by Hanzky — Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 9:00 am
in Editorial, Made in Indonesia and tagged with Resolutions
I think I know too many people who have stopped making new year resolution because they have finally realized that when January is over, they will be too caught up with life and work anyway that they don’t even have time to keep track on their resolutions.
For the past 3 years, I have made a different kind of resolution, a more specific one that is my fashion resolution..:D. Afterall, fashion and shopping are a big part of our life since they are directly involved with our bank account so we do need to plan everything accordingly, especially with the financial meltdown that is happening around.
Since I no longer live in the States, I do have to make changes on my fashion life. Not only because of the weather differences but also my lifestyle and day to day activity have shifted. Now I get to shop at entirely different places and have to be more creative since unfortunately we have less variety of shops here. Gone are the days when I can just hop to H&M to find affordable with reasonable quality clothes, or when I can find designer pieces at a price that won’t make me think twice, or when I just easily bid on eBay or walk around my neighborhood on a Saturday morning to check out the garage sale where I can find treasured vintage clothes at a mere 5 bucks.
I do miss the kind of shopping I used to have back in the States, but you know what, shopping in here is equally interesting if we want to look beyond what the malls offer. Like I said, we just have to be more creatives.
With that said, here’s my list:
Support Indonesian Brand
Yes, from now on I will branch out and look beyond the high street labels. I’m being realistic here though, I won’t be dropping the the big retail stores completely because I can always find something I like there from time to time and practicality is sometime what win them over since they are widely available. But at least I want to keep reminding myself that I do have other choices and we do have hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Local brands are only produced in limited quantities so the chance of me bumping into other people wearing the same clothes are much smaller than when I wear the mainstream labels. Many of our designers here have second or even third line that we can easily find in Department Stores. Some of them are still on the expensive side but some are within our range, and even if they are slightly expensive they are so beautifully made and therefore worth the money.
On a bigger scale, supporting local brands does more than just filling another space in my closets because I am doing my part to help save the country through financial hardship. Local businesses create jobs in here because they are investing the money right here in the country and the money we spent will be invested back and help make them grow.
Anyway, I already have two recent purchase on this category that I’m going to share in the next few posts.
Fit fit fit
I have learned, again and again that no matter how pretty the dress is if it doesn’t fit right, it won’t look good. The dress won’t look nice and you won’t look nice either wearing it. Here we’re so lucky that tailor is everywhere and they are relatively cheap. There’s even the door-to-door tailor that goes around the neighborhood with a bicycle. So with this luxury that we have, there’s no excuse not to have clothes that are properly fit.
Remember that clothing size is standardized but each of us have different body shape so how could the adopted standard fit our unique body? Do you know why back in the days people look sophisticated? It was because we didn’t have mass produced items so each of the clothes were measured to fit their every curves. I have sorted my clothes and now have two bags of clothing needing to be altered.
Custom Made Clothes
I went to Mayestik and Pasar Tanah Abang the other day and fell in love with the myriad of fabrics and colors that were presented before my eyes. So after a little haggling, I took three fabrics home and brought three of my favorite tops to the tailor so he can copy them. Easy Breezy!. Not to mention it saves a lot! For now, I don’t have time to look for inspiration or transfer the design ideas that I have in mind my ideas to my tailor (I have zero drawing talents), but I will try when I have the time. It takes effort to have custom made clothes, but you know what it’s worth the time and the effort because we’ll like everything about it; the prints, the materials, the shape, the fit, there’s so much thought that go into the clothes..and the real bonus is the sense of exclusivity that comes from wearing the clothes.
Three resolutions that should not be hard to accomplish. I wonder what your fashion resolutions are?
mba hanz..
totally agree with you!
Mbak Hanzky,
I am totally agree with you and Itie, bahkan sudah melakukan yang ketiga (custom made clothes) sejak 3 bulan yang lalu. Walaupun sketch yang aku buat mengerikan tapi penjahitku masih ngerti apa yang aku buat
wah bener bgt si ini, tailored clothing emang debest!! bodyshape gue juga emg ga memungkinkan untuk beli dresses off the rack (jarang banget yg bisa pas) jadi mau ga mau harus bikin. sudah menyadari hal ini dari sma, menyedihkan lho krn dulu budget anak sma juga ga sbrapa kannn..
custom fitted/altered clothing is an affordable luxury in indonesia =D
Han, jangan lupa, kita belum meng-explore treasured vintage clothes di sini
Pasar baru is a good place to start resolution number 3 dan treasure vintage clothes
belom nemu penjahit yang pas..
( jadi kayaknya resolusi gua adalah belajar jahit hehehe.. kalo ada kursus bikin sepatu mungkin gua bakalan ikut hehe.. 
ayo hann,, kapan kita belanja2 di pasar baru/senen?
my fashion resolution should to be get rid of stuff that i don’t wear anymore. so hard.
Mbak, saya nu ‘B’ nieh…. salam kenal yah!
Eumh, mbak tau gak, kira2 di 2009 ini even2 fashion apa ajah yang bakal diselenggarain di Jakarta ato seputaran pulau Jawa lah..?? Karena aku berniat untuk ikutan memunculkan karya aku gituh…
Mohon bantuan yah Mbak, aku kurang informasi nieh
hani, gue salut bgttt dgn resolusi elo utk support local brands i think it’s a must and as indonesians, we should start doing it asap.. dan jg merubah mentalitas kita yg suka males beli brg “made in indonesia” esp misalnya pd travelling abroad yg pd belanja2 gt kalo nemu brg yg made in indonesia jadi suka males beli..myself, i used to be like that..what a shame!! but these recent years, instead of avoiding them..gw kalo liat made in indonesia, lgs tak beli ga mikir2 lagi..stidaknya ngedukung hasil kerja keras tenaker kita..
since we’re in an economic recession esp here in the states, i would make sure i don’t shop compulsively with all the crazy blowout sales everywhere..so yeah, mine would evolve around getting fit and going back to my old body shape hehe 
DANNN.. gue ngiri.. di sana byk penjahit ya.. hiks gw kangen bgt bisa jahit sana sini baju2 yg gw pengen..
anw, my fashion resolution this yr : try to fit into my old wardrobes…yg uda byk yg ga cukup biar ga usa belanja hehe
Itie: Glad I’m not the only one who thinks this way..:)
Iit: Kalo gitu bagi bagi alamat penjaitnya dong..hehehe…
Disti: Affordable luxury!! I like that terms..:D
Koukla & Cheyqua: Let’s make time for next week, shall we?
Lena: Why so hard? FD Marketplaza has made closet cleaning a lot easier and or course profitable. Atau karena sentimental valuenya ya?
Sharita: Fashion show ada banyak sih tapi biasanya yang mengadakn itu designer dan organisasi tertentu. Biasanya untuk beginner dimulai lewat kontes2 gitu yaa..kamu punya produk apa nih? Silahkan email kita aja ke info@fashionesedaily.com untuk tanya tanya lebih lanjut.
DYS: Iya siih emang kalo barangnya kaya GAP atau Banana Republic yang made in Indonesia gitu jadi males secara di outlet sini nggak nyampe seratus ribu, hehehe. Tapi waktu lagi pengen tas Botkier, gue tetep beli tuh walaupun Made in Indonesia, karena disininya juga nggak ada, dan buatannya juga banyak banget..walaupun designernya bukan orang Indonesia but those were produced here by the hand of our local (hard) workers.
Hansky, setujuuuu bgt!
han, hehe setuju.. ya iya lah kalo di outlet lbh murah yah mendingan beli di outlet…hanya gw suka sedih aja misalnya nemenin orang belanja mau ke outlet kek atau ke butiknya langsung, masi ada aja yg liat label ‘made in indonesia’ jd males beli.. alasannya : ngapain2 uda mahal2x pergi ke luar negeri tp beli buatan negeri sendiri
bagusnya kan, mau hrg diskonan pabrik/FO atau full retail price, kalo made in indonesia, harusnya ga menjadi masalah 
then again, smua berbalik ke masing2 individu jg yah =) dan gw suka bgt botkier krn made in indonesia nyaa, uda ada outletnya blm di sana yahh?? lg byk sample sale botkier niy dr akhir thn, skrg jg masih..sampe dia buka butik dadakn di bbrp tpt skitar ny..tp emang semua skrg sale ga abis2.. dan byk yg bangkrut..
Hanzky, DYS, made in indonesia, sebenernya justru diakui loh, jaitannya lebih rapih. buyer gw (yg brand keren2 itu) rata-rata pada bilang gini: klo stylenya simple mau ngejaitin di bangladesh aja, workers murah; tapi klo style rumit, no option, kudu turun di indo.
tapi juga ada sih, org indo yg bapuk jaitnya… skr tinggal gimana kita para pekerjanya aja, mau masuk kategori advance ato kategori abal2 *curhat buruh tekstil*
back to topic, fashion resolusi gw…sama kaya elo Hanz, support local brand & local fashion designer mah pastinyaaa…
daur ulang baju, trus jaitin yg udin dari duluuu
Hanzky, proost to your resolutions!
My fashion resolution are:
1. get rid off of my older stuffs. Rasanya sulit bgt mengucapkan kata pisah dgn mereka. After time, sebagian udah gw jual di lapak FD, marktplaats, sebagiannya lagi nyumbang di kringloop winkel (toko second hand u/ tujuan kemanusiaan) dan yg laen masiy numpuk di attic!
2. In case of beli baru skrg gw lg seneng2nya mengeksplore toko2 vintage, second hand store, fleamarkt or nunggu sale. Season sale januari ini harga bener2 turun drastis!
3. Gw skrg lebih baik beli: designer jas, sepatu or bags drpd beli designer dress. Jas, sepatu bags cenderung timeless, bisa dijadikan investasi jangka panjang, sdgkan baju seasonable. Pun syukur2 taste gw selalu mengarah ke classic.
4. Ilmu mix and match kudu diperdalam lg. Gw orgnya paling ga suka pake baju yg one piece tok selain gala dress. Gw sering nyari inspirasi from runway looks. Ngeri liat harganya bisa kan nyari alternatif laen
5. Lanjutin belajar menjahit! udah sejak 2 taun lalu punya mesin jait tapi masih males bgt. Klo permak2 or pimping t-shirt siy bisa. Pengennya someday bisa jaitan baju buat anakku or even for my self.
Hanzky: salute! Sbg orang Indonesia I totally support buatan bangsa sendiri yang gak kalah dr designer luar. Imbasnya setuju banget meleber ke sosial, ekonomi dan pride as Indonesian. nice article!
NY resolusi yaitu, menjual barang2 yg ga kepake. heleuh uda dijual di ebay ga laku2. sobss..
hanzky, totally support you for the “custom-made” resolution
. udah sekitar setaunan ini gue hobi ngejaitin baju sendiri di tukang jahit langganan, cuma 70-80 ribu aja ongkosnya tapi udah bisa dapet baju kayak di majalah..hehe. tapi ya itu, jadi ketagihan juga untuk terus-terusan beli bahan dan jahit sendiri ke tailor..boros terus deehh
Sejak SD, aku selalu pakai baju buatan ibu. Sampai sekarang. Selain yang dari bahan kaos (dan baju renang), jeans & jaket, literally, aku ngga punya baju yang hasil beli.
Satu, karena aku ngga bisa ‘pakai’ ukuran yang ada di toko. I’m so very skinny but tall (well, if 165 cms is already considered tall hehe… but with my weight of 44 kgs, no size fits).
Dua, karena aku suka bikin model bajuku sendiri. So if people say my dresses and uniforms are unique and cute, well… because it’s not sold
ABSOLUTELY AGREE!!! LET’S MAKE A FASHION RESOLUTION!!