Rabu, 13 Juni 2012

Dressing for less

Dressing for less

By Victoria Wellman

PUBLISHED: 10:19 EST, 12 June 2012 | UPDATED: 04:06 EST, 13 June 2012

Though Americans are keeping their clothing budgets to a minimum these days, the contents of women's closets are more generous than ever according to one fashion enthusiast.

Author Elizabeth L. Cline was at one time as guilty as the next New York woman of stockpiling with hoards of cheaply-made clothing from the likes of Zara, HM and Forever 21.

But now she has penned a book about how bulk manufacturing is not only degrading our wardrobes but damaging the environment and a once thriving garment industry.

Cheap n' cheerful: Mass-produced fashion available at stores like Forever 21, HM and Zara is damaging the environment and society according to one author

Cheap n' cheerful: Mass-produced fashion available at stores like Forever 21, HM and Zara is damaging the environment and society according to one author

The Brooklyn resident began her investigation when she realised one day that her wardrobe was filled with dresses and shirts that lasted no more than two months and ten pairs of the same $7 Kmart canvas flats.

Americans these days, she discovered, spend a meagre $1,700 on their wardrobes annually per household and yet have far more items in the cupboard than in the past.

In contrast, the average middle class woman in 1929 owned just nine outfits.

In Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, the author argues that modern day high fashion for low cost has transformed clothing into disposable goods rather than items we keep and wear multiple times.

Understandably with shops like Target and Urban outfitters churning out the latest, transient trends at cut price costs, it is tempting to nip to the nearest main street and indulge in a few new items.

Revealing: Elizabeth L. Cline's book about cheap fashion

Revealing: Elizabeth L. Cline's book about cheap fashion

Zara for one get new merchandise in every two weeks so there is always something new on the racks worth a perusal.

But cheap polyester has now become the world's predominant fiber in order to keep up with the supply and demand of the cheap fashion juggernaut.

According to Ms Cline, because of modern-day shopping habits, 'we're buying so much clothing that world fiber use has risen from 10 million tons in 1950 to 82 million tons today,' which has obvious environmental consequences.

Especially when the textiles are such low quality or a blend of materials that are un-recyclable.

Most of these clothes are made in China by low cost workers while the CEOs of the companies for whom they labour most likely strut around in the very best, high end designer threads.

Trade deals of the 1990s, Ms Cline explains, mean that China produces 90per cent of all house slippers, but more importantly, 50per cent of dresses. 

As a result, New York's Historic Garment District, the neighbourhood that was once a thriving and bustling hub of the city, is almost dormant as barely anything is manufactured there any more.

While some people are turning to their own skills to mend quality items rather than face the alternative of wasting money on poor quality clothing that will fall apart quickly, the author makes the argument for going full DIY.

Why not, she asks, but a Singer sewing machine, pick up some patterns and learn to make our own clothes?

Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion will be released on June 14th

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have not been moderated.

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Very good article that could just as easily be talking about the UK and the decline of our fashion industry

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Many young girls have no idea of different fabrics or how to care or wash them,let alone sew anything!!

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To Jo, who said "but even sewing machines cost significantly less because they too are made much more cheaply now and are of a lower quality than even 15 years ago" - I use a black Singer sewing machine from 1951 which cost next to nothing. It will last my lifetime and requires no expensive servicing or parts as I can do any servicing and maintenance myself.

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I buy what I can afford." Cut your cloth to fit your purse"

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I make my own clothes. I'm good at it, it takes about the same length of time as finding something suitable by trawling around the shops, and I know nobody else will be wearing the same thing - and I never have to wear polyester.

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but even sewing machines cost significantly less because they too are made much more cheaply now and are of a lower quality than even 15 years ago...

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Did no one read to the end of the article?!? I think that she is actually suggesting that we start making or own clothes - definitely just as cost effective as buying for the disgusting excuse for a store that is primark, as also would probably take as much time as it would to go shopping for a new outfit. I, for one, completely agree - my biggest hate is if I was walking down the street as I see someone wearing something I have, or of someone tells me they saw my top in a store the other day. It ruins clothes for me, because there is no personality in an item anymore. Most of all, it's depressing that most people probably cannot even darn a sock or see a button on, let alone begin to make a top or dress.

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I don't see how that's going to help the US garment industry. Apart from anything else, fabric is made in China too.

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My student friends mostly have clothes from HM and we have plenty that has last years. Also will say the same for Primark on the amount I bring back after a trip home. I did learn, from a stint as a sales girl in a clothes shop, that knowing the types of fabrics to look for and actually feeling the product for the sense of quality will take you far.

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Since when was Zara cheap? I understand Forever 21 because shirts there are like 14.00 dollars but at Zara a shirt is like usually 40 and up.

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