Public Service Announcement

January 30, 2026

So, periodically, I will wander off onto other subjects than sewing, but in reality, it's all about sewing, looking smashing, and being comfortable!  

I've been talking these last few months - maybe six months - about dressing up a little more.  It makes you look more genuine, professional, and someone people will notice and, most of the time, look up to.  That brings all sorts of really nice results.  A clerk or staff member will look at you a little brighter and say, "May I help you?" with a little more enthusiasm, which is what you may have been used to.  And one thing that's really noteworthy is that although I'm the same person, and I may have received 2 or 3 comments (from close friends or family) asking, "Why are you so dressed up?"  They seem to be okay with an answer like, "Oh, I just want to look better," or some other generic answer like that.  But most of the time, the other regular folks I see are very much like, "This is normal, Claire," and don't think anything else about it.  Amazingly enough, that's how people react when you dress up just a little.  I do not look like I'm going to a formal event, anything dressy, or even a cocktail party.  This is simply about polishing up my look enough that it's a little different and, as such, gets a little attention.  

When a fashion trend first starts, it's often met with a feeling of oddness or strangeness.  Then it begins to look right, and then it takes on a whole aura of beyond right, and gains a with-it look, modern, up-to-date, and that sort of look.  As it goes on, it begins to take on a "regular" or normal look, and eventually grows boring and overdone.  

The exaggerated "New Look" by Givenchy, and the swirls-gone-crazy bell-bottoms are way out, with Grace Jones in the 80s shoulder pads about as severe as you can get.  But these styles were beautiful when they were first new

Those bell-bottoms on Abby Road, were totally right on, and they were classic, cause those styled pants lasted for 10 years.  The New Look from Dior - same thing - classic and you could wear a modified version of that suit today and be totally acceptable.  And I made that suit on the right with the style and expert line of Armani, there wasn't anything to lose because even though the shoulder pads were large, the look was totally balanced.  

The other is that often doors will open, and even opportunities will come your way that might not normally be there without you looking just a little more special. 

This also yields other results, and the other day I was reminded of this in the Home Depot parking lot.  I had on my normal "dressed-up" look, but not formal - just nicely dressed, and as I was walking out the door, a man, obviously a work person, came up and wanted to help me with my packages.  I said no, smiled, but kept my eye on him. He waved at me, then headed to another car with an older lady, and was obviously working the parking lot, looking for a mark.  

If you know anything about me, I get REALLY irked (OK, mad as hell) when I see someone trying to take advantage of another person who might not be very savvy to the ill ways of this world.  I watched carefully, and the guy saw me watching, and wandered off from the little lady.  After the guy left the parking lot, I went back into Home Depot and reported the fellow who was now in the Best Buy parking lot next door.  They thanked me, acknowledged they had seen the guy, and said they were calling the police.  I left after that.  

The whole time the guy was asking me if he could help, he had his spiel down pat.  He looked authentic, really sounded like he wanted to help, and couldn't have been nicer.  But something was off.  I wasn't really sure what, but I also listened to that "something off" voice. And that's when I quickly got away from him and to the safety of my locked car.  
 

I had the great fortune in my younger years to volunteer with the local police department to make the weekly Crimestopper episodes in our local city.  This was more than just finding actors to play the perpetrators, and helping edit them in the local TV stations (really supped-up) equipment.  I also had a contact, who became a great friend with the police department.  I directed, wrote, produced, and helped edit the final episodes.  It was a ton of fun for me and I got to be enormously creative .  I even won the "Sam Peckinpah" award for the most violent re-enactment.  Peckinpah was known as the most violent, bloody body count in The Wild Bunch, and the joke was that I had outdone the director with my violent re-enactment episode.  But then it was a pretty violent crime.

But during the shooting and sometimes in preparation, I would spend a good deal of time at the police station gathering information about the crime and usually talking with the detectives about what they wanted featured in the Crimestoppers episode.  Usually when the police decided they wanted a crime featured this way, there was a reason - that being, there was someone out there who knew more about the crime, and they weren't sure who he, she, they was/were, so they were going to run a Crimestoppers to find out more info, to get this person to come forward.  

Sometimes we would just shoot the breeze while waiting for a scene to set up, and so I would always be talking with the police, and we might be talking about the crime or something else - a local, more publicized crime and I was constantly given extremely valuable information about how to protect myself and avoid being attacked.  

The other day in the Home Depot parking lot, all my "training" from my police friends kicked in, and I was quick, sure, and ready to strike if this guy made a physical move on me.  I have one of those key fob things for my car, and I can easily slip the key out of the fob, hold the fob in my hand with the slender metal key sticking out, and poke a few damaging places that will quickly disable any creep from attacking me.  

I'm not some little lady that looks nice and wears quiet quality clothes to be snatched up like some weakling!  I'm pretty wiry and fiesty!

But in those many years of chats with the police, here's the advice they gave me for taking care of myself.

• Be sure you don't look like a victim.  That involves a lot of things, but this is the main message from my police friends.
• Walk purposefully.  Know where you are going, go directly there, don't dilly-dally around and look at the stars, but go straight to the shop, car, or wherever you're going.  If at all possible, get your keys and everything else you're carrying so that you can punch the car lock, get in, and lock yourself in, then you can fiddle around looking for a comb, lipstick, nail file, or whatever - behind locked doors.
• Be aware of your surroundings.  Notice loiters in parking lots, someone handing around your car (don't go to your car if this looks funny or "off.")
• If you happen to suddenly come upon someone who's looking for trouble, look past the person or at their chest, don't look in their eyes.  Many of these idiots are on drugs, and their filter system is short-circuited, so don't try to mess with their minds by giving them a "don't look at me" look.  
• There's a myriad of weapons that you have available to you, but some of the lighter-weight and handier ones are the key fob, with the metal key out, and ready to poke in the eye or throat.  You can hold the key in your inside hand with the long metal key sticking out, and give a lot of energy to quickly poke before they attack you.
• Being aware means taking a look at the parking lot before you exit a store.  There are a lot of people loitering about, and you can always duck back into the store and hang out by the register or office area to make sure you aren't alone.  
• I'm also the first one to go inside the store and report anyone like this (it makes me really mad they think they are trying to get the better of someone smaller, weaker, or simply not aware).  I usually say something like, I'm sure you wouldn't want someone out there harassing your customers in the parking lot, and that usually gets the customer service people's attention very quickly.  If a place gets a reputation for always reporting loiterers or ne'er-do-wells, then it will be less likely to be haunted by those parking lots or establishments.  

This is as much an attitude as it is protection.  It's become so second-nature to me now that I don't feel artificially protected, but I do feel enormously empowered. 


This is about having that more dressed-up look, but being aware that it can draw thugs or would-be evil people to you. Looking wiry, strong, purposeful, and aware goes a long way toward making you very difficult, which is not what a thug wants.  They want an easy mark, and they are gone.  

Making yourself attractive and having a positive look can make you feel special and wonderful, but adding that awareness and clear signal that you're too much trouble to tangle with, will ward off even the most desperate and stalwart bandit.  You probably won't even know you were being scanned for a mark, and that's just fine too.  

Now that's not to say that I don't dress for the occasion.  If I'm out looking at some antique furniture or flea market, I'm not going to dress up no matter what.  When going to these locations, be aware that you will be "scanned," and if there's a thief nearby, you can have the same sense of purpose, intention, and directness that will scare any robber away. 

At the same time, I'm also aware that if I'm going into a shop, Williams Sonoma or Sur La Table or even if I'm out spook shopping at Neiman's or a boutique, I'll dress up a little.  Clerks will fall over themselves when they see you come in the shop and you'll walk out with exactly what you were looking for, or just an idea or two, which is usually what happens to me.  

Just as empowering as the look itself, it's all about empowering yourself to be "too much trouble" for any fool to tackle, especially in public.  

So your awareness and intention of purpose and character can not only add to your stealth wealth look, but ward off even the stupidest of losers out there looking for a quick and easy roust.  

Quiet quality is anything but a quick mark!

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NOTE:  There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky.  I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else.  If you don't get anything from me, it's probably because the support@sewingartistry.com email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through.  In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.  

As a precaution, please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox.    I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.  

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