Do you also notice the decline in quality on clothes? Actually in everything, but this is a blog about fashion so we are keeping the niche.
My Thrift Store Treasure
I’ve been a Thrift store enthusiast since I was a teenager. I have two skirts I paid R$1 each, equivalent a 0.17 US Dollars, 12 years ago. There’s a chance those skirts are older than me. They still look great. Can you imagine buying anything today, and that piece of clothing lasting you 5 years? Can you imagine 30?
I can’t. And it bothers me. A lot.
The Impact of Fast Fashion
If you have a spare 20 min I recommend this video.
It explains why even companies known for good quality in the past are switching to lower quality materials. And we should all know the answer for that. Late capitalism. Where the only thing that really matter is:
Profit
You can argue that Fast fashion is a good thing for poorer people. It made fashion and style affordable. And yes, that’s true. But I would counter-argue with a James Baldwin quote:
“Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.”
Or with the Boots theory. Where Terry Pratchett in his novel explains how someone rich spends less money buying a more expensive pair of boots. While someone who can’t afford the expensive pair will spend more money on boots throughout their life. And still have their feet wet all the time.
But this is a crochet blog isn’t it? Yes. But I swear they are related. Cause this was one of the things that motivated me to start creating my own pieces. The best way to ensure high-quality items is to DIY the heck out of it. Then you know for sure that the materials used are good quality. And only one person was exploited in the making. You.
I had this post ready for a couple days when Bernadette Banner posted this video
So I’m back here to add it to this because it reflects exactly how I feel. It also has valuable information on how to spot high-quality clothes. I could just rewrite all the information on these two videos and pretend it was all me. However, I prefer to redirect you to a good content creator. This way, I can give them credit.
With all of that, I would like to know, or maybe just make you think:
Why not spend more time and money shopping at thrifting stores? Even though fast fashion got there too. Or invest in a higher quality item? Keeping in mind that higher price is not equal higher quality. Why not support a local maker instead?
Even better, why not create your own garments? It only requires patience really, skills we acquire during the process. I will always encourage the DIY fashion. But that is another blog post.
Why are we buying fast fashion? (feel free to leave an answer in the comments, if you have one.)