Having spent more time than usual in shops looking for something to wear to my daughter’s wedding, I had a chance to do some serious thinking about the way I dress, what is important to me, and how much that is being marketed and sold is uninspiring and uniform and dreadfully constructed. I guess what prompted me to delve deeper was when I was told in a bridal shop that the majority of shoppers had no idea about whether a garment fabric was silk or acetate and did not really care. They only wanted to look good in whatever they selected. I find this troublesome. What I also find disturbing is that this market will pay an equal amount for acetate as they will silk. Am I a fabric snob? Perhaps, but I think we need, as consumers, to take a hard look at what we are purchasing. I tend to be very selective in buying anything. It has to be well-made. The fabric has to be exceptional. The style has to be unusual. In this current market, I do not think any of those prerequisites fit into my expectations when I walk into a shop. I purchased this book out of curiosity, wondering what the author was saying about vintage clothing, a term that can surprisingly range from true antique to the 1990′s.
I have always loved vintage clothing because of the unique style as well as the workmanship in the majority of the garments. I started collecting some of these pieces many years ago because it would grant me the wish to dress in a very unique and memorable way. I was always drawn to Victorian whites, lace pieces, designs from the 20′s to the 40′s. Now I guess vintage includes clothing made up through the ’90′s. Too bad I gave so many things away. But I am digressing.
The author of this book, Melody Fortier gives solid advice on all sorts of vintage purchases. I especially respect and confirm what she has to say about new versus vintage: “…with today’s insatiable demand for cheap plentiful goods, manufacturer’s have had to cut corners. The result in not only diminished quality but a decline in style and innovation. For those who crave a wider palette from which to build a wardrobe, vintage is a fabulous resource.”
As I am thinking about all the dispirited racks and racks of sameness in the department stores and the malls, I reflect on Bloomsbury artist Vanessa Bell, sister the famous Bloomsbury writer, Virginia Woolf. Vanessa has been a muse of mine for many years now. She sewed many of her own clothes. She wore clothing that represented her strong character, her individuality. She loved color, design, simplicity in form, and she chose to reflect this in her style of dress. When she went to France, she always bought fabric that she could use for her clothing.
I think it is important to think about how we purchase our clothing. Are we buying without care or thought? Do we need all this stuff? My hunch is that if we were more discerning, we could have more fun with our looks and be better consumers at the same time.
I have some ideas I would like to explore. I have some very unique textiles and I would like to try using some of them for clothing. This wool jacquard piece above is a throw that I purchased in Lincoln, Nebraska when I went there for a conference on quilts and their history. I found this in one of the local antique malls. It was one of those “heart” purchases. I actually left it and walked out of the store only to return and purchase it a few minutes later. So please bear with me and do not despair, but I intend to make a wrap skirt with it. I think Vanessa would agree that it would be most suitable for this and that its languishing anymore in a back corner of my cupboard is simply not doing either of us any good.
The reverse side is on the right and could be used as the outer part of the skirt.
The fringe around the edge has all kinds of possibilities, perhaps even part of the hemline. I am dancing around so many ideas that are not letting me go. This is the beginning…..I want to explore this in depth, the re-purposing of vintage/antique textiles into unique and quality pieces that will hopefully be timeless and unrivaled in quality. It is an experiment, but one with possibility and promise I think.
Good for you for up-cycling and altering garments. I’m a student in Textile Design and am doing the same thing. I often find really interesting things in chrity (thrift) shops here in England, With a few textile skills we can convert something interesting into something that is unique. I love having things that are statement pieces.
I have a shawl quite similar to yours which I had thought about halving to make into a sensible width scarf. I was planning on using the idnigo vat for the other half.
I think I’ll wait now to see how yours works out.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I am guessing this is becoming a trend that hopefully will stay. It is amazing what one can find in thrift and used clothing shops. Instead of racks of the same items one can find a unique piece on every hanger. What a treat.
I would love to hear what you are studying in textile design. I am curious also that your term for the re-purposing of clothing is called up-cycling. I intend to get going on this piece tomorrow and will put it in a post when I am finished. I would be interested to see what you do with yours too.
Up-cycling, rather than re-cycling. Upcycling is to give added value to a garment whether it is redesigning a man’s suit into a woman’s or simply embellishing a garment or cutting it down to my size. I’m a UK 8/10.
I think it is also a matter of investigating one’s clothes collection and recombining things, assing scarves, jewellery etc. I’ve just spent an hour hanging things together.
I’ve just found two interesting second hand men’s printed cotton waistcoats, which go very nicely over a jersey boy-friend jacket. They need bust darts and darts in the satin backs to make them fit a small woman, but I was delighted how well one looked and how interesting they made a plain jacket with a roll neck top undrneath. I’ll try the other over a tailored jacket to see what transpires. I often admire men’s waistcoats in the charity/thrift shops, but their size has been off putting. They also make tailored jackets look more casual and interesting, which gives the more formal a broader usage.
Fun!
You have some intriguing and fun ideas. Now by men’s cotton printed waistcoats, are you referring to those of the 1700′s? I am trying to picture this. It sounds like a really great way to layer some items that need a little layering to make them fit into today’s styling. How about emailing me a photo?
I also like the word upcycling. I guess we use varous terms here for the same thing.
Waistcoats as in vests which button up the front. One of my favorites is a Dutch one with brocade and lovely “gold” buttons up the front. That does look like thos of the 1780s or so, but not as long.
Layers are very useful at present as the weather is bitter (for England) at the moment.
Thanks for the information. I love layering clothes anytime. I hope you received the pdf I sent on Manon Gignoux.
You are not a fabric “snob”. I was talking to someone yesterday and she and I were lamenting that garments were being made out of acetate and not beautiful, natural fibers. And the consumers are paying just as much for them.
Frankly, they look pretty but, feel disgusting…so unnatural.
I think your idea of using vintage fabric to re purpose it for clothes is a perfect idea. I adore the Bloomsbury group!
All the creative talent. I think Vanessa would be quite pleased at your decision : )
I agree that acetate feels disgusting. It must be cheap to produce and that is why it is being used to such excess. There is nothing more beautiful than natural fibers. I think my favorite is linen in all its different weights. I am also glad to know that the Bloomsbury Group has such a strong following.
Making clothing is an important part of sustainability for me. There is an incredible amount of waste in our culture when it comes to clothing.
I think this will make a gorgeous skirt. My mother and I have both made clothing from vintage tablecloths and been very pleased with the results. I’ve been planning on doing more. You’re going to have company going down this road!
I am so glad to have some company with me on this journey of re purpose for clothing. It really is astonishing the huge amounts of clothing being manufactured and marketed in zillions of stores these days. It seems so ridiculous, and truly a waste of resources. I will be excited to see what you create and how you use different things. There is so much that we can use in our culture with a little imagination and know-how.
You are giving me so much to think about! I love your plan to make that lovely throw into a skirt that you will wear out into the world. Also, your words here make me realize that one of main reasons I love movies that take place between 1900 and 1950 is that I adore the sets and the clothes. I love to peek into a 1930′s kitchen or see an actress in a 1940′s dress with a thin flowered bib-apron on top of it in a mismatched pattern from the dress, and yet, at the same time, very subtly matched after all. And I love your use of the word “muse” ~ so poetic!
Oh, and I want to ask, where does rayon fit into the fabric world? Most of my clothes are 100% cotton, but I have several dresses that are rayon. I’m very attracted to these dresses as they have a 1940′s look, they did not cost very much, but they wrinkle easily. Wiki says rayon is “neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic fiber.” I’ve heard it referred to as “art silk.”
xo Kari
I have always enjoyed sewing dresses out of rayon. About twenty years ago, I made at least five dresses from rayon that I wore on a regular basis. Then one day I decided to clean out my closet and took these and some other items to a resale shop and sold them. I regret doing this because I would still be wearing these dresses if I had kept them. A few were actually made from vintage patterns from the 40′s and they felt so nice to wear. I love the way rayon moves with the body, very feminine.
I used to work in a fabric store that exclusively sold fabrics for garment sewing. We called rayon a natural fiber. But I did a little research and here is what I found:
Rayon was the first manufactured fiber. Originally, it was called “artificial silk”. In 1924, the term rayon was officially adopted by the textile industry. Unlike most man-made fibers, rayon is not synthetic. It is made from wood pulp, a naturally-occurring cellulose-based raw material. As a result, rayon’s properties are more similar to those of natural cellulosic fibers, such as cotton and linen. So I think it is safe to say it could be termed a natural fiber.
Just a little food for thought: rayon is a beautiful fabric (flattering to wear, easy to sew, comfortable), but there are a lot of chemicals used in the processing to get to fabric. Bamboo is the same at the moment.
Thanks, Deb. I guess I should have guessed this considering how it is made. i will have to use up what I have and then reconsider ever using it again unless I can find something older. I knew bamboo was not too good, but I can’t recall where I read this.
This was a good read… I agree with what you say about the flood of “fast clothing” in the shops, I often think it´s not so bad I don´t have much money, I wouldn´t want to take it to those places anyway.. When I see photos of Virginia W. + Vanessa B., I always admire their clothes – that throw fits in perfectly…
Thank you! I could actually see Vanessa or Virginia wearing that piece. Maybe that is why I find it so appealing. Buying clothing these days is not a happy experience. It is quite dreadful, and I would rather get back to making clothes again as I used to do or buying vintage or used.
i agree, there is nothing to buy in the regular stores for the most part….no wonder the retail business is so poor. crappier and crappier with no personality. funny mu son has started to buy his clothes in thrift ans vintage shops. he says the same thing.
Your son is very wise, and I would bet that he looks unique and more interesting than most of the people who choose to buy new. There are some great finds in thrift and vintage shops these days, and I find they are springing up everywhere I turn in all the neighborhoods. It definitely is becoming a trend, a healthy one.
I love this idee and think it has a lot of possibilities. Since a long time i buy cloths in thriftshops. Beautiful qualities of fabric for allmost nothing. My favorits are linnen, wool and silk. As a felter i’m used to working with these materials and feel no need to buy expensive things of bad feel.
I’m with you on this journey, very interested.
XXXm
Your comment was greatly appreciated. How nice to know others are doing this all over. Please tell me where you live. Perhaps we in America think we are unique in our efforts to buy in thrift shops, but I think it is a custom that may have a longer history than we can guess. Linen is my favorite fabric, and I puchased some wonderful old French linens at a sale that I intend to use for summer clothing. I will post on that another time. I looked at your blog too! Beautiful photos and colors. Thank you for sharing and I hope you visit again and leave a comment.
I guess that I am a “snob” as well. Nothing please the senses but the real thing. And that throw is incredible and I really like the idea of using it a a skirt. That means you can enjoy it all the more. Using the fringe as the hem line reminds me of this lovely piece of fabric that I made into a skirt in high school. The hem line was fringe. I could get away with a little higher hemline with the excuse that the fringe was at the “correct” length. I loved that skirt and can still see it and all the many colors it had.
I enjoy your musings!
I am happy to see you are back. I will post this wool skirt after I finish it. Then I probably will move on to some items in some of my older linen pieces for spring and summer. I also have a vintage duster that I would like to remake so I can get some use out of this too.
What a brilliant post! I am looking forward to seeing what happens to the throw, if I know you and your creative skills, it will be a real statement piece. I too dispair at the shoddy workmanship, poor materials and above all, the wasteful, transitory nature of current consumer-fashions. I adore vintage clothes, the quality of the garments, especially pre-1950s garments, is s much better, even the humblest of items are constructed well from appropriate natural materials. I really need to get my act together and learn how to sew! I like Suella’s term up-cycling! Happy burns night, Lois xx
I agree with you about vintage clothing. I would rather look for something from those eras any day. The fabric, design, and workmanship is exceptional compared with the garments in the stores today. Everything seems so cheaply made now and then there is the bland sameness from one store to the next. Of course you deal in exquisite pieces everyday in your business, so you have developed a keen eye for the best. I will have to see what you are selling these days. Hope you had a great time at R. Burns night.
I think that beautiful fabric will make a fabulous wrap skirt. It is a pity that many people do not know nor care about the quality of the garments they are wearing. We’ve become too much of a cash and carry, cheap stuff society. It’s not just clothing it seems to be everything. Not enough people appreciate things that are made well and to last.
I think you are so right, and what you wrote was so well expressed. We have become a cheap society that buys and discards all too quickly. We have lost our sense of value and regard for things. For one, there is way too much stuff in all the stores, racks and racks and shelf after shelf of things, items that never seem to last long or mean anything to us. However, I think this is changing. I think people are going back to items that are handmade or made with care. I have also noticed that the younger generation is getting back into sewing. I think everyone is so sick of all the duplicated items everywhere with no thought of individuality or style or purpose. We have become robotic consumers and I think a few of us have begun to revolt in our own quiet way. Have you read Elaine Lipson’s blog and her slow cloth principles? She is under my blogroll listed as red cloth studio.
I live in the Netherlands on the German border.
Cause i join textileacademy in Belgium weekly i can easily visit thriftshops in these tree countries and every summer in France where i teach felting workshops.
Brocantes in each country are very different and depend on styles of 30 to 40 years ago. People don’t like those oldfashioned clothes anymore, but theyre often of the finest quality. I love searching for clothes and fabrics there.
This theme you started here is very interesting and perfect for the time.
I love the phrase upcycling, because thats what its meant to be, making more and better of something.
XXXm
I loved reading your comment and finding out where you were from. It is a very close area to where my father’s family was from, on the edge of Germany and the Netherlands, Friesland. Are you familiar with this area?
I imagine you have many wonderful brocantes that you visit. Some of my best finds were from France, including a gorgeous blue mohair sweater that I found in a thrift shop and still wear a lot in the fall and winter. I will never give it up because it is one of my favorite sweaters. I am surprised that people don’t like these clothes because there is so much one can do with them in a very creative way. Perhaps this will change over time. I would love to hear more about what you bring home from these wonderful sales in terms of clothing and fabric. You have a wonderful website. If you send me photos of your work, I would love to do a post on you sometime! Please stay in touch, Martine.