Rant: Fast fashion, greed, craftsmanship

[Lambano]

I despise clothes shopping. But the Sweet Lady enjoys it, and she buys me all my dress slacks and work shirts for Christmas and Birthday presents. She says she thinks of me as the dress-up Ken doll she never had growing up. (That's the closest thing I could find to a gagging emoji.)

Since we've been work-from-home for 2 years now, I don't even bother to wear my dress stuff when I do go into work. Nobody sees me except the security guard. Jeans and a t-shirt. My nice clothes were decent quality to begin with, and this way I don't think she'll need to buy me anything new 'til the day I retire.

 

[Lambano]

Ha! Just the fact that that T shirt is from 2005 say's a lot!

My old basketball buddy Johnnie G. used to razz me 'cuz I'd wear these T-shirts commemorating 10-year-old events. "Spring Break '84". "Halley's Comet, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure!" (Vintage 1986; this was in the mid-90s.) "C'mon, Lambano! Open up the wallet and buy some new clothes!", he'd say. I still have one commemorating the 2010 NCAA championships; it's still wearable.

 

[Nancy]

My old basketball buddy Johnnie G. used to razz me 'cuz I'd wear these T-shirts commemorating 10-year-old events. "Spring Break '84". "Halley's Comet, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure!" (Vintage 1986; this was in the mid-90s.) "C'mon, Lambano! Open up the wallet and buy some new clothes!", he'd say. I still have one commemorating the 2010 NCAA championships; it's still wearable.

Lol! If you are going to buy well made clothes...I would say that ebay is the way to go...I've found some great, well made stuff on there and have had them for decades!

Hey, if the clothes are clean and appropriate for the occasion, more power to ya!! Fashion always took a back seat to comfort to me

 

[quietthinker]

"They last a long time when you don't wear them. "
Oh, so THAT'S why mine have lasted forever, I just wear the same ones all the time! What's wrong with jeans and a T? ALL my clothes (almost all) come from thrift stores and let me tell you, I have been blessed with so many awesome things! I have a beautiful winter coat, rust colored, suede/leather that had a tag for $199.99 in it...I paid $60 bucks for it well over 10 years ago and still wear it as my main winter coat
Best clothes are used ones, ... although I know some folks would rather drop dead than wear something "used"
I say, meh! They clean and in good repair??? They are just fine then.

hey, where have you been hiding?....how old are you in the pic?

 

[Nancy]

hey, where have you been hiding?....how old are you in the pic?

Not hiding, just not lots to say...mostly just read others posts and if felt led, I will reply...sure do have to bite my tongue allot, lol. This pic is from late 20'd or early 30's I think.

 

[DuckieLady]

"They last a long time when you don't wear them. "
Oh, so THAT'S why mine have lasted forever, I just wear the same ones all the time! What's wrong with jeans and a T? ALL my clothes (almost all) come from thrift stores and let me tell you, I have been blessed with so many awesome things! I have a beautiful winter coat, rust colored, suede/leather that had a tag for $199.99 in it...I paid $60 bucks for it well over 10 years ago and still wear it as my main winter coat
Best clothes are used ones, ... although I know some folks would rather drop dead than wear something "used"
I say, meh! They clean and in good repair??? They are just fine then.

I'm a thrifter, too. I found a very good jacket nobody else wanted for 99 cents (I usually won't buy it unless it is 99 cents, I wait for tag sales). It had a lost button and I think a loose strap, so I took it home, swapped the buttons, and sewed it up.

And a lot of the clothes that look old with pilling, I go after with a fabric shaver.

Boom, everything old is new again.

But recently I ran across deal in Wal-Mart for a good quality 3 Piece handbag set for $5. So I got 2 because I thought they wouldn't sell me either, but they did! Now I have 2 and I need to get some courage to ask my neighbor if she wants one. (I might not though because it's "older" looking and she's more fun)

 

[Nancy]

I'm a thrifter, too. I found a very good jacket nobody else wanted for 99 cents (I usually won't buy it unless it is 99 cents, I wait for tag sales). It had a lost button and I think a loose strap, so I took it home, swapped the buttons, and sewed it up.

And a lot of the clothes that look old with pilling, I go after with a fabric shaver.

Boom, everything old is new again.

But recently I ran across deal in Wal-Mart for a good quality 3 Piece handbag set for $5. So I got 2 because I thought they wouldn't sell me either, but they did! Now I have 2 and I need to get some courage to ask my neighbor if she wants one. (I might not though because it's "older" looking and she's more fun)

Love those fabric shavers! I've a favorite sweater (yes, from the thrift store) and have had it forever! But it does get "pillows" so, has to be shaved.
I have come away from that store over the decades with the most awesome clothes and several outfits for pennies on the dollar! I love the color tag sales too.

It can't hurt to offer the bag set to your neighbor, if you think she could use it, I think you should!

And yes, "everything old is new again!

 

[DuckieLady]

Love those fabric shavers! I've a favorite sweater (yes, from the thrift store) and have had it forever! But it does get "pillows" so, has to be shaved.
I have come away from that store over the decades with the most awesome clothes and several outfits for pennies on the dollar! I love the color tag sales too.

It can't hurt to offer the bag set to your neighbor, if you think she could use it, I think you should!

And yes, "everything old is new again!

I think you're right, I'll have to ask her!

I love those fabric shavers, especially for kids clothes, it seems like they were made to pill and they are so cheaply made.

Like my grandmother would say, " Once you use it, it's used anyway."

She was right

 

[Nancy]

I think you're right, I'll have to ask her!

I love those fabric shavers, especially for kids clothes, it seems like they were made to pill and they are so cheaply made.

Like my grandmother would say, " Once you use it, it's used anyway."

She was right

" Once you use it, it's used anyway." I love that simple logic, lol.

 

[Nancy]

I despise clothes shopping. The Sweet Lady buys me all my dress slacks and work shirts for Christmas and Birthday presents. She says she thinks of me as the dress-up Ken doll she never had growing up. (That's the closest thing I could find to a gagging emoji.)

Since we've been work-from-home for 2 years now, I don't even bother to wear my dress stuff when I do go into work. Nobody sees me except the security guard. Jeans and a t-shirt. My nice clothes were decent quality to begin with, and this way I don't think she'll need to buy me anything new 'til the day I retire.

" She says she thinks of me as the dress-up Ken doll she never had growing up. (That's the closest thing I could find to a gagging emoji.)"

Funny!

 

[quietthinker]

Love those fabric shavers! I've a favorite sweater (yes, from the thrift store) and have had it forever! But it does get "pillows" so, has to be shaved.
I have come away from that store over the decades with the most awesome clothes and several outfits for pennies on the dollar! I love the color tag sales too.

It can't hurt to offer the bag set to your neighbor, if you think she could use it, I think you should!

And yes, "everything old is new again!

maybe thats what I need, one of those pilling shavers.....I might come up looking new.

 

[michaelvpardo]

Something that has bothered me for a long time is fast fashion. Meaning most of the things we see in stores are meant to be tossed away in six months.

So we get it cheap, in excess, its useless in a few months, and then it is done away with.

I look through history and see how much people appreciated the little that they had because they put so much work into it. And it was cared for, properly.

There was a time when a woman might only have two dresses and be content. There was also a time when women used the cotton bags from flour to make the dresses, and when one company learned about it they started putting out floral prints.

Men, too- soldiers during WW1 were encouraged to knit.

To me, it makes more sense to spend a month on a sweater to last up to ten years, and have maybe only a few but appreciate those few of good quality, rather than something cheap and more than likely, unethical. I can't help but myself feel like I am contributing to evil and being an enabler of some sort.

I wish we could go back to using old skills, or keep the flow of exchange between ourselves and the homemakers and the craftsmen, in our own way.

Otherwise, we are relying on sketchy workshops and handing money to men who are already have too much and hoard it up for themselves, and leave the weaker with too little.

It would be nice to use our own skills and take the flow back.

Fashion concerns are pretty old, but mass media and advertising have brought them to the forefront of our consciousness. Marketing, the use of advertisements to sell stuff, is the fine art of convincing you to spend your hard earned cash on things that you really don't need. The most effective marketing convinces you that you have to own something in order to stand out and above others.
I don't know a lot about the Amish, or the theology they believe, but they practice plain dress, no frills, seeing anything more as vanity and pride. "You look plain" is an Amish complement.

Our society, including the business community, stresses the idea "dress to impress", but in the Epistles and in the context of church gathering we're taught the exact opposite. That's the difference between the world and the church, not the clothing, but the attitude.

 

[DuckieLady]

Fashion concerns are pretty old, but mass media and advertising have brought them to the forefront of our consciousness. Marketing, the use of advertisements to sell stuff, is the fine art of convincing you to spend your hard earned cash on things that you really don't need. The most effective marketing convinces you that you have to own something in order to stand out and above others.
I don't know a lot about the Amish, or the theology they believe, but they practice plain dress, no frills, seeing anything more as vanity and pride. "You look plain" is an Amish complement.

Our society, including the business community, stresses the idea "dress to impress", but in the Epistles and in the context of church gathering we're taught the exact opposite. That's the difference between the world and the church, not the clothing, but the attitude.

This is true and the Amish make their own clothing. The women's dresses are fit to a certain pattern, but our Amish here I've seen shopping for baby clothes. Nobody is above the other. Mennonite women might be allowed certain floral prints.

Men practice modesty, too. No buttons so they aren't "flashy" and the mens shirts usually don't come undone much so they can't expose the chest.

And they are very good at saving money.

 

[Abigail]

My mom taught me to sew by hand and then on the Singer sewing machine when I was very young. I make my own clothes.
I'm a fashionMEsta. ha!

 

[DuckieLady]

I'm a fashionMEsta. ha!

Haha! I like that one!

 

[quietthinker]

My mom taught me to sew by hand and then on the Singer sewing machine when I was very young. I make my own clothes.
I'm a fashionMEsta. ha!

the best I could do was marble bags.

 

[Abigail]

the best I could do was marble bags.

lol Marble bags need a home too.

I also like vintage clothing shops.

 

[DuckieLady]

I went thrifting again recently (the boy is growing, his ankles were showing, la-de-da), and they took the tag sales from $0.99 to $1.49.

So I felt the need to correct myself

usually won't buy it unless it is 99 cents, I wait for tag sales

$1.49*


It makes me anxious when something is said and changes

 

[Angelina]

Something that has bothered me for a long time is fast fashion. Meaning most of the things we see in stores are meant to be tossed away in six months.

So we get it cheap, in excess, its useless in a few months, and then it is done away with.

I look through history and see how much people appreciated the little that they had because they put so much work into it. And it was cared for, properly.

There was a time when a woman might only have two dresses and be content. There was also a time when women used the cotton bags from flour to make the dresses, and when one company learned about it they started putting out floral prints.

Men, too- soldiers during WW1 were encouraged to knit.

To me, it makes more sense to spend a month on a sweater to last up to ten years, and have maybe only a few but appreciate those few of good quality, rather than something cheap and more than likely, unethical. I can't help but myself feel like I am contributing to evil and being an enabler of some sort.

I wish we could go back to using old skills, or keep the flow of exchange between ourselves and the homemakers and the craftsmen, in our own way.

Otherwise, we are relying on sketchy workshops and handing money to men who are already have too much and hoard it up for themselves, and leave the weaker with too little.

It would be nice to use our own skills and take the flow back.

I hear you. Came across this recently.

 

[DuckieLady]

I hear you. Came across this recently.

View attachment 20444

I will need to add it to my watchlist, thanks!

Recently we had a "no bags" law. Paper or reusable THICKER PLASTIC BAG, you pay 8 cents. These are way thicker plastic and they will take longer to decompose.

I'm seeing them used as trash bags everywhere, nobody cares about paying 8 cents a bag. If they really cared it would be $1 for a cloth bag that people wouldn't use for a trash bag.

Anyway, having said that ...

I really wonder how much longer it takes for clothing to decompose when synthetic fibers are blended with up to 64% plastic.

Makes me want to stick to natural fibers. I'm going to go obsess about this for a while.