Reddit mentions of Couture Sewing Techniques

For a bit of an oddball approach, learning a bit about sewing and how clothes are made can aid you in your quest for quality, especially if you're doing a lot of your shopping in person. Knowing what a taped zipper, pad stitching, French seams, Hong Kong bindings, or a properly pressed welt pocket looks like can give you hints about a garment's durability and quality, even when the brand is unfamiliar to you.

For example, an unnecessarily deep hem on a skirt might mean that the manufacturer acknowledged that the skirt needs the extra weight to hang prettily or that the buyer might want to lengthen it. Or if there's a grosgrain ribbon sewn on the inside of a skirt's waistband, that's to prevent the waist from stretching out and so the wooly fabric doesn't rub up against your skin or tights. It's these unnecessary little touches that (hopefully!) mean that the rest of the garment was made with such care and forethought. :)

Any sewing book from your library with a chapter on hems and seam finishes can teach you stuff like this-- you don't actually have to learn to sew! For some suggestions, The Colette Sewing Handbook is a very pretty, approachable book that you could browse and digest in an evening. On the other end of the spectrum, Claire Schaeffer's Couture Sewing Techniques contains everything you could possibly want to know about what makes a high-end garment, and I think it's fascinating clothing-porn.

And from even further out of left field, if your style at all inclines towards retro, you'd be the perfect size for vintage skirts and dresses. Your unusually slender waist means there are a ton of lightly-worn or deadstock garments just waiting for you to snatch 'em up! Spending a day browsing a vintage shop or Etsy could be fun. Look for deep hems, metal zippers, and the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union tag for some quality pieces.