The Best Of team has always been a thrifty, industrious and creative bunch. So when it comes to making our own threads, we have no problem whipping up a three-piece suit or an elegant evening gown with nothing more than a few dish towels, some Soviet drapes and a piece of blue plastic clothesline.
There was a time when we believed the reason to make our own duds rather than buy them was simply to save money. That was before we discovered Fabrics on Khreshchatyk.
The store helped bring out the fashionable and chic seamstresses and tailors in all of us. Whether we’re choosing fabric for our see-through summer wardrobe or reupholstering the Best Of Lazy-Boy recliner, we go to Fabrics on Khreshchatyk to buy material.
First, the selection is unparalleled. The three-story shop with its funky purple marble interior is crammed full of fabric from around the world – from batik cottons and Italian silks to white lace in a variety of patterns. The stylish fabrics are displayed in an organized, accessible fashion.
Aside from fabric, the store offers an abundance of accessories such as thread, trim, pillow stuffing and materials for upholstering.
The prices at Fabrics on Khreshchatyk are dirt-cheap. For example, a 150 cm by 120 cm bolt of fine wool – which is plenty for an average size woman to make a smart-looking business suit costs Hr 58, while the same amount of pure silk goes for Hr 68.
The shop also has an incredible assortment of buttons and zippers. To some, that might seem trivial. But the Best Of mantra goes something like this: If clothes make the man, then buttons make the clothes.
Of course the world’s finest fabrics at bargain prices would mean nothing if we couldn’t get the attention we demand. The Best Of team simply hates being ignored. Once again our favorite fabric store did not disappoint.
There are usually five consultants who roam the store and who are available free of charge and free of scowls to field questions and offer advice. They’ll let you know the advantages and disadvantages of fabrics. They’ll help scout out the appropriate incidentals like thread, shoulder pads and lining as well as size you up, converting your inches into centimeters and whatnot.
The clerks clearly enjoy sewing as much as their customers and will patiently spend extra time choosing the right fabric to suit your needs.
Other fabric stores like Ukrainska Len, Desnyanka and Bivaks are trapped in the Soviet era, offering loud, obnoxious patterns and heavy materials most likely worn by bundled-up babushkas. Of course if you fashion yourself after the Fraulien Maria, making nifty summer outfits out of tacky, green drapes, then these places would suit you well.
