In an earlier post (Miracle of Modern Clothing), I described some concerns I have about the cozy relationship our closets have with oil production. My understanding of sustainable clothing, and of ways to improve our system of clothing production is amateur, ongoing, and limited at best. However, in my continued quest to deepen my understanding, I have recently finished reading a book right about fast fashion and our cultural appetite for it (To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing out the World? by Lucy Siegle).
March 31, 2012
March 29, 2012
March 24, 2012
March 21, 2012
Sewing: Up Next
A friend of mine charmed me at dinner last weekend when he asked me about the half-finished projects I bemoaned in a recent post. I was pleased that in the course of his busy days he had not only read my blog, but had even given it some thought afterwards.
"What are you working on that needs finishing?" he asked. He had a plan: I would design and sew some garments for us to wear for a night out and we would set a deadline, in order to ramp up my completion rate and learning curve.
I liked the motivation and spirit of his plan, but the problem is that my type-A nature wants me to build my skills more deliberately than that. I don't want to rush another garment that technically works but that wilts upon closer examination (see exhibit A, Project Mardi Gras: Finale).
So, to answer his question, are some skill-building, smaller-size tasks I have prioritized before embarking upon new projects:
"What are you working on that needs finishing?" he asked. He had a plan: I would design and sew some garments for us to wear for a night out and we would set a deadline, in order to ramp up my completion rate and learning curve.
I liked the motivation and spirit of his plan, but the problem is that my type-A nature wants me to build my skills more deliberately than that. I don't want to rush another garment that technically works but that wilts upon closer examination (see exhibit A, Project Mardi Gras: Finale).
So, to answer his question, are some skill-building, smaller-size tasks I have prioritized before embarking upon new projects:
March 18, 2012
Future (of) Fashion: White Papers
Some years ago, after I started cleaning up my diet a bit and trying to remove some of the processed stuff that I leaned on too hard, it wasn't long before I started eyeing my closet nervously. If I was concerned about toxic food, shouldn't I also be investigating the ramifications dyes, processes and chemicals used in finishing fabrics and leather? I was scared to know the answer, because I have always loved clothes and shoes, but I had to be honest with myself. When I wore a shirt, it was touching my body just as much as the organic food beauty products I sought.
When I removed a shirt from its regular rotation in my closet, it often went to goodwill. There is no way that all items given to Goodwill always get used by other people, so many of them probably still go into the ground, whether or not I put my shirt directly into the bin. Patagonia is a company that has been a leader in thinking about the impact, and the afterlife, of their clothing, with their "Footprint Chronicles" and their Common Threads Initiative, and even their recommendations that we buy less and use what we buy longer. But I struggle with the sporty style; it does not come naturally to me. So what to do?
When I removed a shirt from its regular rotation in my closet, it often went to goodwill. There is no way that all items given to Goodwill always get used by other people, so many of them probably still go into the ground, whether or not I put my shirt directly into the bin. Patagonia is a company that has been a leader in thinking about the impact, and the afterlife, of their clothing, with their "Footprint Chronicles" and their Common Threads Initiative, and even their recommendations that we buy less and use what we buy longer. But I struggle with the sporty style; it does not come naturally to me. So what to do?
March 15, 2012
Those Who Can't...Need to Take Their Own Advice
After the Mardi Gras dress marathon, I lost my sewing mojo. I felt pleased about having made a dress, and wearing it. However, when I saw photos of the dress in action, I was disappointed. All was fine when I was standing still, but any photo that captured motion showed gaps between the fabric of the dress and my body, reflecting deficiencies in my still-beginner sewing and design skills.
March 11, 2012
In Search of a Little Mexico
The first time I went to Mexico, as a teen-ager on a Spring Break trip, I thought I would be annoyed visiting somewhere so full of tourists. I had just completed a year as a Rotary Exchange student, and we had been brainwashed to believe that the only way to experience a new place was to experience it's daily life; how locals conduct their day-to-day affairs. If we were identified as American by locals during that year, we had failed the cultural test.
As it turned out, I was slightly annoyed by tourist trappings of Cancun, but my curiosity about daily Mexico overruled my disdain for the standardized vacation chosen by my peers. I was more interested in the taxi drivers than the goings-on at the nightclubs, and I was intrigued by the hair-braiding ladies in the market and the brands of food in the downtown grocery store. I noticed women of all ages with tummies showing a little, or shorts that were quite short; they seemed so comfortable showing their skin, regardless of their shape. To my body-obsessed eighteen-year-old brain, this was amazing. Now, it is very logical to my thirty-five year-old brain: it's about comfort in the heat.
As it turned out, I was slightly annoyed by tourist trappings of Cancun, but my curiosity about daily Mexico overruled my disdain for the standardized vacation chosen by my peers. I was more interested in the taxi drivers than the goings-on at the nightclubs, and I was intrigued by the hair-braiding ladies in the market and the brands of food in the downtown grocery store. I noticed women of all ages with tummies showing a little, or shorts that were quite short; they seemed so comfortable showing their skin, regardless of their shape. To my body-obsessed eighteen-year-old brain, this was amazing. Now, it is very logical to my thirty-five year-old brain: it's about comfort in the heat.
March 08, 2012
Limits & Boundaries
I've discovered over the course of recent years that I'm more creative when hemmed in by boundaries and limits. If I can't have more, I have to make what I have feel like more. Sadly, I wasn't as good at this when I was a broke first-year teacher, but I'm making up for lost time now.
March 05, 2012
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