According to the experts who monitor these things, consumer hunger for fast fashion is giving way a growing interest in making fashion more ethical and sustainable. It’s a great idea, given the high environmental cost of “disposable” clothing. The recent Costume Society of America symposium theme was “Re-cycles of Dress”, with a plenary session entitled “Approaches to Sustainability Across the Dress Discipline”. The Craft Industry Alliance has identified “visible mending” as an important trend for the coming year.
When I was twelve (1961) and wearing homemade clothes to middle school (the horror!) my mother was fond of saying “wear it proudly and you’ll start a trend”. It took a while, but it finally happened. I am very excited.
To be honest, my first forays into remaking/up-cycling/visible mending had nothing to do with saving the earth, just my personal financial sustainability. I was - and still am - cheap. Frugal to a fault. I don’t mind paying a reasonable amount for a well-made pair of jeans or a Pima cotton t-shirt, but by jingo, they had better last.
So I have been making things last since my teens. Shortening, lengthening, remaking, altering, updating, mending and - my favorite - transforming.
For example, my son had a beat-up messenger bag, and a small pile of beloved t-shirts that were nearly worn through. He asked if it would be possible to make a messenger bag for him out of a few of his favorite T-shirts. With his permission, I sacrificed the old bag to make a pattern (and scavenge the shoulder strap). I used fusible interfacing to stiffen it and lined it with canvas to add stability. Eight hours later, he had a new, one-of-a kind bag.
As regular readers know, every summer I spend time on an island off the coast of New England. Besides being cheap/frugal, I also love to pack light. Cramming a week’s worth of clothes while taking New England weather into consideration is my kind of challenge. The first few years, I depended on two pairs of jeans (new and old), my “magic travel skirt” and a collection of t-shirts, which doubled as a time-keeping device.
I would also bring along a project to work on while I rocked on the porch watching the clouds and gulls. Usually, it’s been knitting, but two summers ago I realized that I could save even more space in my backpack by leaving the knitting supplies behind. Instead, I saved up clothing that needed mending and packed a small pouch of supplies. If I wanted to have clothes for the whole week, I needed to get cracking. The clouds and gulls didn’t care how I spend that porch time, so why should I?
This summer I finished these projects:
I’m kidding about being a trendsetter, of course. All these years, I’ve been just doing what I do, far under the radar. But it’s a sweet moment right now to have so much company.
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