Uncut

This week I bought a bunch of new sweaters and pants. I like to do it all at once because I dislike shopping. I'm fully equipped to sew or, as a women's studies professor once put it, do “fabric arts.” Consequently I often repair or alter department store clothes, but what are those little buttons or scraps of yarn that are tacked on to the hang tags?
Men's shirts have replacement buttons sewn right on the bottom of the shirt so if one gets lost, there's a replacement. But what is the reason for the single button in the plastic bag on the sweaters I bought? Does anyone really file these away to dig up just in case? How much stress do the buttons on a sweater have to endure? Wouldn't the yarn shred before the button thread broke? Is that what the tiny plastic bag of seven inches of yarn is included for? I can knit and crochet, but I wouldn't ever try to repair a sweater.
I don't know a lot of things about manufactured clothes. I was over forty before I found out that the pockets in suit coats are sewn shut. I went through and cut the threads so I could use the pockets and then found out they were sewn shut so the garment would look smooth and tailored. No keys or spare change for us ladies.
My biggest complaint about new clothes is the label sewn in at the collar. Those itchy things are attached to the place where they rub against the most sensitive part of my back. In some brands, the material is actually- and I know you've felt this yourself- is actually sewn into a sharp, tight, cutting edge. So I spend quite a lot of time with manicure scissors cutting those things off before I wear them.
But the label is supposed to be a status symbol. Sweaters with labels cut off indicate the garment was purchased at a second hand store. On the other hand, some of the cheapest clothing manufacturers have taken to printing the labeling information right on the garment. I love that! No more tag clipping. So the cheapest clothes are the most comfortable choice while the expensive clothes are for people who don't mind having their skin scraped off.
After I get done cutting them up, I will have a snuggly bunch of new sweaters and pants.
Nancy Sherer