development. "As an industry leader, we have the responsibility of not only ensuring that our flame resistant clothing is manufactured to the highest level of safety but to educating our distributors and consumers on the dangers of wearing and selling polyester treated garments. We are committed to this effort," said McCoy.

Cheaper Clothes And Shorter Stories: On Soaps, Strange 'Days' Indeed

It's not easy being one of the last soaps standing, as Neda Ulaby reports on today's Morning Edition. For fans, the shuttering of iconic shows like All My Children and Guiding Light has upended routines that, for some, date back to childhood. When I was in high school, my soap of choice was Days Of Our Lives, which Neda says has changed a lot since that era — well, it's changed and it hasn't.Kristian Alfonso, who talks in the piece about the impact of stopping every day in wardrobe and seeing the clothes go from designer to off-the-rack, has been playing Hope Williams Brady (with some breaks while Hope was falsely believed to be dead) since 1983. Next year, that will be 30 years. Thirty years. She and Bo were a "supercouple" when I was 16, and they still are.
But despite all that continuity, Days has had to adapt in ways that go beyond the clothing budget. Writer Marlene McPherson tells Neda that story arcs used to stretch out for up to a year, and if you ever watched the "Marlena's demonic possession" or "Cruise Of Deception" stories, you know what she's talking about. Now, they try to wrap things up in shorter chunks. It's interesting that as nighttime television finds more space for long stories and serialization, soaps have to move faster to stay alive.
At least one of those adaptations seems very positive, though: Sarah Brown (who I didn't even know was on Days Of Our Lives now; I think of her as Carly from General Hospital, because I am years behind) says that you no longer have to stand around explaining everything that happened yesterday, partly because the show now assumes that people who are confused because they missed something can hop online and figure it out. It's been a while since I watched, but this hopefully means less of people staring out of windows and talking to themselves.The economics that are affecting daytime soaps are a spin on the economics affecting the rest of television: more competition, cheaper shows (particularly personality-driven talk shows), different audience habits that make live viewing less likely and delayed viewing more likely ... it's an environment that's already killed off several giants with decades of history.
As we've talked about in this space before, soaps are easy to make fun of until you realize that for years, they inspired loyalty from viewers that your average high-profile prime-time show would envy. As Days producer Ken Corday says, and as Agnes Nixon talked about when All My Children was ending, daytime also used to have a role in breaking social taboos, though it's diminished with time.

Fuel, clothes propel local prices higher

Consumer prices rose 1.9 percent in Houston during the first two months of the year, driven by spikes in gasoline and clothing costs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.The January-February Consumer Price Index increase is the largest since March and April 2011, when local prices shot up 2.2 percent, according to the bureau. The local bi-monthly data aren't adjusted for typical seasonal changes such as the introduction of next season's fashions, planting and harvesting schedules and price swings for hotel rooms and airfares.
Gasoline prices rose 12 per- cent during January and February, which bureau regional economist Cheryl Abbot attributed to concerns about the reliability of Middle Eastern oil supplies.She said sales and holiday promotions cause clothing prices to swing wildly. They also move up and down quickly as new clothes are introduced and older styles are discounted to make room.And Abbot noted that the Producer Price Index is not showing signs of price pressures on raw materials for clothing.Absent food and energy prices, typically the most volatile components of the index, local prices went up 1.6 percent during January and February.
Over the past 12 months local prices increased 3.6 percent, led by gasoline, clothing and food.'Fashion Star' contestants insist there is fashion in Seattle.While food prices weren't a big contributor to the jump in consumer prices in January and February, it's a different story over the past 12 months.Consumers paid 5.5 percent more at the grocery store in February compared with one year earlier.
That reflects an increase in raw material costs, as well as higher costs to get food to stores because of elevated fuel prices. Local drivers paid 14.8 percent more at the pump in February than they did one year ago and 15.2 percent more for their clothing.Consumer prices in the area are rising faster than those nationwide. In the U.S., consumer prices were up 2.9 percent during the past year."Houston has a hotter economy than the rest of the nation," said Patrick Jankowski, vice president of research for the Greater Houston Partnership. "In the greater scheme of things, when the economy is hot, you will see more pressure on prices." It's a matter of supply and demand, he said. With more money made and spent in the local economy, there is greater demand for goods and services. That nudges prices upward.

Local seamstress starts custom clothing business

 Have you ever gone to the store and pulled a dress or a shirt you really liked off the rack, but it didn't fit quite right? Or maybe you were looking for a specific type of garment and just couldn't find it.Local seamstress Gina Christensen is ready to help people make alterations to a garment to achieve the perfect fit or even create custom clothing items through her business "It's Sew You."She said if you can dream it up, she most likely can make it."I like to do the creation parts of sewing," said Christensen, who also works as a preschool teacher. "My love is dreaming up or creating the unusual and custom things you can't find on the rack."
Christensen said she grew up sewing and has always enjoyed creating projects with fabric."It's just second nature to me," she said.Her custom sewing and alteration services include bridesmaids dresses, wedding gowns and prom dresses. She even created a costume for the winner of the most recent "Miss CASA" fund-raising pageant, "Connie Crete" (better known as Tom Bergquist).Christensen said she likes to think outside the box when it comes to crafting custom items, and sometimes she'll combine different patterns to create just the right look.
If a client isn't familiar with sewing or selecting fabrics, she'll even go to the fabric store and bring back some recommended swatches for them to look at.She said if money is tight, alterations can be a good way to breathe new life into your wardrobe without having to buy a full set of new clothes.Adding a few new features, such as sewing straps on a strapless dress, can give your clothes a fresh look. Alterations also can help you achieve the right fit, without having to get rid of all your clothes and find new ones."People are really focusing on using, making do with what they have," she said.Although Christensen said she has a fast turn-around time, it can vary by project, and she recommends calling ahead for an estimate.Someone set fire to a men's clothing rack in a Walmart on 15th Avenue and Bethany Home Road in Phoenix early Tuesday morning, according to the Phoenix Fire Department.
Officials believe a man they saw on security tapes set fire to to the clothing at 4:45 a.m., said Scott McDonald, a spokesman for the Phoenix Fire Department.By the time fire crews arrived, the fire was already extinguished by the sprinkler system. There was a light haze throughout the store and a lot of water damage, McDonald said.

'Fashion Star' contestants insist there is fashion in Seattle

Plenty of television's fashion reality shows depict the work that goes into designing clothes and the results — for better and worse. But until now viewers could not run to the store the next day and buy the winning wardrobe. That's the new wrinkle in NBC's "Fashion Star," debuting at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.Two Seattle-area women are among the show's 14 competitors seeking the top prize: a $6 million order for a collection of clothing to be sold in Macy's, H&M and Saks Fifth Avenue stores.
But even if they don't get named top Fashion Star, Mercer Island's Lisa Vian Hunter and Sammamish's Lizzie Parker still have a shot at getting their designs into one of the three chains. Each week, buyers from Macy's, H&M and Saks will bid on contestants' designs; the winning store will have those clothes on their racks available for sale the next day. (Although there's no Saks store in Seattle, the clothes will be available at saksfifthavenue.com.) Designers who make no sales to the chains' buyers will be up for elimination.Hunter, 47, operates Vian Hunter House of Fashion in Madison Valley (vianhunter.com). Parker, 42, has her store, Lizzie Parker, at Gilman Village in Issaquah (lizzieparkerstore.com).Fall River Wear makes its debut at chamber of commerce.Both women previously had conversations with producers from Lifetime's "Project Runway" and Bravo's short-lived "The Fashion Show." Both women were contacted about "Fashion Star" by the show's casting department.
"['Fashion Star'] was the right fit for me," Parker said. "It's all about selling clothes. I'm about women wearing my clothes, not making a dress out of beer cans. ... I've stood at trade shows and had the Macy's buyer walk by my booth, and now I get the chance to work with them and that's why for me it's a great fit."A self-described "nerd," Parker moved to Seattle from Michigan in 1994, working for Microsoft until the birth of her children. Seven years ago, after "almost losing my mind" as a stay-at-home parent, she bought two sewing machines she found on Craigslist and started a business out of her garage using clothes-making knowledge imparted by her grandmother. She also apprenticed under Belltown's Carole McClellan for a summer.
Hunter arrived in Seattle three years ago, moving her store up from a previous location in Palo Alto, Calif. She said she was always interested in fashion but when her mother took her for a tour of a San Francisco fashion design school as a teenager, she didn't think she was ready ("I was too much of a flake then," she said). After a career working for Nordstrom and a boutique, she decided to attend the same fashion school in her late 30s."We're hoping this boost is what we need to get our business off the ground," Hunter said. "We'd love to open multiple stores at some point, but you have to be very, very careful these days to grow your business."

County clothing and footwear tax deal returns April 1

Area shoppers spending $110 or less on clothing and footwear will soon get a break, again.Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards reminded businesses and residents Monday that on April 1, clothing and foot-wear under $110 will once again be tax-ex-empt. The reminder comes after the state Legislature in 2010 halted the tax-exemption status in an effort to increase the state's revenue.
"The state has modified its tax policy on numerous occasions as to the sales tax exemption on clothing," Edwards said Monday. "The county policy has not changed but businesses need to be aware of this upcoming modification so that they may act accordingly."The County Executive said he has received calls from many vendors who are unclear on the sales tax in the county. "Many vendors don't know what their obligations are," he said.
Edwards added that he hopes money saved through the tax exemption goes back to the county in the form of increased shopping."I think the impact is that those dollars saved can be reinvested in Chautauqua County," Edwards said. "For that, I'm all for it. But it's really my desire to let the vendors know what their obligations are to New York state."The state Legislature created a three-phase change to its sales tax exemption that would "affect counties across New York state and eventually restore the tax exemption to its previous amounts," Edwards said.The company also makes special orders. Caballero claims to have made a bullet-resistant kimono for the “enigmatic” Hollywood tough guy Steven Segal, and bullet-resistant tunics and Bible covers for threatened priests. The company experimented with shank-proof underwear for prisoners, but the idea never caught on.
The presidents of Paraguay, El Salvador and Venezuela have been clients; former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is a repeat customer and a friend, Caballero said.But Colombians are no longer his primary buyers. As this nation’s homicide rate has been cut in half since 1995, violence has been on the rise in neighboring Venezuela and Ecuador, and throughout Central America.The shift has been hard on some in the industry: When Caballero started out, he said there were 35 Colombian companies that made armored cars. Now there are six. Caballero managed to stay afloat by turning his domestic enterprise into a global company that now exports 96 percent of its products.

Fall River Wear makes its debut at chamber of commerce

Have out-of-state relatives with Fall River on their minds? Maybe they'd like to have the Spindle City on their chest... or legs... or head instead.Recognizing a gap in the availability of "Fall River"-labeled clothing, the Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry is now marketing apparel with the city's name splashed across it.Through a partnership with Corporate Image Apparel, located in the city's industrial park, the chamber is offering T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, lounge pants, hats and 16-ounce stainless steel tumblers for coffee lovers. All items, except for the lounge pants and tumblers, are currently available by contacting the chamber. The line will also be available at the second annual Bristol County Home and Garden Show.
The concept for the line came from the chamber's director of events and marketing, Kimberly Moniz, after she noticed numerous requests for Fall River clothing couldn't be filled because the product didn't exist.She said the chamber has received many calls from people looking to send such items to relatives out of the area as holiday or birthday gifts."I just think it's a great idea," Moniz said. "Fall River is always talking about city spirit and pride, and what better what to show your pride."Moniz said she decided to go the apparel route after recalling similar success while working at a local bank.Waylon Jennings Family Plans Film, Clothing Line.Seeking to build some brand recognition, she said, the bank began marketing clothing plastered with the bank's logo and had staff members wearing the items.
The chamber has called the new "Fall River Wear.""It is our goal to have the new 'Fall River Wear' line of apparel and items become an authentic line of Fall River souvenirs and gifts," chamber President and CEO Robert Mellion said. "Their introduction is part of the chamber's ongoing mission to support and improve the local economy and community. To make these high-quality items available, the Fall River Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry has partnered with Corporate Image Apparel, located in the Fall River Industrial Park. Now area residents can celebrate their esteem for the 'Spindle City,' while tourists will be able to have a keepsake by purchasing Fall River Wear apparel and other mementos."
For-profit clothing donation companies make money through the salvage market. Companies typically will sort through donations for high-quality items that can be sold piecemeal. An item that can’t be sold piecemeal is sold in bulk as rags or clothing, often overseas. The U.S. generates between 9 and 12 billion tons of used textiles per year, according to Planet Aid, a nonprofit company that collects used clothing. More than 60 percent of used clothing donations are sold overseas due to the large amount of materials collected.