One of my objectives during my journey was to reduce the amount of clothing I own keeping only high quality items. However, this goal seems a bit too difficult to reach. Last week I met with my sister, Barbara Henry for an interview about her experience throughout the years as an expert seamstress. The interview was conducted at a new restaurant, Finns Southern Country Restaurant. Although it wasn't on purpose it was actually a fitting place (no pun intended, really). The restaurant's building was the site of offices for the cotton mill that many years ago managed the vast complex that is now the Germantown Mill Lofts.
Barbara has been sewing since she was ten. (I'm going to leave out how many years she has been sewing - she might kill me!) She was self-taught to sew a multitude of things. She focuses mainly on clothing but does some home decorations. Barbara is extremely talented at sewing. I'm not just saying this because she is my sister. She has been making elaborate wedding dresses, clothing and furniture covers for family and friends for years. Plus, she has won a LOT of ribbons at the Kentucky State Fair for many different textile crafts including sewing throughout the years.
I asked her if there have been changes to fabric in the years she has been sewing. Fabric stores used to organize the selection of fabrics better. They would have sections of the more classic basic fabrics such as broadcloth, poplin and twill. Now it seems very much mixed together in fabric stores.. Plus, fabric stores put a lot of emphasis on fleece. Fleece is much easier for people new to sewing. Generally, the variety of fabrics is terrible. This seems to make sense if fast fashion around the word is turning out clothes so fast it's not too much of a leap to think that is happening with fabric as well. These trends in fabric availability started about 15 years ago. Again, seems to be influenced on the rapid rise of fast fashion. Also, if I thought at any point that the solution to counter fast fashion might be to pick up sewing (which really I'm not going to do if I'm honest) these observations about fabric have changed my mind. Years ago Barbara said it was cheaper to make your own clothes. But now since clothes are so cheap and the fabrics are pretty lacking, there's really no cost savings to be had here.
In thinking about quality I asked Barbara about which fabrics are more durable, how to identify a fabric's quality and how to keep clothes lasting longer. Denim and corduroy are two fabrics that are durable. These are heavy fabrics too. You don't want a fabric that pills after washing. (Of course this is hard to really test since you have already bought the item!) To keep fabric/clothing from lasting longer wash your clothes in cold water and don't put them in the dryer. The dryer is the #1 reason for damage to fabric. Which means you'll have to iron.
We took some sample t-shirts to compare. Two from Target and two from Pact (fair trade-organic cotton). Comparing the stitching of the first two they were pretty similar. However, there was more stitching on the Pact t-shirts. The same Pack t-shirt was also holding up well in the wash (not too pilly). But, of the other two shirts the Pack one didn't really hold up well against the Target brand. The Target brand was at least a year old and I've worn it lots of time. No noticeable pilling. But the Pack t-Shirt had been washed twice and it was already showing signs of wear. I get the feeling buying Fair Trade makes you feel better about your purchase but doesn't necessarily mean the quality is superior. One thing Barbara pointed out during the interview was that fabric was getting thinner. I've noticed that a lot after she pointed that out. I realized that when I buy t-shirts at Target I normally always have to wear an undershirt (usually a tank under the t-shirt). The t-shirts are too shear without it.
In buying clothes in recent years Barbara has noticed a decline in general quality on brands that you would think are immune to the fast fashion industry. Brands that are actually pricier have quality issues. I've heard that expressed many times in my research.
So, where to go next? I'm going to research fabric a little more in depth next. Stay tuned....
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