loss of specialty shops…don’t like it
BellaGabriella
| Posted in General Discussion on
I know that ‘neighborhood’ fabric shops have been closing for years, but I can’t even find a brick and mortar store that carries decent lace. Remember, this is for doll clothes so I’m talking small, but still. JoAnn’s, Walmart, and Ben Franklin are near me but they cater to quilting and carry the same fabrics, and it seems the same laces, just different pricing.
I know I can order online, but I like to look up close and feel which is stiff and which is soft, and see detail and shade and construction, and you don’t get that online.
What happened? Do you think it will ever come back? I feel so sad for us.
Replies
I really miss being able to buy nice laces in the store as well. As time goes on we are forced to touch fabric less in order to buy. :(
As do you, I lament the availables of years past.
>> ... What happened? ... << MO, the mills all went out-of-the-country. The carded end runs that we used to see in Woolworth's/Kresge's or Ben Franklin's are long gone. I have some in my stash that have come in handy. But my supply is dwindling.
>> ... Do you think it will ever come back? ... << Highly doubt it because the mills are gone. Their returning is unlikely.
>> ... I feel so sad for us. << As do others of us, who for years, were able to see, handle, compare, & spend time deciding on a purchase.
Is Home Sew or Newark Dressmaker Supply known to you? The company's are sort of tandem out of Bethlehem, PA. I've been getting their catalogs for years, and in so doing have noticed a diminishing of the # of pages showing laces - cotton & nylon, cluney, galloon, entredeux, heading, & eyelets.
You can call for a catalog.
Home Sew = 1-800-344-4739 URL http://www.homesew.com/
Newark Dressmaker supply = 1-800-736-6783 URL http://www.newarkdress.com
nepa
I do have the Home Sew catalog but completely forgot about Newark Dressmaker Supply. They seem to carry more laces than Home Sew. Thanks!
Martha Pullen's catalog used to have an extensive selection, but for heirloom sewing.
It isn't just affecting fabric stores, it's clothing stores as well. You can go into JCP, Sears, Macy's and Kohl's and see the same style, same colors, same trend. There's nothing different anymore. It also seems they offer either trendy or frumpy. I think today there are more 1960-1970's clothes offered than there were then. When I was a teen I could pull them off but not now!
I just don't like it.
Edited 3/14/2009 8:42 pm ET by BellaGabriella
Went to JC Penny's with my daughter this morning Saw many, many more dresses than I've seen in years. But I tried on one. Daughter just said no. Gail
Thanks for these two resources! I look forward to a leisurely perusal of them in the future!
It is so sad that laces, trims, and ribbons are so hard to find nowadays; I remember delightful boutiques crammed with exquisite rolls of wonderful embellishments, but they're gone now.Have you thought about thrift stores? Often, they'll have bags of laces and trims or just table linens that may be spotted in the middle but with nice trims on the edges. A new source for small trims is the scrapbooking area of craft and discount stores; they often have packets with a few feet of interesting laces and trims that would work for doll clothes.
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