Karen Templar started Slow Fashion October last year as "A celebration of the small-batch, handmade, second-hand, well-loved, long-worn, known-origins wardrobe". We may have different approaches, but I love the idea of many people having this conversation all at once.
This is one of my favorite topics, and I feel it's important for all of us to have a well-considered wardrobe rather than a thoughtless one. The choices we make regarding our clothing influence the lives of others very directly. Actual men and women grow the fibers we wear, make them into cloth, and sew them into wearable garments. We can choose to honor their work with living wages and safe work conditions. We can choose to keep these garments from becoming waste as well. Care and repair will make them last longer. Thrifted pieces are given a second (or fourth) chance to be worn and appreciated. Natural fibers will compost at the end of their serviceable lives.
I choose slow fashion because it is ethical. It matches my values, in that it puts people and the environment first.
A smaller wardrobe is vital in my approach to slow fashion. I want my pieces to to earn their spots in my closet. By keeping the numbers small, I can more readily make wise choices when it comes time to replace an item. I am able to consider taking more time to search for a second-hand piece... or consider making the piece myself...or consider paying a bit more for a quality, fairly-made piece.
Since I have a limited number of pieces, I like to keep them in good repair. Time spent with needle and thread is usually a treat for me. Since I don't have enough pieces to let things pile up, it doesn't become drudgery. I appreciate my jeans more with every patch that gets added. We appreciate our (thrifted) shoes longer with a trip to a skilled cobbler. One of my favorite shirts becomes more endearing with each added stitch. Over time, wear and care make ordinary pieces into contributing parts of our stories. A certain patch reminds me of how much walking these jeans did on the streets of London... a stitched cactus reminds me of whole days spent driving through the dessert.
Slow and deliberate thrifting yields a periodic treasure to add to my small collection of worn pieces. A pair of jeans found mid-wind through Topanga Canyon... with all of their streaks and smudges remind me that I am becoming part of their story maybe even more than they are becoming part of mine.
Maybe that's the way we need to think about each and every piece of clothing we consider, call our own, and wear. I am just one part of its story. Let me honor all that came before and take responsibility for what happens next.
Love,
Jane
This is one of my favorite topics, and I feel it's important for all of us to have a well-considered wardrobe rather than a thoughtless one. The choices we make regarding our clothing influence the lives of others very directly. Actual men and women grow the fibers we wear, make them into cloth, and sew them into wearable garments. We can choose to honor their work with living wages and safe work conditions. We can choose to keep these garments from becoming waste as well. Care and repair will make them last longer. Thrifted pieces are given a second (or fourth) chance to be worn and appreciated. Natural fibers will compost at the end of their serviceable lives.
I choose slow fashion because it is ethical. It matches my values, in that it puts people and the environment first.
A smaller wardrobe is vital in my approach to slow fashion. I want my pieces to to earn their spots in my closet. By keeping the numbers small, I can more readily make wise choices when it comes time to replace an item. I am able to consider taking more time to search for a second-hand piece... or consider making the piece myself...or consider paying a bit more for a quality, fairly-made piece.
Since I have a limited number of pieces, I like to keep them in good repair. Time spent with needle and thread is usually a treat for me. Since I don't have enough pieces to let things pile up, it doesn't become drudgery. I appreciate my jeans more with every patch that gets added. We appreciate our (thrifted) shoes longer with a trip to a skilled cobbler. One of my favorite shirts becomes more endearing with each added stitch. Over time, wear and care make ordinary pieces into contributing parts of our stories. A certain patch reminds me of how much walking these jeans did on the streets of London... a stitched cactus reminds me of whole days spent driving through the dessert.
Slow and deliberate thrifting yields a periodic treasure to add to my small collection of worn pieces. A pair of jeans found mid-wind through Topanga Canyon... with all of their streaks and smudges remind me that I am becoming part of their story maybe even more than they are becoming part of mine.
Maybe that's the way we need to think about each and every piece of clothing we consider, call our own, and wear. I am just one part of its story. Let me honor all that came before and take responsibility for what happens next.
Love,
Jane
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