C Jay, When I was a child, WANAMAKER’S was Philadelphia’s favorite ‘high in’ department store. At that time, the WANAMAKER’S clothing label was American made, as was the store label at its ‘sister’ stores in New York and Chicago (MACY’S AND MARSHALL FIELDS). It was the fifties, and there still remained a thriving ‘Garment District’ in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, where designers flocked, and where factories stitched together the latest fashions for America’s top flagship retailers And, all the fabric was spun in American mills throughout the south. Then, as you’ve stated, ‘outsourcing’ became the norm - in all areas of production. And in the beginning, the retailers had us ‘fooled’. But no more. These days, department store labels are a ‘joke’. The problem is that you can no longer purchase a size 8 pair of JONES NEW YORK slacks, and then purchase an identical size 8 (in a different color) without trying the item on for fear it will not fit. The reason is, the first pair of slacks might have been made in a factory in THE PHILIPPIANS, while the other pair might have been made in TAIWAN. We have been duped, for sure. Yet, I don’t believe we are as ‘dumb’ as American Big businesses prefer us to be.

JCM, Nice to see you, have seen you for awhile. I’ve bought perfect Jaguar XJ6L, MBZ E-300, turbo Volvo, leather interiors, moon-roof etc. Have cash in hand, know exactly what I want, and look at ads only in top residential areas from private parties where I can see all records, and can also judge from house and person that they take care of things. Have always gotten under Blue Book cars. Love bargains. Drive for a couple years and sell at around the same price. Now want a MBZ station wagon as there is a Golden Retriever or two in my future so need a third back area for the pup. Of course with that Sloane Ranger sceanario will probably have to break down and get a black velvet hairband, too. lol.