Monday 5 May 2008

On a cost per wear basis they’re really not that expensive

So this weekend, I was an all 'round busy bee preparing for the conference in California. I did my laundry, picked up my dry cleaning, had my shoes heeled, got a manicure pedicure – it’s a tough life I lead – and, oh yeah, on Sunday I spent the day working on my presentation.

There’s nothing like leaving it to the last minute is there? Not that it was my intention to leave it until the eleventh hour, but I’ve been too busy at work this week to give it much attention until now, although truth be told I could have spent some time on it on Saturday instead of going shopping and dropping a heap of cash on
fancy jeans, but quite frankly the US economy needed me, it’s not that I need fancy jeans I just felt it was my duty to do my bit for my adopted country in it’s hour of financial distress. Ahem!!

The jeans were a total impulse purchase. I’d headed down to SoHo first thing on Saturday to return a cardigan to
J Crew that I’d bought online and was contemplating popping over to Christoper and Bleeker in the village to see if there was anything left at the Satya Jewellery sample sale. However, I was sufficiently seduced by the relative peace of the SoHo streets – usually I can’t stand weekend shopping in SoHo as the area is chocka with people and the crowds make me impatient…well, more impatient than usual, but at 11.30am it’s still fairly quiet – to stick around a bit longer, so instead of heading west to check out gems I got sidetracked and before I knew it I was browsing around the Anthropologie store on West Broadway.

Now until this past weekend I’d completely shunned the extortionately-priced denim trend that's taken hold of New York in the last 5years or so. Not to say that I haven't given it pause for thought on occasion, but as a woman of a thrifty Northern working class heritage I’ve always been put off by the price; the way the pockets don’t generally tend to flatter the wearer’s arse - extending way below the cheek and giving the posterior a pancake like appearance - and the abrupt way the wash often changes from dark to light in the leg, which may well be fashionable, but looks to me like a bad dye job, but what do I know? Prior to my trip to Anthropologie this weekend, I’d been perfectly content with my $50 Gap jeans and before I bought those I was more than happy to wander the streets in a pair from Urban Outfitters, which I loved to bits and which cost me a whopping $14. Admittedly the arse did almost fall out of this pair when I sat down quite suddenly one day. However this was all before I happened upon the Socialite Gigi jean by Joe, nonchalantly lying on a table in Anthropologie and looking divine. “Try me on” the jeans whispered as I walked by the table and trailed my fingertips across the ohhh so very soft and perfectly faded denim. I walked away, circled the store and returned and before I knew it I was flipping manically through the pile looking for my size while simultaneously balking at the $158 price tag.

“Its okay” I reassured myself, “there’s no way you’ll succumb to pricey denim. You’ve tried Joe’s Jeans on before, they didn’t look good. The pockets were half way down the back of your thighs and they made your arse look flat, these will be the same, you’ll see.”

Bollocks!!

Yup, pricey jeans finally proved me wrong. Not only did this pair make my behind look pertly fantastic, they also made my legs look thinner and longer. Yes...thinner and longer!! How could any woman resist that? I was smitten. Wild horses could not have prevented me from making this purchase and before I knew it I was at the counter handing over my credit card.

Yikes, $158 for JEANS!!!!!

Ah well, on a cost per wear basis they're much cheaper than some of the things I have in my wardrobe, the $200 dress I bought for Val's wedding for example, which I love, but have worn once!!! Besides, if I hadn’t have bought the jeans I’d have blown the money at the Satya Jewellery sample sale and I stayed in Saturday night so financially my weekend probably balanced out. Hmmmm!! I can talk myself into anything I really can.

Sunday, I spent a good part of the day working on my presentation for the conference and at the rate I’m going I'll be writing it on the plane out to California tomorrow. It’s not that I lack material, not at all; no, my biggest problem is making it vibrant and entertaining enough that I don’t lose my audience, a real issue since I’m the second to last person to present on the final day of the conference you see, a time when any sane person, after 2 days holed up in a conference room in wine country, is going to be either itching to get to the airport for their flight home, or itching to get out to a vineyard to quaff a few cases of cabernet.

Would you like to know what my mother’s suggestion was for making my presentation sparkle? That I should do it in the form of a rap!!

Eye-roll!! A rap!! A rap!!! Good grief woman I’m a serious marketing professional. Can you imagine….

Yo, I’m here today
In Cal-i-for-ni-aaaaa
To talk to y’all about


Um…yeah, okay, I think I’ve proved unequivocally that I’m not cut out for rapping through my presentation. Sigh, I’ll just have to rely heavily on the power of humorous Clipart to keep the attention of my audience ;-)

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey, Fish! I've always been amazed at the high-priced denim designs, and thought I was the only one with the pocket problem! Glad to hear you've found a pair that defies the norm and makes you feel fab.

fishwithoutbicycle said...

Hi Spandrel, the pocket problem seems to be ubiquitous, there is an epidemic of overly long jean pockets among New York's female designer clad jeans population. It was so common that when I saw a woman with correctly positioned pockets I was tempted to congratulate her. Unfortunately I think the pockets are intended to be that way, so shame on those denim designers for making our arses look flat ;-)

Kitty said...

ah!
see, my thinking is, if it fits that well and you love it, buy the thing. That's what I told myself when I encountered the purple Theory dress.

Have a lovely time in Cali. I hope you get to walk around some and get some sun. Working on a weekend deserves at least that much.

fishwithoutbicycle said...

Hi Kitty, I completely agree about the fit, just as long as you don't bankrupt yourself. I love Theory clothing. Do you know they have a sample sale coming up (www.clothingline.com)? I try and go every year, it's great.

I'm going one better than enjoying a walk around in the sun, I'm staying in Napa for a few more days vacation ;-)

Blur Ting said...

Yes, I support your purchase! Looking good, not to mention with elongated legs and sexy arse, is priceless!

I absolutely agree with the cost per wear argument. I've got dresses that cost so much but they just languish in the wardrobe. Jeans, they can last forever!

fishwithoutbicycle said...

Thanks Blur Ting, I appreciate the support :-)

Little Britainer said...

I don't think you'll regret the purchase. I just bought my first pair of super-expensive jeans and I am rarely parted from them these days... Just keep repeating that 'Cost-per-wear' mantra and you'll be fine!

Anonymous said...

Don't worry too much about the presentation - you need to have that last minute panic and pandemonium to produce the necessary adrenaline, don't you think? I generally panic until the last moment before any presentation, and then as soon as I start I forget all about my nerves and power on through. Well, apart from the time that I completely fell apart, but the less said about that the better...

fishwithoutbicycle said...

Thanks Little Britainer, I hope my first extortionate denim experience is as positive as yours ;-)

Hi Dylan, thanks for the vote of confidence. I am relying on the fact that most of my audience will be snoozing ;-)

Unknown said...

Totally understand, after all I am a woman with 42 handbags and 80 pairs of shoes! ;-)

Flowers said...

working on a sunday? that sucks.

cost-per-wear, though... now that's a concept i've never thought of. however, being a bloke i suppose everything pretty much gets thrashed.

Sister Sassy said...

:) I'm such a cheap skate, I think I would have gone into cardiac arrest! But if they make legs longer and thinner... well... maybe I'd have to check them out. Post a pic of your arse :)

fishwithoutbicycle said...

Hi Sarah, wow you got me beat. My handbag and shoe tally is kind of pathetic compared to yours ;-)

Hi Flowers, I think most women use the cost/wear metric when justifying a pricey purchase ;-)

Hi Sassy, I'll see what I can do re: the pics. I'm away on biz at the moment and I don't have them with me, so gimme a few days ;-)

Kitty said...

thanks tons for the link. Woohoo!
I've gone to that place a while back and it was hit or miss, but I'm willing to give it another go.

I do have to drop a few pounds though. Aargh!!

fishwithoutbicycle said...

Hi Kitty, you are welcome. I find that if you know the Theory cut that suits you it's easier. The racks look as if they're full of the same stuff, but there are different styles tucked in there. I generally tend to stick to seeking out the 'Max C' pant. There's also a showroom store on 43rd and 5th, right about a Europa cafe, it's the 2nd or 3rd floor where they hold the current collection but take 30% off at the cashier. Enjoy :-)

Sid said...

$158 for jeans???? I'm multiplying that by 10 and it hurts to know how much that costs in rands.

Heather said...

hmmm...know what? I've never ever considered paying super over the top prices for jeans either...but I've also never considered the argument that I've spent hundreds of dollars on a dress that I've only worn once and I wear my jeans all the time.

i blame you for what I'm about to do.... :)