Tag Archives: slow fashion october

Slow Fashion October, Week 1: INTRODUCTIONS

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Slow Fashion October, Week 1: INTRODUCTIONS

Today’s the official start of Slow Fashion October 2016, and I’m even more excited than I was last year. My closet and my thoughts have both evolved considerably over the past year, and I’ll be sharing about that in assorted ways throughout the month. But today I just want to get us going!

In my outline for the month, I set out for this first week to be about INTRODUCTIONS — of ourselves and ideas — whether you post once or many times, here and/or @slowfashionoctober, or on your own blog or Instagram feed:

Who are you, and what does slow fashion mean to you. What got you started thinking about it — people, books, films, etc. Are your concerns environmental, humanitarian, financial? Most important: How does your thinking factor into your life and closet. Also, any special plans or projects for Slotober, and what are you hoping to get out of it?

In the weeks ahead, we’ll delve into the environmental and humanitarian crises around fast fashion, how to do right by the clothes and materials in our possession, the joys and perils of handmade, and the challenge of getting to the bottom of where things really come from. But the overarching question for the moment is what are we even talking about when we talk about “slow fashion,” and why are we talking about it at all?

I don’t believe there is any one true definition of (or path toward) a slow fashion wardrobe. It can mean a million different things to a million different people. But I believe the core of it is simply mindfulness. Educating ourselves about the problems of fast fashion, then learning to ask ourselves about any garment we intend to make or buy, or otherwise acquire:

– How much do I know about where it came from and what it’s made of?
– And do I care about it enough to take responsibility for its existence on this planet?

There’s so much more I want to say about what slow fashion maybe is or isn’t, and if I try to pack any of it into this post, I’m aware that each sentence is really a post or day or week of its own. So I’m going to leave it there for the moment, because in my view that’s really the nut of the thing. Being mindful. Asking questions. Making conscious choices.

WHY

As far as why this squishy term has even come into existence, there is so much out there about what’s wrong with fast fashion — the human and environmental costs of our gluttony — that it’s hard to know where to begin. But if you haven’t seen them, I recommend these two for starters:

1) No one wants your old clothes — the best standalone article I’ve seen about the problems with the glut of clothing already on this planet.

2) Unravel — an incredibly thought-provoking short video about one shredding-recycling plant in India and the workers’ attempts to understand where all of these clothes are coming from.

ME

The main thing I want to say at the outset about me personally and my outlook on all of this is that for me it’s a joyful thing, building a slow fashion wardrobe. It’s about appreciation, not deprivation. About the thrill of making my own clothes, supporting small businesses and contributing to the resurgence of the garment industry in the US in numerous ways. Does it mean the world to me that, in doing these things, I also avoid supporting slave labor and environmental waste as much as possible? Yes, it absolutely means the world to me. As I’m fond of saying, I want to feel good in my clothes — and that doesn’t just mean feeling cute. It means feeling proud of my part in them, and free of concern (again, “as much as possible”) that any humans were harmed in their making. It’s not easy, and it definitely is a slow process, but I find it rewarding beyond words.

ALL OF US

So this a month to talk about the choices we all face. It’s a long road from first awareness of the issues to a slow fashion wardrobe (however we define it!), and we’re all at very different places on that road. So I’m asking again that everyone keep that in mind, as well. We have different resources and outlooks and skills and demands on our time. What’s possible for one person will not be for another, and nobody should feel judged — by themselves or anyone else in the conversation. Mindfulness above all as we head into a world-bending month of conversation, yeah?

So here we go! See you in the comments, on the @slowfashionoctober page, and as much as possible on the whole of the #slowfashionoctober feed*. If you post to your own blog throughout the month, please include a link to the Slow Fashion October outline, and feel free to leave a comment here with a link to your post so others can see!

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*I know I said on IG before that we should use #slowfashionoctober2016 but I take it back. People will wind up using both and then nobody will know which one to pay the most attention to, and it will make my job harder. So let’s just stick with #slowfashionoctober.

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PREVIOUSLY: Slow Fashion October 2016 (master plan)

Slow Fashion October 2016 (master plan)

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Slow Fashion October 2016

If there’s one thing I learned from the incredible experience that was Slow Fashion October last year (barely glimpsed in the pics above), it’s that it’s an even more complicated conversation than I realized — and I knew it was complicated! But it is, plainly, a hard one to talk about. It’s hard even to say what “slow fashion” is, as it’s different for every person. I don’t think it’s at all important to agree on either a definition or a list of shoulds or musts or don’ts. What’s important is having the big messy beautiful discussion — right out in public — and getting each other thinking. So, difficult or not, bring it on! I couldn’t be more excited for season two.

Last year I set up a framework of loose weekly themes to give the discussion a tiny bit of structure (Small, Loved, Worn and Known). I liked the theme approach, and think you all did too, but I feel like they were so loose that some of what seemed obvious to me actually seemed non-existent to others. Such as the fact that the conversation is not just about handmade — it’s about all the ways (and reasons!) we can approach a slow-fashion wardrobe. When I first created the @slowfashionoctober Instagram account last year and had to reduce the idea to one sentence for the profile, I wrote:

A celebration of the small-batch, handmade, second-hand, well-loved, long-worn, known-origins wardrobe.

I thought that was pretty good! And I still think looking at it from all of those angles is key. So for this year’s themes, I’m making them slightly more specific to (what I see as) the primary facets of slow fashion. Here goes:

Week 1, Oct 1-9: INTRODUCTIONS
Who are you, and what does slow fashion mean to you. What got you started thinking about it — people, books, films, etc. Are your concerns environmental, humanitarian, financial? Most important: How does your thinking factor into your life and closet. Also, any special plans or projects for Slotober, and what are you hoping to get out of it?
+ My Slotober project for 2016
+ Elsewhere: Slow Fashion October edition 1

Week 2, Oct 10-16: LONG-WORN
How can we make the most of the clothes already on the planet — from taking care of and mending and wearing things longer, to thrifting, swapping, heirlooms, hand-me-downs, alterations and refashioning.
+ 21st-century thrifting: On the hunt for Dries Van Noten
+ My week in the Craftlands
+ Elsewhere: Slow Fashion October edition 2

Week 3, Oct 17-23: HANDMADE
How do you understand your style, choose projects well, advance your skills, get the right fit, and keep things interesting and long-lasting at the same time. What are your go-to patterns and most successful garments. How do you avoid mindless acquisition of yarn and fabric, or making “too much.” How do you make time and space for making — and why?
+ Why I make my clothes
+ Walking a mile in self-made shoes
+ Elsewhere: Slow Fashion October edition 3

Week 4, Oct 24-31: KNOWN ORIGINS
Good (especially good and affordable) sources of yarn and fabric with traceable origins. And for the things we buy, favorite sources: from small-batch designer-producers to fashion companies trying to do the right thing in a transparent way.
+ How much can we know about where clothes come from?
+ Is it more expensive to make your own clothes?

Two issues came up in the past few days’ discussion on IG that I especially want to encourage anyone with knowledge or advice to weigh in on along the way: 1) the challenge of kids and fast fashion, and 2) plus-size options, both in terms of patterns and ready-to-wear.

So, just like last year, this is a framework that you can choose to use or ignore as you like, but it’s here if it’s helpful. I think this year I’m also going to post regular (daily?) questions along the way that you can either respond to in the comments or use as a prompt for a post of your own. Maybe you respond to one a week or maybe all of them — totally and completely up to you.

There is no right or expected way to participate — chime in wherever and however and as frequently or infrequently as suits you. If you’re posting on your blog, use pingbacks or leave links in the comments on my posts here so people can see what you’re writing. On social media, use hashtag #slowfashionoctober to contribute and follow along. And I hope you’ll also strike up the conversation in your 3-dimensional world throughout the month.

The most important thing I can emphasize is this isn’t about judgment. We all have different opinions and resources and time and wishes and skills — we are each on our own path. Like I said at the start of this post, what matters is just to be talking and thinking about it, and doing whatever is desirable and possible for you.

I can’t wait to hear from you!

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PREVIOUSLY: Slow Fashion October 2015

Pictured are some of the contributions from last year that got highlighted in the @slowfashionoctober feed: top left, top right, middle left, middle right, bottom left, bottom right

Elsewhere: Slotober edition 4

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Elsewhere: Slotober edition 4

I know I keep saying this, but the conversation that has taken place over the course of Slow Fashion October has knocked my socks off. It’s obviously a subject I care about 365 days of the year, and hope that everyone will carry on with the conversation in all sorts of ways, but I think there’s clearly value in making it such a focus for a month of time. I haven’t managed to do even a fraction* of what I hoped to do with it this year, so I’m already looking forward to doing it again next year. Thank you so much to everyone who has participated in so many different ways. If you haven’t spent much time reading through the #slowfashionoctober feed on Instagram, I highly recommend it, as well as my assorted thoughts that have been posted on the @slowfashionoctober account.

Here are final links:

– Thanks to the copious comments added to my Monday post, that has turned into a killer list of conscientious yarn sources and some fabric options, too — please take time to read through those suggestions

– Great roundups of traceable fabrics here and here and here

– And more here, along with links to ethical fashion brands for finished goods

– Concise roundup of the most referenced educational resources here

– I’m particularly happy to have learned about Offset Warehouse and want to pass on this link of theirs about where and how some of their fabric is made

– Loved hearing every detail about how the wool is handled at Blacker Yarns

– And I love this Atlantic article about L.L. Bean boots, still made in Maine (thx, Liesl)

For those who don’t want the conversation to end, it doesn’t have to and won’t! I’ll still be posting thoughts and links regularly, as always, and there are lots of IG hashtags to keep an eye on: #slowfashion, #slowfashionmovement, #fashrev, #knowyoursource, #handmadewardrobe, #memadeeveryday and many more.

Thank you again, and have a great weekend!

*My one regret is not having finished my Slotober Frock. It feels like a bathetic ending, but rushing it seemed wrong — and I will obviously post about whatever happens next, regardless.

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere, Slotober edition 3

Photos left to right: Offset Warehouse, Blacker Yarns/A Playful Day, The Atlantic

Slow Fashion October, Week 5: KNOWN — and a roundup of yarn resources

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Slow Fashion October, Week 5: KNOWN — and a roundup of yarn resources

It’s Week 5 of Slow Fashion October already, our final week (such as it is), and our theme is KNOWN. Let’s talk about favorite sustainable resources / the changing concept of “local” / traceable fabric and yarn origins / traceable garment origins / reference books, films, videos. How much do we know, where did we find or learn it, and how can we share both the resources and the knowledge?

At the core of “slow” anything — slow food or slow fashion — is knowing (i.e, asking) where things come from. Buying meat from a nearby farmer that was butchered just down the road is a whole different exercise from buying meat in a chain grocery store and having no idea who raised it, under what conditions; what factory it was processed in, and when; how it was handled between that factory and you. No way of knowing what exactly it is you’re buying or who and what you’re supporting with your money, other than the grocery chain’s CEO. Same thing goes for clothes. Once you start asking where your shirt or your fabric or your yarn comes from, you become more aware of the entire chain of farmers and mills and factories and global shipping companies and distributors and retailers that all have a role in getting fleece or plant fiber from the farm to your closet or your stash. And you start to make more thoughtful decisions about what you put your money into. Or you try to, anyway.

The fact is, knowing is hard — both the finding things out and the knowing what to do about what you know or don’t know. I’m exhausted and limp-brained right now trying to formulate thoughts about it. Buying clothing from a small-batch designer with in-house production instead of a mall store cuts out a lot questions and middlemen to wonder about, but they’re still sewing with fabric they probably can’t tell you much about. Fabric is the hardest, which you know if you sew. Maybe you know something about the fabric company, maybe they’ll tell you what country the fabric was made in, and you can take their word (or not) for whether that distant factory operates in ethical ways, paying their workers a living wage and providing a safe working environment. But even then, where did the fiber come from? How was it dyed? Once you start pulling that thread (no pun intended) you realize how long and tangled it is.

Yarn is the easiest. Not all yarns are transparent — not by a long shot — but a lot of them are, and listing some of those is a thing I can do! I’m focusing on the US because that’s where I am, but what I would love to see this week is a whole lot of listing and sharing. So here’s my sliding-scale overview of some conscientious yarn options, which I truly hope you’ll build on:

– Farm yarns: As I mentioned last week, farm yarns — yarns sold by the farmers who raised the animals — can be found at farmers’ markets and fiber festivals everywhere. When you buy directly from a farmer (especially a local one whose farm you might even visit), you not only support the farmer directly, but you can get to know basically everything about that yarn, from the specific breed of animal/fiber to how and where the yarn was milled. Farm yarns vary greatly in terms of how big the batches are and what the price is, depending on how big their flock is, how far the fleece has to travel (round-trip) to be processed, and whether they’re only selling it themselves or whether there’s distribution involved. You’ve got tiny little enterprises like Sawkill Farm or Green Bow Farm (or those without even a website) at one end of the spectrum and Imperial Ranch Yarns at the other end, where they’re producing significant amounts of yarn and distributing it through yarn stores everywhere, but it’s still ultimately farm yarn, bearing the label of the ranch it comes from.

– Boutique yarns (for lack of a better term): I’m thinking mainly about a breed of yarn store owners who’ve developed their own small-batch yarn, working with farmers and/or a mill. Examples: 1) Heirloom from Fancy Tiger Crafts, who developed their all-Romney yarn in conjunction with Elemental Affects. Jaime and Amber can tell you anything you want to know about the two farms where the sheep are raised and the mill where it’s spun.  2) Snoqualmie Valley Yarn, which Anna at Tolt Yarn and Wool had spun from the previously unused fleece of a neighbor farmer’s BFL–Clun Forest sheep. 3) Several yarns, at this point, from Kristine Vejar at A Verb for Keeping Warm, who likewise is gathering fleece from a variety of compelling sources and having these site- and breed-specific yarns milled, which she then naturally dyes. These include Pioneer, Big Sky, Clover and Flock. 4) She’s not a yarn store owner, but I would also put wool guru Clara Parkes’ Clara Yarn in this category, among many others.

– Mill yarns: Just like a lot of farms produce and sell their own yarn, so do some mills. Harrisville and Green Mountain Spinnery are two prominent examples of mills that spin yarn for other well-known brands as well as for their own line. Mill yarns can be a little more affordable than smaller-batch farm and boutique yarns because there’s one less link in the supply chain. Mini-mills do tiny batches of yarn from a wide variety of fleeces and farms because they don’t require the same volume of fleece in order to spin a batch. For instance, you never know what Abundant Earth Fiber might have on offer at any given time.

– Brooklyn Tweed: An example of a small yarn company with a little bit higher volume leading to a more affordable yarn but still with lots of transparency. BT discloses the entire supply chain of the yarn — from the scouring plant in Texas to the dye house in Pennsylvania to the mill in New Hampshire. We also know that the fleece is a mix of Columbia and Targhee from sheep raised in Wyoming — the only thing we don’t know is exactly what farms the fleece comes from.

– Quince and Co: A little further down the transparency spectrum, Quince yarns are a great and very well-priced option for anyone wanting to know that what they’re buying was subject to US laws and restrictions, and not shipped in from around the globe. Bigger yarn companies buy fleece from brokers. The wool comes from all over the world and is sorted by color and diameter and other qualities, as opposed to by breed or point of origin. So when you see “100% wool” on a yarn label, that’s really all you know — it could come from anywhere or be from any number of kinds of sheep. Quince, on the other hand, uses only US-raised fleece for their wool yarns, so while we don’t know the specific breed, much less the specific farm(s) raising it, we do know it’s all sourced and processed in the US.

Obviously, these yarns are a drop in the bucket. I’m leaving out dozens of great, affordable, transparent options. I would love it if you would enumerate them in the comments! Especially those specific to other parts of the world.

And will someone PLEASE do a similar roundup of conscientious, traceable fabric options? I’m begging you.

EDITED TO ADD: I realized this morning I left out the entire category of hand-dyers. It wasn’t an intentional omission but I admit it may have subconsciously been due to the fact that the hand-dyeing subset of the yarn business is complicated. Not a lot of dyers are developing their own yarns or even particularly mindful of origin. When asked, many or most couldn’t tell you where the fleece came from — they’re buying finished, undyed yarn from mills or brokers based on a huge variety of factors and preferences, and origin may or may not be one of them. On top of that, many hand-dyers use primarily superwash wools, which are very heavily processed. Hand-dyers are lovely people who adore yarn — some of my best friends are dyers! — and when you buy from them, you’re supporting small/local businesses, and that’s all good. Several dyers focus on natural (non-superwash) fibers, and there are some that offer known-origins yarns but the ones that spring to mind did so in the past and have moved away from that level of specificity. So if you want to buy from a hand-dyer and you have questions about their yarns or their process, check their websites for details and/or ask them.

EDITED AGAIN TO ADD: I’ve highlighted four dyers on Instagram this afternoon.

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PREVIOUSLY in Slow Fashion October: Elsewhere, Slotober edition 3

Photos © Anna Dianich / @toltyarnandwool

Elsewhere: Slotober edition 3

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Elsewhere: Slotober edition 3

The discussion around Slow Fashion October has gotten so meaty, and I just continue to be so inspired and in awe of it all, and so thankful to everyone who has contributed. This week’s links are genuinely important, taken on the whole, so I hope you’ll take some time with them. And also with the few things I’ve shared on the @slowfashionoctober feed, if not the entirety of the #slowfashionoctober hashtag this week. So much to think about—

– “The next time you’re about to buy something, ask yourself this: Where will this piece of clothing go after I no longer want it?” <— If you read nothing else this weekend, please read this (And if you haven’t watched this beautiful and eye-opening video, do that next)

– “I’m slowly but surely drifting away from the idea that once the last loose end has been woven in, a garment is finished.”

– “One thing he talks about is taking time to fully have an experience, just focusing on what you’re doing instead of already planning the next thing you’re going to do after it. I want to do craft like that.”

– “I like the idea of this shirt getting worn, loved and stitched as the years go by … growing better, stronger and more loved with each stitch and adventure.”

– “That’s what makes a good sweater great … knitting it for someone you love.”

– In the absence of my sashiko tutorial, I give you this looser one that posted on Design Sponge earlier this month: Three easy ways to mend fabric, inspired by Japanese textiles. (thx, ashima71) (I did manage to restock the sashiko thread, at least, so you can find all of the colors, minus navy, back in the webshop. Along with some other quality, handcrafted gems.)

– And speaking of not-quite-tutorials, upcycling, and hand-stitched denim, don’t miss Gridjunky’s notes on his drawstring bag

Happy weekend, everyone! I hope we’ll be seeing some of you at Fiber in the ’Boro!

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere

Photos left to right: Design Sponge, Project Stash, Gridjunky

Slow Fashion October, Week 4: WORN

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Slow Fashion October, Week 4: WORN

Happy Week 4 of Slow Fashion October, where our theme is WORN — i.e. heirlooms / second-hand / mending / caring for things / laundering for longevity / design for longevity (bucking trends, quality materials …). Longevity is an overarching theme of the slow fashion discussion, but it’s not just about choosing well-made goods over cheap ones, it’s also about how to care for those things or extend the life of those you already own. There have already been so many great stories shared about treasured garments and their long lives, and I’m hoping to hear lots more, along with lots of thoughts on how to make things last.

My hope had been to have that previously-promised sashiko tutorial for you today, but sometimes I bite off a bit more than I can chew and I’ve definitely done that this month. With everything going on, I haven’t been able to photograph and write that yet, but I will get to it as soon as it’s feasible, I swear.

Meanwhile, I want to point you to my essay from last spring, Make, Knit, Mend, if you haven’t already read it. And I also want to direct your attention to some people who are specifically influential to me and/or in the larger community when it comes to this week’s theme. Images clockwise from top left, this group leans very heavily on the mending end of things, which is just one facet of the week’s theme—

– Tom van Deijnen (aka @tomofholland) runs the Visible Mending Programme and launched the #visiblemending hashtag on Instagram

– Luke Deverell of Darn and Dusted is another huge influence, doing beautiful things to worn-out garments and working to change people’s perceptions of mended clothing — also on IG as @darnanddusted

– Katrina Rodabaugh of Make, Thrift, Mend was mentioned in my Make, Knit, Mend post above — I met her at the embroidermending workshop that inspired that post (and where I did my first patch to those jeans everyone asks about). She’s been making especially great contributions to the #slowfashionoctober feed; see her @katrinarodabaugh page for that

– Molly de Vries, my good friend at Ambatalia (who makes the indispensable Bento Bags) has “the non-disposable life” as her personal mantra and posts a lot on her Instagram feed about her strategies for everything from avoiding take-out waste to laundering her clothes so they’ll last

I can’t wait to hear from you all this week!

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PREVIOUSLY in Slow Fashion October: Slotober Frock step 2: What will it be?

Elsewhere: SFO edition 2

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Elsewhere: Slotober edition 2

Slow Fashion October rages on, to my great delight. Here are some highlights and related links for this week—

– Best, funniest slow fashion-y tale of all time: the conclusion of Eight Yarns, One Sweater (and yay! Kay and Anne are blogging again)

– Lots of people discussing/questioning the kids’ clothing aspect of all of this; I wanted to highlight this blog post of Wilfumina’s ; see also @brienne_moody’s great IG post as well as @xilary’s

– Loved this personal history from Fancy Jaime, one of my handmade heroes

– and seeing the Kollabora team jump in

– Thoughts on slow fashion from a fast-fashion employee

– An episode of Craft in America (recommended by Karin Marie in comments), which I haven’t had a chance to watch but sounds fascinating, Threads

– Same goes for this podcast interview with the founder of Zady (recommended by Beatrice)

– And I’m eager to catch up on the latest contributions on this topic from A Playful Day and Curious Handmade (I need to figure out to work podcast time into my life somehow)

– Favorites from the #slowfashionoctober feed this week include Bristol’s hand-me-down sweater and this extremely dapper fellow (and so many more — please check out the full feed!)

– Two newly launched ventures I want to mention: Sifted aspires to be a slow-fashion directory/resource, and Martha McQuade’s @fiberdestash will help you re-home your stash. I’ve also seen talk of attempts to put together a fabric stash exchange of some kind. Will you all please note any and all resources like this in the comments below?

I also want to congratulate my friends Sam Lamb and Elizabeth Duvivier of Squam fame on the collaboration that’s resulted in their first sewing pattern, the West Water tunic — which felt especially sweet to me since I met Sam at my first Squam (which was also her first Squam) and my cabin (and Anna’s) was West Water. Love all these ladies. Also brand-new are the Fancies’ Fen Pattern, which I’ve been impatiently awaiting for  months, and Jen’s Tamarack Jacket. Can I please have a week to do nothing but sew all day and knit all night??

Bookhou large pocket pouches from Fringe Supply Co.

OK, speaking of known-origin, artisan-made goods, I’m happy to announce that these beloved Bookhou large pocket pouches are finally back in stock at Fringe Supply Co., in a couple of new print variations. Arounna of Bookhou is one of my heroes. She draws her designs, screenprints her fabric, and does all of the cutting, sewing and leatherwork, all in her Toronto studio with the help of her mother on the production end. Beauty, quality, utility and artistry — the whole package. I love being able to say that your support of Fringe Supply Co. not only makes it and this blog possible but also helps to support small maker businesses like Bookhou. Thank you so incredibly much to everyone for that.

I’m off to my very first Rhinebeck!! Have a great weekend, wherever you are.

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere, SFO edition 1

Photos left to right: @brienne_moody, Anne Shayne, @bristolivy