Reusing old tshirts!

Here's a cool idea that I came across on Pinterest: Making tote bags out of old tshirts.

I think this is something interesting that we can do for our Home Economics lessons to teach the students basic sewing machine work. To add on to the fun, they can bring their own tshirts from home or even convert their old PE tshirts. I believe this will be a hit with not only the girls but the boys as well!

Review on Ellysage

I would like to do a review on the blogshop, Ellysage. I have made two purchases from this blogshop and have enjoyed the shopping experience with them.

Here are the reasons why I like shopping from this blogshop:

1) Ellysage prices their apparels at a fairly reasonable price, with most clothes ranging from $20 to $25. This will be attractive to polytechnic/university students, who are looking for affordable and good quality clothes. 

2) They include colour options for each item (as seen in the image below, in the small circles) so as to give shoppers more options and allow them to match the clothes to their skin tone.

3) When you click on an item, the type of material, measurements of the item and the model's measurements are clearly stated. They also provide different views of the item on the model so that customers can visualise how the item looks like from different angles. All these information is useful for customers so that they will purchase items that best suit them. 

4) Ellysage has a Facebook page where customers who 'like' their page will received updates about new collections and promotions. They include a preview for new collections so that customers can have a sneak peek and can eye on items early so that they can purchase them once the collection is launched. They also have occasional promotions, where customers can get freebies if they spend a certain amount e.g. $50 in an order. 

5) They have an effective ordering and delivery system in place which provides shoppers with an enjoyable online shopping experience. After I had purchased a top from them, they sent status updates about the top such as 'payment verified' and 'processing', as well as to inform me when the item was going to be mailed out. This gives the customer a rough idea when they will receive the package and an assurance that the item will be mailed out to them within the stated period. 

As a Home Economics Teacher teaching clothing and textiles, I will use this blogshop to discuss with my students about consumerism and advertising. These are the aspects that can be covered:

• Needs and wants - customers may buy more than they need due to the low prices offered. This can be tied in with a discussion of the pros and cons of shopping for clothes online.
• Interpreting information - how do customers make use of the information provided from the blogshop? for instance, type of material, colour options, measurements.
• Fabrics - what are the different types of fabrics used for tops, bottoms, dresses respectively?
• Promotions and advertisements - customers may be influenced by the promotions as they may receive freebies if they spend a little more. This can be tied in with the need to shop wisely. 

I will cover these aspects in class and follow up with an activity where students will work in pairs and explore the website based on these aspects. This will allow for a theory-practice link and students learn better when they are able to apply what they have learnt in a real example. 

Review of Ohvola !

I am not a regular online shopper. The only blogshop that I have bought clothes from is Ohvola.
Let's have a quick review here :

1. The items are categorised into Tops, Bottoms, Dresses, Accessories and Back In Stock from the drop-down list on the top tab. Customers can look for what they desire on the website easily.
2. There are descriptions for the products - it suggests how the customers can mix and match the items eg: tops. Besides, the owner also describes the kind of event or activity in which the clothes is suitable for. 
3. Sizes and the measurement of the items are also provided to allow customers to select the size that suits them.
4. The types of fabric are also listed. This gives customers a more vivid picture of how the clothes feel like.
5. There is a model and different view of the clothes are displayed.

As a home economics teacher, I can use this website to teach my students on the topic of consumerism.

1. Money Management. 

• We can teach the students to distinguish between needs and wants, for example : branded clothes vs non-branded clothes. 
• Importance of budgeting and saving. Do not buy new clothes if the clothes can be mended. 
• Methods of payment. We pay for products online using credit card.

   2.   Care and Maintenance

• How to clean and maintain different types of clothing.

   3.   Smart Shopping

• Advertisement and promotion of products. Do not be influenced by the advertisement gimmicks such as promotions or attractive models. 
• Comparative shopping. Compare the prices and quality of clothes in different websites or shops to make the best choice.

I believe that real life examples can engage students' prior knowledge and help them in understanding the concepts better. 

My go-to for all teacher dresses - Dressabelle

For my first post here, I would like to share a blog shop that I've started using since the start of my contract teaching, Dressabelle. I've had an enjoyable shopping experience though there have been some hiccups here and there. So let me evaluate some of my experiences here. Do note the maximum stars awarded for each component is 5 stars.

Regular updates of collections *****
Firstly, I like that this website has two new collections every week and it ensures that even if you are too busy with work to go out shopping, spending 5 to 10 minutes anywhere in the day will be sufficient to get you a new dress.

Collections  **
As the name of the blog shop suggests, the shop only sells dresses. So for blouses or other clothes, I would suggest using another blog shop.

Price ****
I find that the price of the dresses quite reasonably priced, with each dress costing between $22 to $28. I like that I will be able to get at least two dresses from this site for the price of one dress from the brick-and-mortar boutiques. More is better but quality definitely counts too!
And with evy blog shop, discounts are always a pull factor for online shoppers and Dressabelle does this by giving away a free dress from every collection when shoppers share and like the products on their Facebook pages.

Quality ***
So what about the quality of the dresses that you can get from here? The dresses are mainly polyester-cotton and chiffon. The dresses that I have bought so far are mainly quite light material and very suitable for female Home Economics teachers as the kitchen is a fairly warm place especially with practical lessons going on. 

Information provided ****
The owners provide detailed measurements of each of the dresses and they are modelled by one of their in-house models and pictures of them in the products are provided from quite a comprehensive range of angles. I like that they provide the models' height and clothing size, which helps shoppers to visualise and also estimate the product size.
Not only so, the owners also provided the material of each dress and recommendations for wash for items that may shrink after wash or if the colour of the item may differ slightly from the pictures.
They also provide weekly videos evaluating various styles and designs and how they may be paired with each other.

So shopping aside, how can we use this website in our Home Economics classes? 
Well, we are Home Eaconomics to be after all, so online shopping should not be only limited to our recreational purposes. It can be used as a tool in our classes as well as a form of real-world context to engage our students. I feel that for this particular blog shop, two main topics that can be brought across in class are Consumerism and Advertisements.

For consumerism, I can potentially see myself using this site to introduce concepts such as needs versus wants and comparing similar products (dresses) and weighing the pros and cons of buying online versus from the stores etc. Students will be able to explore some types of fabrics that are commonly used and compare them to other types of fabrics that are also used in clothing items.

Another potential teaching application of this site is the advertisement aspect. The site uses a couple of advertising tools such as discounts, freebies, attractive images etc. Students can be introduced to such advertising methods through a real example rather than through the use of a PowerPoint or the textbook.

Review! ASOS

Site: http://www.asos.com/

Review:
Strength: this online shopping site provides a large selection of clothes that are nicely categorised into various categories. Apart from categorising by type and price ranges, it is also possible to filter based on pieces with suitable sizes available. There are at least 3 different views of the item taken from different angles and a catwalk video to advertise the selected piece, which provides a comprehensive view of the clothing. The categorising format of the website is also neat and it provides shopping opportunities for both genders. The shopping bag and wishlist function provided on the website makes it convenient to make price comparisons and selections. It provides free shipping which is a plus point for an overseas shop.

Limitations: this is an overseas based website and the sizes are not catered to Asian body sizes.
The cutting of the clothe purchased might not be suitable even though the size might be correct. Being an overseas based website, there is no avenue for an exchange even if there is any issue with the garment or sizing. the sheer amount of items available makes this website a little complicated to navigate at the start. Many items also go out of stock very rapidly and sometimes consumers make hasty decisions in order to procure the item. This may result in making uninformed decisions that the consumer may regret.

C&T lesson idea: this website would provide a good platform to allow students to experience consumerism and making informed decisions during purchase.
Lesson prerequisite: students to have been taught basis for consumerism and factors to consider in order to make informed choice.
Lesson idea: this activity can be planned to take place over 2 lessons. on the first lesson, students are to be brought to the computer lab and introduced to the website and the various functions that are relevant (shopping cart). Students are to be given specific character profiles and estimated budget to choose their items. After their preliminary selection, they are to take a screenshot of their shortlisted items and rationalise their decisions.
On the second lesson, they will be given an exact budget and taught to check for the availability of their choices. At the end of the session, they will again take a screenshot explaining their choices for selecting or changing their initial decision.
Deliverables: two sets of screenshots with choices of clothes/accessories as well as accompanying write up for each.