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Avoiding fast fashion

November 2, 2018

 

Been getting better at shopping. I’m not a fan of fast fashion – especially since visiting countries where you know the workers get paid pennies a day to make clothes. Living in the van means I only have limited space for clothes which is great because instead of buying cheap stuff I try to save up and spend a bit more on things that will last. I have a ‘capsule wardrobe’ (or cupboard to be more precise). I still have some things from the high st. because I can’t afford everything all at once. So the plan is that if I do buy cheap clothes I keep them and wear them until they die before replacing. Anyway – it’s so hot here and loose cotton is the only way forward so I bought a couple of cheap tunic tops. Of course when I got them back they were too small ??‍♀️. So I’ve spent the last couple of evenings modifying them: letting out the sleeves and the bust. I found this lovely fabric shop and bought a length of fabric that I’ll add to one of the tops. It makes me realise how important it is to put some effort into something (rather than just money) because even though these tops (I’ll post photos later in the week) were cheap, the time and effort put into modifying makes them unique to me and I want to look after them more. Perhaps this is the problem with capitalism as a whole – we’re never entirely satisfied with anything we’ve bought because deep down we know we’ve not properly earned it, so all too soon we want something else. Whenever I’ve grown my own food I’ve scraped mold off it to eat rather than throw it away – I don’t do that with Tesco carrots. My hand-sewing isn’t brilliant at all, but I’m getting great satisfaction from taking time over it. It’s a different kind of pay-off. #india #fashion #fastfashion #fastfashionsucks #handmade #modified #fabrics #handstitching #sewing #sewingnovice #kolkata #bazaar #market #fabric #exploretocreate #slowlife #slowliving #traveller #travel

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