EUROPEAN WOMEN WEAR SKIRTS FROM POLISSYA

But Ukrainian women somehow ignore domestically made clothing.

The Lesia Clothing Plant in Novohrad-Volynsky (Zhytomyr region), makes 500,000 items annually, 90% of which is exported.

Skirts make up almost 80% of the exported products. The enterprise specializes in making pants, blouses, and vests using wool, rayon, and other fabrics. Their main consumers are German, French, and Italian women, which is very surprising. As chief of the factory planning department Vira Medvedeva informed us, Ukrainian fashion-lovers, especially those in Zhytomyr, are in no great hurry to show the beauty of their hips wearing garments made in Novohrad-Volynsky. We are not taking into account quite moderate prices ranging from 7 to 15 hryvnias and the high quality of the garments. The demand for these products is very limited in Ukraine. It seems we prefer to buy the Turkish and Chinese stuff sold on our markets.

By the way, if we make a thorough quality check of the factory products we will find out that this enterprise was nominated for the international Best Brand award in Geneva on March 9. This prize is given by the Trade Leaders Club each year. However, the factory managers considered the cost of the trip to Switzerland ($3700) an excessive expense and therefore gave up the prospect of flying over to Geneva and getting the prize. Still, Club President Arsenio Ardo Rodrigues reassured them in his letter that if the quality of the skirts and other goods got worse, all their expenses would be reimbursed.