The Occasional Woman — Holiday Bargains!
Dearest Readerettes — I hope you all had a most festive, love-filled and non-judgmental Thanksgiving! I certainly did — waaaay too much food, but eaten and/or prepared by dear friends and family. Next year I pass the torch to my wonderful daughter, as she is a fab cook and a great organizer.
Now what? Tis the triple-edged sword of the Christmas, Chanukah, and drinking season. Parties, festivities, events, all those times when we want to look smashing, and to eat our faces off again. Bet you look into your closet and can’t bear looking at all of that crap in there one more time — unless you happen to have the perfect red velvet Santa dress! Oh damn, got to shop!
To the surprise of nobody, I have suggestions!
As I see it, you have two choices: Recycle a former year, or get out there or go online and buy something devastating. Recycling clothing is a swell idea, and one can always update a look with a fun accessory, like a gorgeous pin, scarf or new jacket. (I’m always tempted to just pin a few twenties on my chest and invite fellow guests to imagine what I would have bought. Har de har, har.)
Purple suede moto jacket similar to Lorraine’s.
For both of these options, or a mix of the two, I am going to let you in on my two favorite places to shop in the Philadelphia area, especially for those of us who forgot to plan a comfortable financial future!
1. JOMAR: If you don’t know about this…place…already, now’s your opportunity to discover the wealth and humble edifice(s) we savvy shoppers know as — JOMAR. Cuz that’s its name. There are several locations — look it up, why don’t you?! My favorite is in deepest South Philadelphia, near Tony Luke’s insanely wondrous eatery, on Oregon Avenue. If you’re on I95, get off at the Packer Ave. exit, pass Tony Luke’s and go under the overpass, make a left and look for a very large, shabby yellow building. That’s JOMAR. The upstairs part is all fabric, so if you don’t want to sew, don’t bother. JOMAR’s selection differs day by day, and you never know what you will find! One of the best things about this bizarre location is that about 1/3 to 1/2 of the store is clothing from everywhere —especially Roaman’s, Woman Within and other store for Ladies of Generous Proportions. My latest buy was a purple suede moto jacket, in a size 14, for twenty eight freakin’ dollars! I have dressed it up with a scintillating scarf and jeans; it could pair sumptuously with a sequined skirt or something velvet. I heartily recommend JOMAR — go with a friend, wear comfy shoes and prepare to shop. About 3/4 of the time, I wind up with something memorable and wonderful.
One more thing about the majesty of JOMAR is their shoe selection. They have size 5 to “whoa!” in shelves along the sides. Many are the pairs of boots, pimp and church-lady shoes, sandals in February, and again — you never know what you will find!
2. The other place I love to pieces is Philly AIDS Thrift! It is in Philadelphia, Pa. on 5th Street, near Bainbridge street; in addition to quality vintage housewares and tons of books, they have a fine vintage section of beautiful clothing, a section of gaudy and luxe formal and party-wear, many shoes and boots and jewelry! And they support AIDS research and help out human beings who are affected by the still-dreadful disease. I love going there because they do have really one-of-a-kind buys, very nicely priced, and I have yet to meet any employee there that even approaches being churlish. Excellent book selection, too. At Philly AIDS Thrift, is is usually easy to find that one dazzling piece of clothing, jewelry or an accessory to jazz up one’s holiday look, and help out your fellow human at the same time!
So, get out there and shine! And yeah, a smile is your best accessory — but cleavage, great legs, and sumptuous fabrics ain’t gonna kill ya neither.
Contact Lorraine via email for custom clothing and alterations.
Moved to comment? Login here and use the comment area below.
Category: Style, Transgender Fashion
About the Author (Author Profile)
I am a native Californian who has been based in the Philadelphia area since 1984. My first CD fashion creation was a gold lamé dress for the now esteemed editor of this publication. Since then I have made tons of fabulous frocks and other fashion apparel for the crossdressing and transgender community. Contact me for custom clothing or alterations via email: aqualorraine@gmail.com Visit my Facebook page, @alterationsbylorraineSubscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
I can’t wait until the dressy holiday clothing goes on sale. I need a sparkly party dress. I am willing to wait a year to wear it.