I just heard a wonderful segment about a young woman who is sewing all her own clothes for one year on my local NPR station.
Below is a cut and paste of the text
Or click for a link to the pod cast ... it is really great
Lauren Talley grew up sewing. She made sleeping bags for her Beanie Babies, and even designed her own prom dress.
Now, a decade later, Talley says she's alarmed at the poor quality and high price of much of the fashion industry's offerings. So she's decided to go off the grid, fashion-wise. No clothes buying, for a full year.
"I calculated how much I spent [on clothes] in the last year," she says. "It was over $2,000! I was shocked and kind of embarrassed that I had spent that much."
It was on a shopping excursion at Bergdorf Goodman, late last fall, that this all started to come into focus. As someone who sews, she saw Bergdorf's akin to a museum. She walked around the store, examining the way skirts were lined, and the blouses were stitched. She held up a beautiful dress, and looked at the tags. It was made of cotton, made it China and the price? $500.
"I didn't understand why you'd spend that much money on something that is the same quality you could buy much cheaper," Talley says.
So she decided to take a time out. "I can't change that our clothes were made there, but I can choose not to buy them."
The way she sees it, making your own clothes, is a lot like making your own food.
"You could easily go to a fast food restaurant and grab your dinner, and its another thing to go the farmers market," she says. "In the same way, you can run to H&M and pick up an outfit. To make something, you really have to want to make it."
Below is a cut and paste of the text
Or click for a link to the pod cast ... it is really great
Lauren Talley grew up sewing. She made sleeping bags for her Beanie Babies, and even designed her own prom dress.
Now, a decade later, Talley says she's alarmed at the poor quality and high price of much of the fashion industry's offerings. So she's decided to go off the grid, fashion-wise. No clothes buying, for a full year.
"I calculated how much I spent [on clothes] in the last year," she says. "It was over $2,000! I was shocked and kind of embarrassed that I had spent that much."
It was on a shopping excursion at Bergdorf Goodman, late last fall, that this all started to come into focus. As someone who sews, she saw Bergdorf's akin to a museum. She walked around the store, examining the way skirts were lined, and the blouses were stitched. She held up a beautiful dress, and looked at the tags. It was made of cotton, made it China and the price? $500.
"I didn't understand why you'd spend that much money on something that is the same quality you could buy much cheaper," Talley says.
So she decided to take a time out. "I can't change that our clothes were made there, but I can choose not to buy them."
The way she sees it, making your own clothes, is a lot like making your own food.
"You could easily go to a fast food restaurant and grab your dinner, and its another thing to go the farmers market," she says. "In the same way, you can run to H&M and pick up an outfit. To make something, you really have to want to make it."
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