We bought fabric at JC penny, Zarze and the Five and Dime. The stores had worn wood floors that creeked. The ceilings were so high the lights that hung from them were more abiance then affective. There were real treasures to be found- some layered in dust others in retaped packages. Fabric bolts were in piles on those monsterous display tables. All the ladies wore a tape measure around their neck and knew sewing terminology up and down.Buttons came in basic colors and sizes, as did thread zippers and other notions. Scissors were meant to be a life time investment and getting them sharpened was not that expensive. There was something special about picking the fabric watching it be cut while the ladies smiled and asked if you were getting a new dress ( in my case they would matching to Mom's and a doll.)I would watch the lady carefully fold the fabric and lay it gently into a crisp brow bag then fold the top of the bag down and offer it to me who was only big enough to se over the counter. Patterns were not as outragous as they are now but rarely did we use or follow one. Each christmas one of us kids got a special box with a 1/2 finished outfit. Either Mom didn't have the time to finish or it needed to be fitted before going further. Though I am greatful for many of our modern day advancements there is something to be said for a time when things weren't so organized and just so. All that said I still remember kids thinking I was a snob. My Father was a pastoer of a small church and my mother knew how to pinch every penny,whether it was cooking or sewing( okay so the cooking we didn't really appreciate as kids- squash was squash no matter what you did to it or one of the many other items a farmer had given them because they were not beautiful for sale looking). The kids at school thought I was a snob because I didn't wear jeans. The reality was at the time my Mother could make 5 pairs of pants for the cost of one pair of jeans. Funny how this all has gone in reverse- now premades are much less.