What’s My Problem?
One of the main reasons I started taking my sewing seriously a few years ago was because fast fashion was feeling more and more irrelevant and unhelpful to me and our future on this planet. It’s been making less and less sense.
I find the high street fashion picture ridiculous.
The other day I was in town and took a short cut through a big department store. Immediately I was in a sea of rails and rails of clothing—just so much of it—and found it almost gluttonous. Obscene, in fact. But with all that choice, I couldn’t help feeling as though it’s my problem that amongst all this I can’t find much that works coherently on my short frame, on my budget, in my colour, that feels right for a woman of my age and experience.
The high street choices for me? Shop with teenagers, sassy 20-somethings, or as though I’m dressing for work or a wedding, and have money to burn. No. None of those are true or right.
On top of all this, I don’t want to be part of the problem that keeps people locked in terrible working conditions, to serve a fashion machine designed to profit from our insecurity. It’s in the industry’s interests to keep us insecure so we keep buying, but If it was so effective at easing our insecurity, we wouldn’t need it anymore, would we?
To work on this problem, I decided to change both my ways and expectations around clothing myself, and move off fast fashion as much as possible. I have a perpetual cobbled-together feeling and don’t want to have to keep trying my best with a sorry set of options – that’s so miserable! Instead, I want to create something coherent, intentional, well-thought-thought. Right for me and good for my confidence. Even better for my mental health, which has taken some big knocks over the years. Clothing can be a fabulous way to nurture yourself, done right.
So here’s what I’m after: I want beautiful, fresh clothes that express me and make sense of my unique energy, that build positive self-identity. I want to make wrapping myself up more sustainable, and not exploit anyone in the making. I want to put love into every slow stitch, and consider my choices really carefully. And I want to feel gorgeous, and sexy, and energetic, and full of hope and possibility! This is something I can get behind. It won’t change overnight, but I have faith that things will change.
I’m not foolish in imagining that there could be a better way, am I?
