Look, Mom! I’m a trendsetter!
Whats the word for the feeling you have when the cool kids discover something you’ve been doing for decades?
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.
A great read!
This is fantastic, Jo. And you could have a thriving business making messenger bags from people's old t-shirts! I'm impressed by your sewing skills. Truly.