It is easy for me to trace the genesis of my interest in slow fashion: participating in Project 333. I started in October 2010 (this picture is from day 38 of my first round), and paring down my wardrobe changed my life. I’ve always been gaga for clothes-the texture, the drape, the fun of pairing odd things together. In fact, some of my earliest memories are of petting my aunt’s fur coat and rubbing my fingers over a bit of velvet. You can read my Project 333 posts here.
After a few years of maintaining a minimalist wardrobe, I switched to 52 items for the entire year. Around the same time, I realized that my goal was to create an ethical and elegant wardrobe. I defined what I meant by ethical elegance, and slowly, slowly, I have worked, stitch by stitch, to build my skills in making my own clothes. I dream of a wardrobe made entirely by me and by indie makers whose practices resonate with me.
Slow fashion means timelessness. It means understanding my personal style and investing in the skills I need to make that ethical elegant wardrobe a reality. I have a long way to go, not only skill-wise (though I’m so proud of my improvements in the last year), but also in determining how far I will drill down into my ethics. I’m happiest using made-in-the-USA organically-grown fabrics, though I am using plenty of fabrics outside of that goal. I want to know where my clothes come from. I want to know who made them. I want to strive for my fashion choices to have little impact on the world.
I will be teaching a themed Composition II class in the spring titled “TEXTiles: Writing About Slow Fashion” and this month I hope to not only build my skills just that much more, but also to find some excellent resources to inspire my students in their own slow fashion journeys. I am so grateful to Karen for organizing great post topics for the month, and I’m looking forward to digging deeper into slow fashion this month.
I have been doing Project 333 for almost 2 years now! At first, I really thought I wouldn’t be able to manage. But it’s really quite easy, once you try! It’s definitely changed pretty much everything about the way I look at clothes. Here’s a question for you — how do the items you create fit in with your 52-items? Do you only create a piece to replace one of the 52? Or do you meld the “created” items right into your existing wardrobe? 🙂
Can’t wait to read more posts from you! I’m a writer also obsessed with textiles, and I wish I could take your TEXTiles course. Hope to hear all about it on your blog.
Best,
Elizabeth