Welcome, friends, at long last to I'm Wearing Your Clothes, a chronicle of my - and hopefully your - fashionable garment rewearing adventures.
In 2008, I decided to embark on a project of sorts, to only acquire previously owned clothes. What this means is, I would't buy anything new at a store, I would only buy used, and I would swap and scavenge. Frankly, this wasn't that much of a challenge, as I already have a walk-in closet full of clothes, plus I had already mostly bought used or swapped and scavenged anyway. But, it gave me the opportunity to talk to folks about going used. This blog was borne out of one such discussion.
I've decided to continue the project this year, with slightly more strict parameters: last year, I made exceptions for new undies, socks and shoes. This year, new shoes are out, and my black Chuck Taylors are looking pretty thin. Can I make it? I'll keep you posted.
I'd love to have other writers contribute. Whether your on a used-only diet like I am, or just relish the thrill of the second-hand find, send me a line and let me know - you can email me at sig at cloudfactory dot org. Sweet.
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Welcome, Clothed People!
These are stories of your old clothes and the fashionable people who wear them.
Whether found in a free pile, traded at a clothing exchange, or won on Ebay, we choose used clothes for the following reasons -
1. Economic - used clothing is cheaper, and buying used clothing encourages an economy of reuse instead of an economy of disposablity.
2. Environmental - It takes tons of top soil, pesticide, water, fuel, dye, and other resources to manufacture new clothing. At the end of their lives, textiles will comprise somewhere between 3 and 10% of landfill waste, though almost all textiles are reusable or recyclable. Circulating old clothes saves resources at both ends of the system.
3. Social - Nowhere on Earth is there a clothes-sewing robot; every garment was sewn by a real, live human being, usually a woman or girl. Its easy to chuck old clothes into the trash when we don't consider the efforts and skills of the people who sewed them. Circulating old clothes is a way of honoring the craft of garment-making.
4. Style - Forget what the mall tells you: personal style is always better than a trend. The mix of eras, seasons, trends, styles, sizes, and wear on used clothing gives you something to work with, instead of telling you to shut up and dress like everyone else.
Whether found in a free pile, traded at a clothing exchange, or won on Ebay, we choose used clothes for the following reasons -
1. Economic - used clothing is cheaper, and buying used clothing encourages an economy of reuse instead of an economy of disposablity.
2. Environmental - It takes tons of top soil, pesticide, water, fuel, dye, and other resources to manufacture new clothing. At the end of their lives, textiles will comprise somewhere between 3 and 10% of landfill waste, though almost all textiles are reusable or recyclable. Circulating old clothes saves resources at both ends of the system.
3. Social - Nowhere on Earth is there a clothes-sewing robot; every garment was sewn by a real, live human being, usually a woman or girl. Its easy to chuck old clothes into the trash when we don't consider the efforts and skills of the people who sewed them. Circulating old clothes is a way of honoring the craft of garment-making.
4. Style - Forget what the mall tells you: personal style is always better than a trend. The mix of eras, seasons, trends, styles, sizes, and wear on used clothing gives you something to work with, instead of telling you to shut up and dress like everyone else.
Recirculate your duds! Links! Yay!
- Wendy Tremayne's brilliant swap, the Swap-o-Rama-Rama
- Swanky Pay-to-play Benefit Swaps in NorCal
- Japanese Street Fasion via Street, Fruits and Tune Magazines
- ThreadBanger DIY and sewing site
- Street Fashion in Helsinki from Hel Looks
- Street Fashion on Face Hunter
- Report on textile waste from the EPA
- Overview from the Council for Textile Recycling
About Me
- sighafstrom
- My name is Sig. It's short for Sigrid. The name is Scandinavian, but I'm from the nation of California. I'm a multidisciplinary artist, writer and performer.
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