tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post3620536914198768289..comments2024-03-26T18:05:43.951-07:00Comments on Lilacs & Lace: Death of a ClosetLaura Maehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01288197213619181028noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-66783457084108477422021-10-08T10:32:13.213-07:002021-10-08T10:32:13.213-07:00Thank you for sharing this Laura Mae. My first clo...Thank you for sharing this Laura Mae. My first closet collapse was about a year ago, my husband fixed it only to have it fall again under the weight of my massive dress collection a week later. He hired someone to build a solid wood closet and have it installed professionally. I view my collection like you do and struggle to part with things unless I can find a home for them that will love them as I have. <br />Eileennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-73171697589494339512021-07-08T10:57:34.202-07:002021-07-08T10:57:34.202-07:00Coming in late to comment…I too have been guilty o...Coming in late to comment…I too have been guilty of killing closets. I think I have finally solved the problem by using the Closetmaid system available at Home Depot. Heavy metal brackets with slots screwed to the studs will hold wire shelving with rods to slide hangars the full length of the shelf. Lots of customizable accessories such as a curved corner. I have lots of leather jackets on the lower shelf, weighing in at a couple hundred pounds, and it is still holding up. As an added bonus, I installed an IKEA cable lighting system with four heads, so I’m never without bright lights, but I keep a small flashlight handy when I need to see beneath things and it’s dark. Even with two levels of heavy duty shelving that is now crammed with garments, those wall brackets are still holding up. JohninKenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02113968259661641897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-69664150584590485922021-06-28T08:49:07.929-07:002021-06-28T08:49:07.929-07:00In my hometown, there is a church running a charit...In my hometown, there is a church running a charity specifically for people who need new things to go on job interviews and can't afford it. Check around, you never know, there may an anonymous charity of that sort somewhere near you. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-82265412743901652102021-06-25T20:12:11.448-07:002021-06-25T20:12:11.448-07:00I hung the closet rods and shelves in our home aft...I hung the closet rods and shelves in our home after we remodeled so I have only myself to blame. Drywall stinks.SJ Kurtzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871599515352715171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-16175029668454512982021-06-25T10:32:48.654-07:002021-06-25T10:32:48.654-07:00Everyone has good suggestions. I donated 4 black t...Everyone has good suggestions. I donated 4 black trash bags of patterns I bought at JoAnn's and on ebay to Goodwill. I do not care if Goodwill sells them on ebay for the amount I paid. Also a local church may have members who are about the same size as you. I have given many clothes that were size 4 and size 6 to petite ladies after I gained weight from taking so many steroids. I had to admit that I was not going to lose weight and be able to wear these beautiful clothes that someone else could wear and enjoy.<br /><br /> I think the reason we have a hard time parting with our clothes are because they are still like new and we either spent a lot of money for designer brands or hours and hours handstitiching and ripping and restitching. People who do not sew do not realize how much planning and work goes into making a garment .Pamela Bowmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04763103403654797426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-62921377361497700512021-06-25T07:52:01.588-07:002021-06-25T07:52:01.588-07:00So you are close to living in a "warren of ro...So you are close to living in a "warren of rolling racks, and drying racks bolted to the ceiling" above your bathtub. <br /><br />Fellow readers: kindly refer to my April 17, 2017 comment, it's loaded with theories, speculation, and newer readers may find it a fascinating take on the Laura Mae they only thought they knew: http://www.lauramaedesigns.com/2017/04/out-of-season.html <br /><br />Laura Mae, keep creating. You are the sewing world's shooting star in close orbit. Constantly whizzing by, displaying talent, ingenuity, and determination. If there any suggestion mixed into my bag of editorial observations, it would be to start going couture. The best fabrics, fewer garments, more time on each one. Linen shift and sheath dresses with whisper thin linings, deep back cowls with a small weight sewn in for an ideal drape. <br /><br />Also, you shared having made a garment for your mother. Since she appears to be beholden to current and contemporary fashions, could she not be permission for you to interpret modern day stylings? She has linen sheath dress written all over her - tell me I'm wrong! With various necklines and/or narrow cut-outs below the neckline, you could create the first "Mom-genue". Testosteronenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-36117648317916825642021-06-25T07:07:19.760-07:002021-06-25T07:07:19.760-07:00I reluctantly gave away to Goodwill a dress I made...I reluctantly gave away to Goodwill a dress I made 40 years ago, only to find it a couple of months later in the local vintage shop with a 40$ pricetag! <br />SallyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-87047653640786193432021-06-25T06:56:16.662-07:002021-06-25T06:56:16.662-07:00Have you considered offering your items on your bl...Have you considered offering your items on your blog/Instagram/other social media? That way they would be going directly to someone who values them and their handmade loveliness. CinderellaRidvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02419935091671465978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-49807544699496972712021-06-25T06:15:55.187-07:002021-06-25T06:15:55.187-07:00My husband and I made closet systems in all the ho...My husband and I made closet systems in all the houses we built out of the drilled melamine panels you can buy at Home Depot and Lowes. We use the big shower/curtain rods and brackets. We use 1 x 5 material glued and screwed into drywall and stud to provide additional oomph support vertically and horizontally. For longer lengths (over 30") of closet rod we only use the Stanley closet rod brace as Stanley's quality control is the best. I have a book "The Complete Home Organizer" by Maxine Ordesky that helped immensely in building the systems. SUNSET also has books on closet systems. You can probably find a used copy of Maxine's book on line. I did when I loaned my copy to a friend and never got it back.<br />Theresa in Tucsontheresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13871779245121626075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-10154465790036338752021-06-25T06:02:54.339-07:002021-06-25T06:02:54.339-07:00My husband and I have now installed a Rubbermaid C...My husband and I have now installed a Rubbermaid Closet Configurations system in 5 closets over the last decade. You can get parts from Lowe's, Amazon, or stalk Facebook/Craigslist for parts. Like your current system, it all hangs from a rail at the top of the wall and is infinitely reconfigureable.<br /><br />The most important thing with any closet system is to screw into as many studs as possible. It looks like your failed closets had supports going just into the drywall.<br /><br />For the configurable systems, hit every single stud you can along the rail. Most likely, your vertical supports will not be on studs. If you buy the system new, it will come with heavy duty drywall anchors. If you get it used, buy good anchors for the verticals. Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14635171002350438929noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-7746472100699751832021-06-25T05:35:44.919-07:002021-06-25T05:35:44.919-07:00My closet bar collapsed recently too! It was a lon...My closet bar collapsed recently too! It was a long bar with plastic brackets that ripped, and my husband replaced them with metal brackets. I had a serious reckoning with my clothing problem and I got rid of a lot. I’m not as attached to my clothes as you are, though. Any store-bought stuff I can easily part with, and the me-made makes that I wasn’t wearing but also didn’t want to see on a barge to India got put in a Rubbermaid tote (side note, have you read Unraveled: The Life And Death of a Garment? It’s so good)<br /><br />I’m trying to make a concerted effort to buy less, but when you’re someone who loves clothes and especially new clothes, it’s so hard! Most of what I wear is vintage and second-hand, but I still feel guilty when I wear it a couple times and then donate it again.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16340532327120872457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4823578805242157520.post-53899341512629543762021-06-25T04:53:19.512-07:002021-06-25T04:53:19.512-07:00I have had the "closet drop" happen whil...I have had the "closet drop" happen while at work in our last house. I was also of the mind set of thinking that anything I made certainly could not be given away. Moving to another home a couple of states away cured that, and that was after decades of sewing and keeping those hand mades. I decided to pick the best of the best, the legacy garments. It didn't matter if I wore them or not and some I did and some I didn't. I kept those and carefully packed them for posterity. Others I donated to a church group that I know would not send them to India and would directly get them on the backs of those who needed them. Were there perhaps some exquisite made garments on the backs of homeless or abused women? I hope there were as it might have been the brightest moment of their day when they left their abode to walk out into the world in something nice. So with that attitude I purged. Here I am 3 years later and the lightness that the purge brought on I would not trade for the world. I continue it after years of holding tight. Guess what? our new home has that fabulous closet, too!Bunnyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03672695141031447916noreply@blogger.com