Jenn-
I am a seamstress and a textile nerd! If it helps in the decision making It isn't the type of fiber (rayon vs silk) as much as the quality of the fiber. High quality rayon viscoses from Italy or France are more costly and will wear better than inexpensive silks that are often made from shorter silk fibers and will rip more easily. Both need to be treated gently with washing and I never dry them in a dryer. If they are stiff after drying I steam them. Sometimes I put them in the dryer on air dry for 5-10 min before I hang them up. Hope that helps.
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Lynn, that is incredibly helpful! Thank you! Incidentally, I'm a paper artist, and the highest quality papers I use come from Italy, too.

fashiontern, I think Joy's anecdote was meant to say that if you fall in love with an item and it ticks all the boxes, it can make sense to purchase it, even at a slightly higher price point. Also, what Firecracker said.

Not adding anything useful here, but I wanted to chime in to say you do look gorgeous in that dress.

Fashiontern, I'm upset that you're upset!

In my experience the tone of this forum is more if you don't have anything nice to say, don't, than outright fake, and positive responses to posts are genuine. I'd be very surprised if there was any intended offence, and without knowing any back story I assumed Joy's six dress reference was about herself.

I agree completely that nice things can be had for less with no sacrifice. I rarely buy anything, expensive or not, at full price, and if I can't have the quality I want at the price I want to pay, not buying is fine too. Absolutely, items that lean towards high priced for me should deliver above and beyond.

Firecracker, maybe there is a spectrum of sincerity? I seriously don't know what I would have done differently for either trip, but check out how those comments contrast with how pointed some people's comments directed to me are about how shopping the way I do can only result in a pile of low quality, ill-fitting stuff that doesn't meet your needs. (Come to think of it, if they are hiding their true feelings on the packing posts, maybe it's better, lol.)

I haven't felt this kind of pushiness or superiority from you or Jen, btw. You were maybe bemused at my wanting to alter pants that are as old as my kid, but gamely gave me instructions on how to do it, which I appreciate. Jen has also been kind--she was the first individual I differentiated from all the voices on the forum. Even here, she is empathizing with where I am now and gently suggesting that may change. (And I'm not ruling it out entirely, just saying I don't think I will, given my priorities* Style would make it all sweeter, but I don't see it taking top priority anytime soon. I've gotten over the "hump" of moving here & weight loss, so can buy less now, but I predict that will be fewer clothes at the same price point, spending a smaller total, not the same amount of money for fewer items--except Germany does not have the crazy ongoing sales the US does, so then I would pay more)

Raft/eclipse/birthday (not sure how much this counts, because everything was so specialized & it was mostly a birthday trip, so most messages weren't about the clothes, other than Angie commenting positively on the jacket, skirt, and T-shirt)
Linen skirt and Ann Taylor shirt bought likely on sale 10-12 yrs ago (when I got Earned Income Tax Credits and had moved 4x in 6 years, so wasn't paying full price for clothes)
Velvet Clarks loafers, from Clarks outlet 3-5 years ago.
Jacket, Anthropologie 20 spring 2017
Swim suit, Nordstroms 50 (2 yrs ago)
Board shorts, Swim Outlet 47 (gulp!)
Tank top, Rack 19.50
Cardigan, Ann Taylor 2 yrs ago. I forget price, but it's currently 24
Shorts, Rack 19
The board shorts were the only thing purchased specifically for this trip. I hope to have quite a few more occasions to wear them

Thinking about the wedding, someone just decided to ditch her cork shoes that had the same kind of wear in front that my wedding shoes had, and pretty much everyone panned the orange shirt that's identical to the pink one I wore on the wedding weekend. (The main concern seemed to be that it was too fitted/too short. I like the way they fit). Otherwise I wore
Tennies, Sperrys 50
White pants 8 yrs old. I agree that they're too short for the tunic. No clue what I paid.
Tunic Soft Surroundings 13
Dress Rack 50
Shorts Target 8
Dress Forever21 20
Sash Soft Surroundings 15
Nic & Zoe cardi Rack 45
Tank sweater Saks off 5th 15
Jeans shorts I've had a long time.
Someone did comment that the shorts/outfit were inappropriate for the flight, so maybe some people are speaking honestly. But there is a disparity between comments on my clothes and the comments I get about using $$ as one of several criteria in purchase decisions. Either the comments about the horrors of a wardrobe bought on sale are indirect comments on my wardrobe, or I'm doing impossibly good shopping (and I'm not going to claim to be a style-savvy shopper.)

*priorities:
Get a job that requires me to move overseas (& probably have less money), travel with my son during his last few years with me, get him through college, and retire financially independent ten years later.

Thanks Isabel! I hope you are correct and I'm misreading the comment. Maybe I should just look the other way when people start those kinds of conversations.

fashiontern, I think you might be reading some of these comments too defensively.

For example, smittie has a quite polished style and expressed some discomfort with the wear on her sandals, so that's why some people recommended she upgrade sooner rather than later. At the same time, she posted a -gorgeous- outfit a few months ago, consisting of high-end items she carefully purchased second-hand from a site that offered excellent photos for evaluating condition. That made sense for her budget and wardrobe needs and the items were GREAT purchases.

Secondly, I do think most people's clothing looks better in context than in isolation, so that could explain some of the disparity between comments on your WIWs and your keep/donate posts. Personally, I think most of your WIWs have shown a woman enjoying life, while dressed appropriately for the circumstances she's in, which is what most other people see too. You'll get more criticism in something like an "outfit lab," where you're trying to think critically to make an outfit the best it can be...or if you express dissatisfaction, in which case people will try to help you get to a happier place.

Jenn regarding the dress, I find that if I have a dress I love I wear it for every occasion - only you know if this is that dress.
As for the other issue fashiontern raises, and I haven't been around as much so do not remember the threads in question, I do think the women on this forum are typically very kind and try to relate to the constraints posters describe. But this is a fashion forum, and obviously there are lots of women here that prioritize fashion as a interest and so do tend to suggest spending for better rather than spending less for the sake of other interests.

Jenn, after the great blouse debacle, I realized people were thinking of wearing them very differently than me. No more isolated items posts for me (except maybe jackets).

Thanks Shevia! I guess I'm trying to "have it all". I've gotten lots of great thoughts here about how to improve my style and wardrobe, but I really have to stretch my dollar. I doubt most people realize what they're saying about what I wear when they tell me low price = low quality & poor fit.

And I agree with you entirely that we should get back to that dress that Jenn looks so fab in! Here in Florida it would be a 3 or 4 season dress, but I'm surprised at the thought of wearing for Christmas party in Colorado.

Hubby's Christmas party last year was in a jazz club. The year before it was in a swanky hotel bar and restaurant. I am always hot at those events, so sleeveless is usually the way to go.

(I keep trying to get rid of this jeans Find and it won't let me undo it! The jeans have nothing to do with the post.)

I honestly think Joy's comment was self-deprecating as I said before and was genuinely about herself. "Don't ask me how I know", she said, and I was highly amused! I know what she means about being attracted by design details and then kind of looking for them again if the first thing was too expensive. And should you do that too much, then you might really end up spending more than if you had bought the first item. It is possible. Remember Joy's amusing comment about looking at her gold bra and undies in a new light for the eclipse challenge? So funny! I love laughing on this forum.