Fix My Zipper
It began innocently enough. I sat down like I normally do, in pants that fit comfortably (not too tight) but tight enough. Later I would walk around work or my house wondering why there was a draft…you know…down by the nether regions. WTF?! I had been walking around with my zipper down because they had broken! Again!
About two years ago I took my first zipper failed jeans to the local seamstress who said that this is a very common issue and that manufacturers were making jeans/pants with zippers that would basically fail compelling their clientele to buy another pair of pants/jeans.
Brilliant. Maybe Even Evil!
I am very familiar with the term “built in obselescence” Basically, the idea is to build in an end date in a manufactured good. Things weren’t always like that though. In fact, manufacturers were known for building things that lasted. FOREVER. The problem with building things that don’t break is that people don’t need to make a new purchase for YEARS. Have you ever wondered why your grandparents never replaced their appliances? Because that sh$t didn’t break! Why would you buy something new when what you had was still working fine?
In fact, I recently visited my grandma who had purchased a new car. The thing is she had her old car for 18 FREAKING YEARS!! She used duck tape to fix rips in the seats. In fact, I was pretty shocked that she decided to get a new car. I asked her what compelled her to do that and she said “The repairs weren’t worth it anymore.”
So, back to my damn zippers. I had 4 pairs of perfectly fine pants in excellent condition that I couldn’t wear because the zippers were broken. I had a brand new pair of Express jeans (couldn’t return them as I couldn’t find the receipt) a pair of skinny black corduroy pants, and two other pairs of jeans (1 from the thrift store)
So, I decided to take the pants to the seamstress to get them fixed.
Why bother?
- The pants were still in excellent condition and I won’t be shopping* in 2015 as I’ve already updated my wardrobe this year. *I do have to purchase at least 1 cocktail dress for two different posh weddings.
- A new pair of Express jeans is usually around $88 dollars. Now, I never pay that but still-4 pairs of pants for $72 is great. And, I’m ignoring the fact that I’m paying extra on the new items. Remember, I did get a pair from the thrift store for about $3
- I supported a local business woman by bringing my jeans in. Win, win, win.
- Better for the earth. Why buy something new when I have something that I can still use?
I’m Over Throwing Away My Money
I work hard for my money. And, I’m over wasting money. Next year I am taking my money journey to a whole new level. I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on getting my head in the right space. Now is the time to take care to my money as I have the energy, knowledge, and support to actually succeed at this task. So, it’s on.
Do you take clothes to the seamstress
or
shoes to the cobbler?
Sorry no pictures could be posted as they were all DISGUSTING on Google Images. But, that’s why you have to be careful with zippers.
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My zipper was damaged too before and I bought it to my aunt who is a tailor for almost 40 decades! When my pants are still working fine, I don’t usually junk it because I’m a frugal type when it comes to clothes.
My mom knows how to do this type of thing but she doesn’t have the time for it so I take it to a professional!!
I’ve had many, many shoes repaired. But I will throw away a dress (or donate it) when a button comes off. How silly is that? But I’ve committed to doing better since I started blogging; the opportunity hasn’t presented itself just yet.
I’m trying to get better about getting my shoes fixed if they get a little wrecked. There’s a really good cobbler downtown that I would like to go to in the future.
I am so with you about throwing away money. I have already made plans for how I am going to attack my debt and invest next year to take my finances to another level. Good luck…look forward to follow your success.
I’ve just wasted my money on so many things. After spending all this time trying to clean things up I am a lot more reluctant to do things that waste my money.
I do fix things myself occasionally. I have these skinny jeans that the button fell off of and then I fixed it and now the material around the new button has ripped. I’m about fed up with it, but I’m going to try to fix it one more time because I don’t want to buy new pants. They weren’t all that expensive to begin with, but they are practically new. I’ve only worn them about 4-5 times. So frustrating!
I wish I knew how to do it myself!! But, I’m just not there yet. Maybe I’ll add that to my list-learn how to fix zippers when they break!
Buy iron on tape and iron on behind button to cover ripped material! It’s also washable for a while.
I am going to google this. I’ve never heard of this?! Am so excited.
I think the iPhone is the worse culprit of having a set end date. It seems no matter how much you try and protect your phone, at a certain point it implodes. And DVD players are THE WORST! They don’t make em like they used to. I have about 4 hoodies that need zipper replacement. I can sort of get them up, but it’s a pain. Of course they were cheap hoodies to begin with, but I hate to get rid of them just because of the zipper.
I don’t have an Iphone but I know that would really PISS me off if I spent the kind of money that most people spend on Iphones and then it dies early. You’re so right about DVD players, I replace those at least every other year. Maybe you can do a trade for a new hoodie??!
Not only will repairing save you money, but that’s very “green” of you!
You might really enjoy this 20 minute video by Annie Leonard. She talks about “Planned Obsolescence” and refers to it as “designed for the dump”. The book “The Story of Stuff” is really great also. You can get it from the library.
http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-stuff/
I actually buy pretty much everything (except intimates) at the thrift store, so I have to say that if anything breaks, I just re-donate, hoping someone else will want to buy and fix it. Unfortunately, that probably means they get thrown away before they hit the rack. 🙁
Even though I don’t get stuff repaired, I will do minor sewing to keep a garment lasting as long as possible, or I will try to repurpose, if possible. I once turned an old pair of jeans into some pretty cool looking placemats.
I am very green. I’ve seen the story of stuff and than one makes me crazy. I am getting a lot more focused on really using what I have. I talked about that in a post that I wrote called “The Art of Intentional Usage” Americans have really forgotten our roots and how we weren’t this throw away culture like we are now. And to be honest, I want to grow my wealth, so if that means I use stuff for as long as possible-I’m in.
I’ve never gone to a seamstress or cobbler but I’ve repaired some clothes on my own when needed. I’d much rather make something I already own and love work rather than go shopping for something new.
I need to learn how to sew so that I can fix (or sew) my clothes. That has been on my list for awhile!! I’ll be honest-I do enjoy shopping to a certain degree but I really, really, really want to be debt free so I am super focused on that right now.
I laughed out loud about the Google photos being “DISGUSTING.” I can only imagine! (I don’t plan to go check myself. 🙂 )
Please don’t, you will blind yourself!
Yes and yes. I’ve already taken shoes to be repaired this year and have had my mom mend some clothes, LOL! As a recommendation, buy Silver jeans, they are awesome and not too expensive. I have had several pairs for years without anything going wrong.
It’s sad but manufacturers are building in an end date into things, or with a quick software update your blu ray player doesn’t work anymore and your Iphone has to be upgraded. Both of these happened to me. Makes me crazy.
It is so frustrating dealing with the built in end dates. What happened to focusing on quality? You are also the second person to mention the blu ray player. I will keep the Silver jeans in mind…
I’m very lucky that my mom loves to sew. She hems and fixes all my stuff, all the time. It’s hard enough to find jeans that fit me correctly–when I find a pair I love, I keep them as long as humanly possible.
Isn’t it nice to have a mom who can sew!! Jeans are such a pain.
Actually I have to shout out my DH who fixed the soles of his winter boots himself (restitched)! I offered to him for us to purchase another pair but he went online and ordered the supplies for less than $10 bucks and fixed it himself. I will usually take clothes to the local dry cleaning as they offer fixes like sewing and such on-site. I successfully completed a 3 month shopping ban this year and plan to do a 6 month shopping freeze in 2015 so re-purposing is a good habit to adopt.
WHAT!! Your husband is so cool! I can’t believe he did that. He gets the gold star. Serious. The first few weeks of a shopping ban are the hardest, then you just get in the groove. You are doing a great job of preparing for success. Can’t wait to read the post when you finish!
We go to a local seamstress sometimes… and other times I attempt to fix things. My spouse’s coat ripped a few weeks ago, so on a road trip, I sat there in the passenger seat stitching the seam back together. Most of the time when our stuff fails, it’s because it’s totally worn out, not due to one part failing. I changed a zipper once on a pair of shorts… good golly was that confusing at times! They were super cute shorts that didn’t cost a ton, so I was really upset when they broke. The zipper change worked, though!
I love that you fix things! I am doing that more and more and I plan on taking a sewing class this year so that I can sew things without leaving huge balls of thread at the back of whatever it is I’m trying to fix. I just want to get in the habit of using my stuff for as long as possible. It’s cheaper, earth friendly, and saves me time.
Repairing things makes good sense! I take my shoes into a cobbler to get re-heeled (and purses repaired,too), clothes to a local seamstress – honestly – it hardly takes any time, you breathe new life into items you love, it saves money and is good for the planet. For those of you with DVD players that crap out – go hit Goodwill as tons of people donate them as they have upgraded. My mom loves her CD player & CDs and she replaces hers for $20 every 3-4 yrs from one at Goodwill. Don’t worry about donating clothes etc to a thrift store that isn’t repairable – they sell it to companies who shred the fabric and it’s turned into carpets etc. You work hard for your money – don’t be so willing to throw it away.
People really don’t give thrift stores a fair shot. As a kid I didn’t like them, but that changed once I became an adult and had to pay the bills! Also, I think that thrift stores have finally figured out how that keeping things well organized and offering similar “deal” options like rewards cards and 50% off days is super appealing to most clientele.