Making My Own Wardrobe
In 2022, I set a goal of making 50% of the clothes I wear. I didn’t make that goal, not even close. But, I loved getting back to apparel design and construction. I set that same goal for 2023 and I’m getting much closer. People are often curious about how and why I am doing this, especially given how affordable fast fashion makes clothes and how expensive apparel fabric can be. As a purely financial decision, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. So, I thought I’d explain a bit more about my reasons and what I’ve learned so far. Reason #1: Resisting the Consumption Urge of Late Capitalism Okay, so not everyone spends their work days thinking through the evils of capitalism, but as a sociologist I have spent a good deal of time thinking about how capitalism, mass production, and fast fashion has shaped my relationship to clothes (and everything else, really). Increasingly, I have been thinking about how to make my life more local, smaller in scale, smaller in impact. It’s not easy and, of cou