#fast fashion mentality still exists in the thrift store

[j-esbian]

been hearing a stupid fucking radio commercial about how it’s easy to save on energy costs, “just lower your thermostat and wear a sweater indoors :)” and like. yeah that’s nice in theory, but also no one makes sweaters very thick anymore so they don’t do a lot

[watercolourferns]

Another a bit more convoluted way to view stopping the fast fashion cycle is to realize trends are useless.

You like a piece because it's cute? Buy it and wear it. It went out of fashion by next month but you still like it? Who cares, just continue to wear it till you grow out of it, you decide you don't like it anymore and to pass it along to other people who might like it, it's literally unusable, a long list of etceteras that don't pertain trends.

Trends exist because we think they're important. But they're not. I've literally been wearing clothes that were in fashion 10 years ago, and who cares about it? Maybe some lost person who peaked in their junior year and think the real world is the same way. Otherwise? Meh. There's people literally wearing fashion from 100 years ago, there's people who like wearing Roman tunics because they're comfier and prettier and more practical to them!

The moment we realize that trends are useless and that we have a right to wear whatever we want because fashion is made up and there's no real rules (not getting into laws, just rules of society) and there's no fashion police, then trends will die. And as such fast fashion will, too.

We also have to take into consideration one thing, though: Fast fashion could be the only way some people are able to get cute clothes they like without having to diy them from thrift stores. And I think that's where the classism part many people see and misinterpret comes from.

This is gonna be long, so the rest is under the cut. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

I come from a third world country. A dress from 42lolita is still expensive to me, in fact any alt fashion is very expensive to me. Why? Currency exchange rates and the USD still being what dictates how expensive or how cheap my currency is why. It sucks? Yes, but that's how late stage capitalism is.

I'm also disabled, I battle chronic fatigue, pain, scoliosis and mental health issues that have made DIYing and thrifting stuff harder as the years go by. At 36 I don't have the same energy as at 26 because of this. Plus, in my city there's only a handful of places I can thrift without being charged like new scammy prices.

If I can find an alternative to alt fashion brands that I can afford I will! Why? Because fashion brings me personally joy, it's one of the few things I can do without exerting myself so much I need two days to recover. It boosts my confidence, and it makes me feel cute and happy with myself like very few things can.

So I think the problem in Lolita fashion has always been wording and a lack of real options. It gives way to misunderstandings and people not realizing that there's more issues than just Lolita being expensive and scammers taking your money.

It's more complicated, and both sides need to see this. But I've been into Lolita for almost ten years now and nobody seems to understand how complex the problem is because they always hyperfixate on one side or another or a completely different one.

So the problems with Lolita are these:

Lolita is inherently classist at it's core. It's supposed to be niche, and exclusive from the moment brands put out just a reduced number of pieces of each print or design at prices that not everyone can afford... so not everyone can afford them. Sorrynotsorry, that's how it is. It's designer clothes, you need privileges to be able to buy them. (There's a reason Momoko lied so much about getting money and was seen as a rotten girl... amongst other things.)

Lolita is inherently discriminative at it's core. Sizes aren't inclusive, if a fat girl wants to wear Lolita she needs to modify the dress to fit her because there brands don't have that very many sizes, even now they don't. If a guy wants to wear Lolita the very same thing happens.

Lolita can be more sustainable than fast fashion but it's incredibly harder to get and it's gotten harder to get with the surge of places like LaceMarket, bodyline's decline, and the new facebook's ban on the word Lolita itself so the selling groups are harder to find. And if prices were prohibitive then, they're even more now...

Lolita is NOT EASY TO TAKE CARE OF. This brings me back to the classist part. A ton of prints run when washed, specially the red ones. Many pieces need to be dry cleaned and you can't really do that at home. They need to be stored correctly or the bones in the corsets and cage skirts can warp. And the petticoats can deflate so they need SO MUCH SPACE. If they need repairs and you don't sew you either need to learn and use good quality threads (expensive) or find a seamstress that actually knows what they are doing. I've seen so many pieces be destroyed because a seamstress thought she knew what she was working on and in reality she didn't. These are things not everyone has access to.

Lolita is viewed as wearable collector's pieces almost all the time almost every brand, almost any piece. It's not a practical fashion and at least in the West people haven't found an alternative like in Japan (Girly kei is "off duty" fashion for many people, and Lolita dresses are used at more formal occasions like walks and meetups and tea parties from what I've seen at least). And that's just... problematic. Why? Because there's no "casual" pieces that you can wash and wear and not be so scared of ruining at all. Bodyline had those... but there's been a decline in the brand and there's less and less variety. And also because in the West we still haven't broken away from the labels. If you're a Lolita that's all you can be, and wearing anything else makes you not Lolita. I dunno if it's still reinforced as before but it's a problem that people don't have in Japan. That's why many Lolita brands also pulled out Fairy Kei pieces, swim suits, etc. You wear Lolita dresses because you like them and there's no rigid substyles and stuff like over here...

Okay, these are the main problems with it that I've seen in the years I've worn the fashion. Taking them into consideration people can't blame others for trying to find an alternative. These problems also create a sort of community where egos grow and spill and people try to gatekeep because of the sheer amount of effort it takes to actually wear Lolita, if not for anything. Discounting the amount of real bigots in it, of course.

So, now, the final biggest problem I see and where the misunderstandings come from: A LACK OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION.

One side sees "I can't afford it!" and the other side sees "Don't fall into scams!" but neither can communicate it correctly. It's easier to say "Don't get that 20usd dress!" than to go into detail about scams, too. It's harder to explain all the effort that goes into the dresses without sounding like a snobbish classist, too. I understand that. But in all my years it's been extremely rare when I've found someone that is willing to put in that effort, to sit down a new Lolita and explain to them "Look, ebay isn't a good place to buy the fashion because it's a scam, it feeds into our pollution problem by creating unwearable pieces that you then have to throw away, and you end up with none of your hard earn money and no dress and sad. While yes, the value of the dress is important because of reselling and because they've been treated almost in their entirety as wearable collector's pieces, it's okay if you need/want a cheaper alternative. Let's look up other alternatives that you can afford..."

It sounds like going too much the extra mile and being too accommodating and "a you problem not a me problem" thing? but it's helped so many people in personal experience! It reduces misunderstandings, it reduces classism within the community, and it opens up new alternatives. As the OP said, we're usually looking for cheaper alternatives to many things because boy the bills rack up...

Now, sweet person who's read this far, how does this pertain fast fashion... well...

THE SAME APPLIES TO FAST FASHION!!!

Telling someone not to buy from it and to find an alternative without really knowing why they buy fast fashion and without giving them an alternative is classist and inconsiderate and gives way to so many misunderstandings.

Yes, FF is a very problematic thing, very dangerous to everyone, and pollutes like crazy... but there's people who can't afford anything else. And saying "If you can't afford it then don't buy it, fashion is a luxury" falls under classism as well.

It's a privilege to not have to buy fast fashion. It's a privilege to be able to buy real brand stuff from alt brand stores and not knocks off from ebay, and not risking your money on scams because you can actually afford shipping or even if you can DIY your pieces from thrift stores or walmart clothes. Those are privileges not everyone can indulge in.

And fashion could be the only thing between a person and their death. I've known people who had told that had it not been for Lolita they would've unalived themselves a long while ago... I'm one of those people, too.

So... the problem is far more complicated but it ultimately boils down to late stage capitalism, against which we are practically powerless.

But we CAN do our little bit following some of the things OP said: repair what you can, reuse what you can. Also, try to find pieces, even if they are fast fashion, that are better made than others. Yes, there are pieces like that. I have several skirts from Shein, not all of them are made the same way. One of them will fall apart in a couple of years of constant usage and it's impossible to iron. So I repurposed it. The others are kinda thin but they are way better quality and will last so much longer, a couple of them are second hand in fact. Same with my jeans from there. They might not be levis, but they have lasted this far... and with good care will continue to last..

Anyway. I'm done I guess. Just remember to always check your privilege when speaking about these things, that's mostly where misunderstandings come from tbf...

My friend is getting some crap on instagram about perceived classism in the lolita community, and as someone who runs a budget-focused lolita fashion blog, I'm going to rehash some of the old "but I can't afford burando!" conversation.

For some background reading, here's where I bought three "lolita" "dresses" off ebay, and what I actually received for my money. And here's a breakdown of one of those specifically. I'm linking to these because I want everyone to remember that the pictures on ebay, amazon, wish, etc do not represent what the actual piece you receive will look like.

Lolita fashion can be expensive, but the less expensive end of legitimate lolita fashion is not actually as expensive as many people think it is. It's not all $300 for a dress and $60 for a pair of socks. There are options that bring the price down to other fashions. It cannot compete with the hyper-fast fashion of Shein and H&M and other places where the clothing is designed to be disposable. This is because lolita clothing is not disposable. Even modified or damaged, lolita fashion pieces have resell value. It's very common for people to be wearing garments that are over ten years old. There's also a lot of documentation about how hyper-fast fashion is damaging to the environments where it's made and the people who made it.

Okay, so that's all very fine and well, but it's true that recognizing that something is worth the money doesn't actually get you the money to buy it. There's a lot of things that I recognize are worth the money it costs to buy them, but that I don't have the money for. I don't drive a high-end electric car, even though I think it would be a better choice for me, because I don't have the money for a high-end electric car. So I do, very distinctly, understand that. I'm not about to tell someone "just save up for it!"

But, when someone tells you that you cannot buy lolita fashion on wish dot com, they're not actually saying "you won't be accepted in a wish dot com dress." They're saying, "any money you spend on a wish dot com dress will be wasted, because you will not receive a usable garment." Let's play pretend for a second. You come up to me with $20 and say, "I'd like to buy clothes." I say, "Good. I'll sell you some clothes." I then take your $20 bill, rip it into small pieces, eat all of the pieces, and say, "that's your clothes." Now, you didn't actually get any clothes from that, and there's no way you're getting your $20 back because I have consumed it. Your friend comes up to me and says, "Hi, I'd like to buy clothes." You say, "Don't give her that $20! It will be a waste of money!" Your friend says, "That's classism, because I only have $20." That's the conversation that's happening right now on my friend's instagram.

Classism does exist in the lolita fashion community. It can even come from people with good intentions. But, when it comes to buying on Ebay and Amazon and Walmart.com, people who are saying, "you can't buy lolita fashion on walmart dot com," aren't saying, "we won't accept your walmart dot com dress, because it was cheap." What they're saying is, "the thing that the site is telling you that you're buying and the thing that you will receive are going to be two different things. The thing you will receive will barely be a garment." There's a reason why, when I say "lolita dress from ebay," I have to typeset it as "'lolita' 'dress' from ebay," because it will probably be neither lolita nor a dress.

If you're new to the fashion and want a good shopping resource, 42lolita is a reseller/shopping service that will tell you what the shipping will be up front. Many other resellers will send you the shipping costs after you make the purchase, which makes it harder to predict what you'll be paying. You won't be getting a dress for $20 on 42lolita or anywhere else, but the prices they charge are more in line with shopping at a department store, rather than shopping at a big name designer store. There's a lot of other ways to purchase lolita fashion, and I just used 42lolita as one example.

The number of people who genuinely want the fashion to be as expensive as possible is not all that big. Even people who occasionally buy a $300 dress enjoy finding inexpensive accessories and support pieces. Finding lolita-usable jewelry on the Walmart clearance rack is a thing that's exciting to most people in the fashion. If there was a secret to buying $20 dresses on ebay and getting something that could be used in the fashion, people in the fashion would absolutely already be doing that.

So anyway, yeah, there's classism in the lolita community, but telling someone that they should not give me $20 for clothes when experience shows that I'm just going to rip it up and eat is not classism. Friends don't let friends spend money on badly made replicas on aliexpress.

[zoidham]

F!!RE - Devoted to Black Fashion & Lifestyle

ARTicle One:

Introduction. 

On Black Masculinity in Fashion

“Masculinity is not measured by your bicep size or sexual prowess but is a quality that is characterized by being affectionate, sincere, and responsible.” - Juwanza Kunjufu 

Hey Now kinfolk, I am Zoid Hæm, and in these personal letters I will be reflecting on the Black Lifestyle as it pertains to #Fashion, #Soul, and #Art. I have chosen the name F!!RE for this experience to pay homage to the young black artists of the Harlem Renaissance who shocked the world with a scathing peek into the mind of young and free black folks with their one issue magazine simply called Fire!!.(Source): https://bit.ly/2GwIIY0

Blackness, in its constant evolution is of my greatest interest, for as Arthur Jafa (@anamibia) said in his interview for I-D magazine with Virgil Abloh “…blackness isn’t just relevant to black people. It’s an ontological formation thats seeking to understand the world. It’s about the possibility for a different way to occupy earth, to exist in it. (Source): https://bit.ly/2m3ygzn

So here I sit at this cross section of fashion and soul, asking myself what does my external experience tell me about my inner world? And since the former spews out of the latter I see a fluid evolution spiraling up, beckoning at the fringe of our reality like an avant-garde symbol, hated and misunderstood like all mysteries shrouded in blackness. Excitement billows out of me, as my existence becomes a thorough definition of the contradictions in my black consciousness; like vines, unconfined by the square bricks of this society, I sprawl out, creating branches, bridges, and underground railroads, breaking out of learned labels and ushering a new wave. A wave filled with bubbles that when they touch, combine and crash on this countries shores of Thought, making us all the more unique and free.

“Cultivate your Uniqueness.” 

Free Hugs and Painted Nails:

Today's letter focuses in on black masculinity through the lens of fashion. It must have been the summer of 2011 when I sported boastful yet crude painted nails, and a small white button that said “Free Hugs". My body type was bulky, aggressive, and shouted, “Angry black man!" I had just finished my career in football, thankfully, and found myself hustling in the streets of New York City, as green as a rose stem among the grey concrete jungle, who's edifices and faces made me feel small, innocent, and utterly naive. 

Yet in this place I began to shift my image, first my thoughts, by asking any and all types why they are who they are. Mind you as the son of two preachers who never went to a house party or drank till college, even with my years at university there was still so much I didn’t know; but what I found is that when I approached folk they were always very guarded and unsure. I always blamed racist propaganda for their hesitancy but then I began to think more about what my image was saying to them. To them and this society my look gave off certain triggers in them, and by them I mean all types from old, young, white, black, brown, men, women, LGBTQ, CEO, or homeless. Few if any paid me any mind, or quickly gave glance and turned the other way. 

Haha a hilarious anecdote that actually made me change my entire “costume” was that one day, walking out by Central Park I saw the actor Michael Cera! Yep, Mr. Superbad himself, I was such a big fan I blurted out as we came close to each other “Holy crap! It’s Michael Cera!” Haha and true to form, with a hilarious face and mannerisms he looked up, eyes widened, and immediately turned around, and scampered the opposite direction down the street. I was a little hurt and shocked, but still laughed. It was at this point I was like YO! What do they see?

I went home, a 6 floor walk up in Chinatown, and looked in the mirror and began to take some notes. Broad chest, big beard, long locs, rather run-of-the-mill black man, how boring! I knew inside me was something that defied all definition, that I was a spirit teeming with affection and love for my fellow humans and wanted to be able to sit and express with them. But what I typically was receiving was the energy of dismissal and guardedness. I had known this well from black women at university who used me as a whipping boy to take their frustrations out on all black men, while I received, in screaming opposition from white women, so much attention it felt disingenuous, for them any n!gga would do; but now this was pervasive… I realized that my presence scared people, and that they weren’t actually seeing the REAL me.

I paced in my small apartment unit, thumbing a small button in the jacket I just bought, mentally drawing up how I wanted to present myself. “Alright first we need to lose this weight, so we can fit into all these cool clothes, but also fit better in these rooms of artists and intellects, and then lets keep the beard and hair nappy, edge is important, but lets dress in chic cheap fashion, cuz we are super broke and are only going to be able to afford the thrift store…” As I was thinking I pulled out the button from my pocket and read what it said “Free Hugs” almost unconsciously I pinned it to my jacket and didn’t think much of it.

The next day was Friday and I typically made my way to the museums since they were free. I bought a bottle of FireFly ice tea vodka and headed to my friends pad down by wall street so we all could get faded and go see some art. As I was walking down the street, I saw faces smiling at me, and so I smiled back, not used to New Yorkers showing any emotion besides anger I was a little surprised but kept pushing. After hopping off the train, I turned the corner and a short portly jewish women threw  her arms up and said “Yes I need one today!” And gave me a big long hug. I just stood there shocked by this stranger squeezing me, like I was her grandson, but before the hug was over I retuned the energy. She smiled and walked on by. As she left I looked at my reflection in one of the wall street buildings and saw that I still had the “Free Hugs” button on my jacket, and smiled thinking, how bout that! A free hug trumps propaganda, age, fear, race, etc.  all they needed was the permission to show affection. 

Fast foward to half the bottle gone, and a small loft full of young, gifted and black artist, all dancing and singing to a Stevie Wonder record. I had painted a haggard green sweat shirt with the word Free Hugs in big red letters and donned it as I joined the harmonious voices that filled the room with the joy of a Friday afternoon. I went over to the kitchen to fill my glass, when I realized I had gotten some paint on my nails, and began to peel it off when my crush at that time, a stunning orange afro having queen said, "Naw leave it! In fact here!” She came over with some nail polish and painted quick little designs on my nails in green, red, and yellow. My first reaction was wait I can’t wear nail polish, but when I looked at my hands I became enamored, my how strange and unique, these dainty hands on a Rasta brute! This was just the right amount of contradiction and juxtaposition of strength and vulnerability I was looking for. Leave it to black women to bring a dream to reality.

And thats exactly what happened, when we hit the streets in that Friday sunset, New York finally saw me, and opened like the flowers in sunlight on the corner of Strawberry Fields. Over the next few months, my body slimmed, my smile grew, my nails where chipped and covered with color haphazardly, and hugs clung to my body like the tight fitting cheap fashion I found. But most importantly my thoughts began to change, because I was engaging with more people from all walks of life. I ask myself to this day, did the fashion open them up or me up? 

Fashion is metaphor touted as a mask, there to conceal or reveal our inner truth, and for me I found a unique edge to walk, one where I hold space with masculinity that only knows mixtape lyrics and football, as well as a space that spoke of Basquiat’s and Warhol’s, the fickleness of love in any gender or sexuality and the need for soul and romance. I am still the minority in most rooms I walk into, typically they don't know what to think of me, I hear little conversations in the corner, ”He must be gay, or bi, no no look he’s with ball players and gangsters, naw naw he has lots of girlfriends, yes yes hunny he can get it, but he curbed all of us and I’m fine so wats the deal, oh he’s different.”

Different… little do they know I’m just like them, expressing all that I am. Removing the labels and images and thoughts that society has forced upon me, left me blank a slate to be creative. Still I have much more to remove and redefine in this ocean of blackness that is my being. One can be masculine in a dress, one can be feminine in baggy jeans, lessen we forget #STONEWALL and what those activists fought for, the freedom of image. Culturally and generational things shift, the meaning we put behind garments and fabric is all made up, just like us; and no one need be ridiculed or shamed for making their fit…fit. So what are you wearing today? In any way, you look good on you.

Posivibes,

hæm

Credits:

Image one by @johnyu.co 

for Westword Artopia 2019  

[dippedanddripped]

A billionaire walks into a vintage clothing showroom. Usually this space, tucked down an unassuming avenue in Paris’ chic 16th arrondissement, is off limits to the general public, but being a part of the global 0.001 per cent opens doors that would otherwise remain closed.

“He was a friend of a friend so I agreed,” says Gauthier Borsarello, a former classical musician and the owner of the showroom. A smooth-headed and smoother-mannered 30-year-old Parisian, Borsarello’s name alone feels tailor-made for a collector and purveyor of rare and exquisite vintage clothing. Jackets from WWII, Fifties collegiate sweatshirts and Levi’s 501s line the walls and shelves. There’s an original Abercrombie & Fitch hunting jacket the brand desperately wants to buy for its archive, but Borsarello can’t — won’t — part with it.

“He [the aformentioned billionaire] showed me his credit card,” Borsarello adds, “and said, ‘With this I can buy anything in the world, but what I’m looking for is an experience, something that not just anyone can get’. Guys like him are looking for something that is really exclusive. That’s why I think people are interested in vintage. This kind of clientele is growing and growing.”

Borsarello opened his showroom in 2016 and, unless you’re a billionaire yourself, access is reserved strictly for designers and fashion insiders. His clothes are bought or rented by brands and used as inspiration and reference for collections that will hit the shelves two or three years from now. “Designers come to see something they’ve never seen before: a patch, a button, a piece of fabric,” he says.

Part of a young, dynamic and multi-hyphenated group of second-hand aficionados who combine new-school social media fluency with old-fashioned, on-the-ground scouring ability, Borsarello also owns Le Vif — a vintage store which is open to the general public — across the road from his eponymous showroom. He is also the creative director of retro-inspired label Holiday Boileau and editor-in-chief of L’Etiquette magazine. He posts regular updates of his best finds and vintage “inspo” to his 32,200 Instagram followers. “Instagram made my business really,” he says. Via WhatsApp he connects with a global network of “pickers”, people who trawl through warehouses of vintage clothing, on the hunt for the kind of rare and interesting pieces that clients like Borsarello will part with big money to acquire.

“In the past, people would go to their tailor and have two suits made for the year,” Borsarello says. “Ten shirts, a coat, a couple of pairs of shoes and that was it. I think people are coming back to this way of thinking and consuming, whether they’re buying new or vintage. I think, to be honest, people are tired of all the shit out there.”

The statistics support this claim. According to a joint report by fashion platform ThredUp and analytics firm GlobalData, the resale market has grown 21 times faster than apparel retail over the last three years, and the global secondhand clothing industry is set to be 50 per cent larger than the fast fashion sector within 10 years. By 2028, it’s predicted to be a £50bn entity. On average, consumers own 28 fewer items than they did two years ago. H&M is rushing to join in; the Swedish company recently piloted a “vintage” programme that will allow the re-sale of secondhand garments on its websites.

Farfetch, the £4.6bn-valued e-commerce platform, already has a pre-owned section where it works with vintage boutiques around the world. “I think our customers recognise that these are pieces that don’t really exist anymore, and that they can’t find anywhere else,” says the website’s deputy editor, Rob Nowill. “We’ve seen an incredible reaction to it.”

“Secondhand shopping has recently become quite popular among millennials,” adds Morgane Le Caer, a reporter at Lyst, a fashion search engine that saw a 329 per cent increase in traffic to luxury re-sale products last year. “The thrill of finding something special hidden among hundreds of other pieces is inspiring people to give vintage clothes a second chance.”

Not just clothes: StockX, the trainers and streetwear re-sale marketplace launched in 2016, was in an April funding round which would value it in excess of $1bn (it claims more than $2m a day in gross sales). Cool-hunting men and women are equally likely to shop online at Vestiaire Collective, the Paris-based “authenticated pre-owned luxury fashion” retailer, as they are at Net-a-Porter or Matches Fashion.

Those who still associate vintage clothing with pokey thrift stores, empty charity shops and church hall jumble sales might do well to check out the website of Grailed, a New York-based start-up that launched in 2015 and now boasts 3.2m registered users and a team of 50. It is, according to brand director Lawrence Schlossman, a “men’s fashion community marketplace”. Basically, whatever your personal “grail” (streetwear parlance for a dream item of clothing) chances are someone on Grailed is selling it… for a price. Last year, news broke of a Raf Simons “Riot” camo bomber jacket from the Belgian designer’s autumn/winter 2001 collection selling for $47,000 (£37,000), a site record.

With 440,000 followers on Instagram, Grailed also has an influence on what is and isn’t hot in the online world of men’s streetwear and fashion. Its memes and original content have contributed to the proliferation of recent, wide-spreading trends and talking points such as Patagonia fleeces, Blundstone work boots, teens’ obsession with archival Helmut Lang, tie-dye and a rising US interest in Stone Island.

“Not to fire any shots,” says Schlossman, “but think of eBay. Yes, I can buy a vintage T-shirt and a new pair of Balenciaga sneakers that have sold out, but I can also buy a washing machine — eBay wants to be, and is, everything to everyone regardless of what you’re looking for. We take pride in being laser- specific to men’s clothing.

“When we launched, there was a pervasive idea that ‘vintage’ or ‘used’ had negative connotations,” says Schlossman. “The idea that someone is trying to sell an old, shitty thing they don’t care about or have any need for. I think there’s a whole generation realising authenticity is important, and I think they relish the opportunity to tell people, ‘I’ve been looking for this thing for a year and I found it!’ That’s an important signifier that shows you really care and have great taste, rather than walking into a generic fast fashion outlet and buying their version of whatever a trendy pant is.”

Emily Bode (pictured) has found success re-purposing vintage fabrics into one-of-a-kind clothing

Where once “box fresh” was a vital component of a purchase, today having an item with signs of wear is a key element of cool. Brands like Bode, started by New York designer Emily Bode, are testament to that. She takes dead-stock cloth, old and rare fabrics, and reimagines them as beautiful work jackets or hand-embroidered trousers. Something that began life as a quilt or a curtain is transformed into a one-off item. Brand new is retro: retro is brand new. Kids that are two generations too young to have heard the band play live in its heyday are now obsessed with The Grateful Dead’s merchandise: the wild tie-dyed T-shirts are mysterious and appealing. Some luxury trainers, such as those by Gucci, come “pre-worn” for your aesthetic convenience.

The entrance to Cassie Mercantile, the by appointment only vintage experts whose clothes have inspired some of the biggest brands in the world

On a heavy spring day in Holland Park, I find the hidden entrance to Cassie Mercantile. A gate leads into a garden with the kind of greenery that is rare — and comes at a premium — in London. Leaves hang low and birds sing freely. If this was an episode of Grand Designs, Kevin McCloud might describe it as an “urban sanctuary”.

Gauthier Borsarello told me about Graham Cassie, speaking his name in hushed tones when we talked on the phone. “He’s someone I really admire. I would like to be like him,” he said. “He has something like 600 Instagram followers [it’s actually 1,176], but he’s a legend in the industry and his showroom is amazing.”

Cassie, 59, wears strong black glasses and his beanie like a Brooklyn barista, his Scottish accent worn down by decades in London. He’s been in vintage his whole life, having owned a shop, Eat Your Heart Out, on the King’s Road in the Eighties. “I don’t want to deal with the general public anymore,” he says with a chuckle. Cassie Mercantile opened here 16 years ago. He was, he claims, the first to open a vintage showroom (designers only) in Europe. “If I showed you my client list, the brands I work with, you’d say, ‘Woah!’” he says without pretence. They are indeed woah.

In one photo on his Instagram feed, Cassie poses next to David Beckham, in another with Kanye West. He’s not sure how West found him. “People seem to hear about me,” he says. “He was very nice, though, very thorough. He came in with just one other person and is the first and only client to go through every single item of clothing we have. You can see why he’s so successful, the attention to detail was obvious.”

What immediately stands out is how modern everything feels despite, in many cases, some items being more than a century old. Bucket hats, printed open-collar shirts, bright and battered Nike running shoes, and stacks of Victorian rugby jerseys, Thirties T-shirts and slouchy Vivienne Westwood knitwear from her punk era. The new wave of colourful sportswear and prep could well have been born from this little showroom. Undoubtedly some was.

Finlay Renwick

“I like to think we’re a fashion forecasting company more than a vintage clothes company,” Cassie says. “I’ve always loved the mix of fashion and vintage with a modern outlook. Often there’s this anorak mentality in the vintage business, people love to be able to quote what number a military jacket is or the year it was made. I’ll always remember Ralph Lauren saying, ‘I don’t care what number the jacket is — is it a cool jacket?’ That’s always been my philosophy.”

[brittanyinterviews]

Natasha Halesworth, Founder of The Consistency Project

Natasha Halesworth of The Consistency Project

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This Q&A was conducted via email in August 2018.

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Brittany: Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

Natasha: Spent my early years growing up in Hawaii and eventually made my way to Oakland, CA. In July of this year, I most recently moved to Brooklyn, NY with my husband and two pups. I’m a Capricorn and INTJ. If you talk to anyone that knows me, they’d agree that I love efficiency and am passionate about sustainability. Even though this all sounds serious, don’t get me wrong, I still like to have fun. :) Dance classes, an outing to boba, or going thrifting... I’m there.

Brittany: Why did you start The Consistency Project?

Natasha: It started off as a little passion project. When I first started this in 2014, it was more geared towards a “less is more” approach. I found a relationship between travel and apparel and how you can do more with less. Travel pushes us to carry what we need, what we actually prioritize and helps us focus on what’s comfortable and more practical. It actually didn’t specifically relate to the world of fashion or sustainability to begin with, but as ideas and people grow, I began to learn and think about fashion differently. As I was challenging myself to pack less when I traveled, or think twice when I wanted to buy something merely out of impulse… it really drove me to start questioning how I was living a sustainable lifestyle. From there I realized there was little activation around inspiring people to live sustainably especially around how they shopped or dressed themselves. “Seeing the light” myself and avoiding fast fashion and anything mass-produced, I realized my favorite childhood pastime of thrifting and secondhand was something that became a foundation to the way I shopped for clothing now, and soon became the basis of The Consistency Project.

Brittany: It seems like the mission of your brand is to be sustainable in multiple facets of your life, including through what you wear. What does having a sustainable lifestyle mean to you? What would be the ideal and how close are you to achieving that either in your own life or through the brand?

Natasha: To me, a sustainable lifestyle is something to constantly be striving for and realistically will feel like an endless journey. Ways on living sustainably will be ever-evolving as the world continues to evolve itself. Unless we all start living in the wild and off the earth with no modern-day connections, we’ll never be 100% sustainable and that’s okay. I think accepting that even if people aren’t perfect, but that they’re still striving to be better, learn, and evolve their lifestyles for the better, that’s what we’re all about.

Brittany: The Consistency Project was founded in Oakland in 2014. Was it difficult to start a fashion brand in the bay, where one can argue fashion is de-emphasized? Alternatively, was it easier to get people on board with your mission of striving towards greater sustainability?

Natasha: As I mentioned before, it didn’t really start off as specifically a “fashion” brand per se and I think that is what breeds in the bay. It is never just about fashion. It is always about fashion plus something else. That something else that is believed to push the industry forward or challenge the industry in different ways. You look at other “fashion” brands that started in the bay like Everlane, where they found an opportunity that was lacking within the industry and are trying to solve for it. I think for me my focus on sustainability was my “something else.” And that “something else” is what the Bay Area really responds to and as we see… the rest of the world is responding as well. It goes beyond style. People are looking for meaning and a way to self-express their values through the brands they support and the clothing they wear.

From a recent lookbook shoot for The Consistency Project

Brittany: I've noticed that you have an eye for fashion and creative direction, especially in your photo shoots and lookbooks. Did this come naturally to you? Can you elaborate on how these efforts come together?

Natasha: Wow! Hearing that… I’m flattered! Honestly I’ve also considered myself a baby-version (AKA “still learning”) creative. I guess since I didn’t study it formally (I was a business major, lolz) I just tried to surround myself with creative and inspirational content and people to drive my ideas. I mean to be honest nowadays all the stimulation, inspiration, and sparks for new ideas are at your fingertips with the internet. One moment I’m browsing, and another moment I’m Google searching an image, then going deep into a rabbit hole looking at who photographed the photo, who was the stylist, start looking up their names, looking at their profiles… you get the picture. There are so many amazing creatives out there and I think we are all creative in some way, shape, or form, we just have to feed that creativity through working with or exposing yourself to other creative work and people. From there you make it your own, have it speak to your audience, and also represent the values of your business.

Brittany: When I interned at Nasty Gal way back in 2009, I remember asking founder Sophia Amoruso where she found the vintage clothes she sold. She said it was a secret, which she partially revealed (although vaguely) in her memoir Girlboss five years later. Where do you find the secondhand and vintage pieces you sell?

Natasha: Lolz. I find that funny, but also not surprising. Any “traditional” vintage shop or seller that’s been doing it for over 5 or so years will most times have that same secretive mentality. Anyone new like me had to do research on their own to find ways to source beyond thrift stores. I spent hours and days on the internet, Instagram, or anything that could give me some idea of if a “vintage wholesale mecca” existed. As I poked around, I started learning more about the used clothing industry, rag houses, and the cycle of life that a piece of donated clothing goes through. I started realizing that there were used clothing warehouses that sold vintage in bulk or let you pick stuff from their warehouses. I realized that it was all about who you knew and built relationships with early on. So to answer your question more specifically, I definitely thrift and go to flea markets to source, but my main go-to has been used clothing warehouses that I will go visit in person to handpick items. They’re sometimes much more $$ per piece than your average Thrift Town, but some of these warehouses curated their offerings to make it worth it. Every warehouse caters to different aesthetics or types of clothing and I was extremely fortunate to find one that really understood what I was looking for and shared the same passion around sustainability that honestly they’ve become like family to me. That’s kind of the culture of the industry. A bit old school and no website on the internet for easy finding, haha. How did I get ahold of them? I picked up that phone and just called a phone number I found online.

Brittany: A big part of being a clothing reseller is knowing which clothes will sell. Do you do any trend forecasting?

Natasha: I think the beauty of being a reseller is that no one reseller is exactly the same. You may overlap in some areas like denim or maybe workwear, but overall there’s a little piece of each reseller in the overall aesthetic of their shop. I have relied on filtering things to sell based on comfort, versatility, and my gut feeling of what I thought my customers would appreciate. As I’m ever-evolving as a person, I have a feeling The Consistency Project will reflect that.

Naturally you’ll pick up new trends just walking around a new city or watching an episode of Friends. Luckily trends repeat themselves so if you pick up something you couldn’t pass up on that might not be sellable at that moment, you can hold onto it cause guaranteed it’ll be sellable and relevant at some point.

Brittany: Another initiative of The Consistency Project has been repairing and remaking (upcycling) clothing from different origins. How do you know what to make? Are you talented at sewing?

Natasha: Maybe this goes back to my personality traits… but I love problem-solving. I like looking at something and thinking about a million ways it could be redesigned, or looking at a “new” designer piece and imaging how it could be made with scraps that are sitting in my office. I get inspiration from new designs, to be honest. I don’t try to copy, of course, but sometimes I want to copy something just to prove a point it could be made from recycled materials. But, of course… I still haven’t found the magic key to making upcycling scalable AND affordable at the same time. I guess that’s something I’m still always thinking about it and hoping maybe technology will play a role in some day. As for being talented in sewing… let’s just say I was self-taught out of necessity and it may not be my favorite thing to do in the world. ;) But I think it is important for everyone to understand the construction of a garment, how much time and skill it takes, and not to take it for granted.

Brittany: You've recently relocated from the Bay Area to Brooklyn. How will this move affect the brand and your business?

Natasha: Oh my. I feel like I’m at a pivotal point where change is in the air and I definitely think my move to Brooklyn sparked that. From the high-level, nothing will change. The commitment to sustainability is foundational. But I think as I continue to refine my business model and brand, I will have to be open to shifting directions if need be. I mean, who knows, so I guess you’ll have to wait and see right? :)

Brittany: Where do you find inspiration? What influences the work you do?

Natasha: Honestly I find a lot of inspiration while I’m out thrifting. It’s like meditation for me, sifting through racks and racks of stuff. You can kind of just get lost for a bit. Not only is it a reminder of why I believe in secondhand first (‘cause there’s SO MUCH stuff out there that deserves a second chance), but I also find inspiration finding pieces that are vintage, yet replicate a lot of the new designs that are out there now.

Understanding the scale of stuff that is donated or sitting unused at these thrift stores or used clothing warehouses influences the work that I do. I mean… you’re just definitely reminded that we live in a consumer, material world that isn’t going to change anytime soon so really the more you can resell and market to the modern-day consumer, the more you’re impacting the environment in a positive way. It feels good to feel like you’re doing good, you know?

As for what motivates me as a person? I’m inspired by other people… Humans are fascinating creatures. Each person is so different from the other. I think there’s always something to be inspired by or learn from when meeting other people in a genuine environment.

Brittany: What can we look forward to seeing with The Consistency Project in the future?

Natasha: Man… So many ideas for TCP and no clear path. Beyond everything happening now, my greater goal has always been impacting as many people as possible when it comes to promoting a sustainable lifestyle. So maybe that means getting into the business of supporting other entrepreneurs focused on sustainability in order to have the impact I could make be more exponential… Or maybe it’s finding ways to make the secondhand industry more efficient and provide more convenient access to things people may be looking for. A glorified thrift store? Or maybe it’s opening up a vintage shop. A place with great pieces at a reasonable cost and an opportunity to connect with people who align with the TCP mission in person. I mean who knows. I guess we’ll see.

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Photos provided by Natasha Halesworth.

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Special thanks to Natasha for discussing her clothing brand with us. You can learn more about The Consistency Project on their website, Instagram, and Facebook.

[wontgodowninhistory]

lachrydoll​:

@wontgodowninhistory asked:  😊 Sit down next to my muse (may)

   Malls were a technicolor terrarium of gyrating limbs and flickering eyes, disembodied laughter rising over the chatter to confuse her as to where every voice comes and goes from. She could not tell which hand went to which forearm and which mouth puckered from which balmy skin if she tried. Too many to pick them out as wholes. Better stick to her usual method. May picks at the handsewn lace of her skirt, shoulders hunched as she peers carefully at manicured fingers straining under shopping bags and miles of tanned legs weaving past each other. Parts she mentally sectioned and analyzed and either seriously considered or disposed of immediately. Most went into the latter. 

Someone sat next to her, and she instinctively pulled her little shopping bag of new perfume closer to her. Gaze cuts over her glasses frame to see what amalgamation of arms and legs and sweet shampoo had come into her space. 

Wavy brown hair. Freckles–would Amy like a freckled friend?–and heavy lidded eyes. Smooth arms and legs shot out of a quaint little sailor costume like a child’s nautical doll. The eyes were pretty. May wiped her sweaty palms against the old-fashioned pattern of her dress, sometimes still imagining the antique dust on the fabric. It was one of those old, forgotten textiles that’s far out of fashion, but was recently enough in fashion by a few decades that the only place it could feasibly exist anymore was dusty corner thrift stores, forever glued with dust. The only other place it could feasibly exist was on May’s body, workshopped into a baby doll dress fitted only to her measurements. 

May smiled at the girl and her pretty blue eyes. May thought about her own glass eye. She hoped people wouldn’t notice, like when she wore her glasses or contacts. Sometimes, though, she did wish they’d notice, and then she’d really learn what kind of people they were, and if she should press on with or without apologies when collecting their parts.

   “You have nice eyes,” she said, and then paused before adding, “do you wear contacts?”

「 🌈 : @lachrydoll​ 」

Robin was on her thirty minute lunch break from Scoops Ahoy. She’d wanted as far as she could reasonably get from the ice cream shop without leaving the mall completely. She couldn’t even if she wanted to - she didn’t have a car and her bike wouldn’t get her anywhere fast enough to be back in time. It didn’t matter because she didn’t have any money to buy anything anyway. Sitting as far away from the food court and all the delicious scents that would make her hungry was the safest option. 

She sat down on a bunch near the fountain with her book before glancing at her black wrist watch to check the time. She was very punctual and had it practically down to the second that she would need to be back to clock in. There was a pretty girl seated next to her but Robin didn’t bother engaging in conversation - at least not on her own. She didn’t feel she had anything particularly interesting to contribute to a conversation anyway so why bother. 

Turning the pages of a well worn book she’d read many times she began to scan the words. Just as she’d started the first sentence the girl next to her said something. It took her a moment to register that she was talking to her. She perked right up at the compliment even if she didn’t quite know how to respond. No one ever complimented her. She was more accustomed to insults than a kind word. 

“Um...thanks.” Her tone was soft and unsure at first. Her freckled cheeks turned a light shade of red. She just sat there staring at her book before finally closing it and meeting the others eyes. She wasn’t trying to be rude, she just was shy when it came to pretty ladies. She certainly wasn’t used to capturing their attention. This one did seem a little odd. But Robin was too so it didn’t bother her. “No. I don’t. It’s my natural eye color.” They were an unusual shade of blue that was almost too bright to be natural so it was an understandable question. One of the physical traits she’d passed on to her from her mother.

[hercreativeprocess]

Her Creative Process: Lauren Machen

Lauren Machen was raised in Minneapolis in a home immersed in the arts. She studied Art and Psychology at Macalester College and Textiles at Goldsmiths, University of London. She has worked as a Set Designer + Art Director  for the past 8 years creating sets for Fashion, Music and Advertising. Clients include POP, Vogue Italia, Nowness, Rihanna, St. Vincent, Migos, Amazon, Google and Target among many others. Over the past year she has started to develop her own artwork which explores issues of race, identity and mental health. 

How did you end up in your chosen career?

There's definitely a short and a long version of this, it has been a journey filled with humbling experiences and little angels along the way. I guess I'll give you the long version! 

Ten years ago, I didn't know the career I have now was even an option. Although I come from a very artistic family, my midwestern roots had me thinking that art could only be a hobby or a plan B. I so badly wanted to make art my plan A but was fearful that I would fail so I wanted some sort of job security...but this thought was short lived and didn't really exist for me at the time. 

When I finished undergrad in 2007 there were no entry level jobs like that to be had unless you were super lucky. I ended up slinging (resentfully, mindlessly, and sometimes hungover) jeans at Bloomingdale's for $12/hr at a place I like to call The Death Star aka The Mall of America. It wasn't glamorous, I felt trapped...very much like a hamster on a wheel, and the only thing that kept me going during this time were the little art projects I had going on. I was painting, making my own line of clothing and designing costumes for a local play.

After a year and a half I was depressed because I wasn't honoring myself artistically. So I packed everything up in my shitty red Toyota Corolla and drove to CA to live with a friend in Santa Cruz. I spent nine months there managing a hair salon and a beauty supply store, but there was nothing going on there beyond a party scene so I left and moved down to LA. 

I landed in Hollywood and spent everyday (this is not an exaggeration) on Craigslist sending out emails for work. I found a job at a hair salon in Santa Monica for $10/hr and worked nights so that I could give the photo industry a try during the day. I seriously had zero dollars. I basically spent what I made on gas getting out to SM! I interned at various places and then got lucky and started to assist a wardrobe stylist and make some money. It didn't take long for me to realize that I was in the wrong department. I wanted to build things. 

I started watching set designers on the jobs I was on and asking questions. I also picked up work at a design / build firm as a fabricator helping them do large installs. I also was making a few custom accessories for some fashion spreads and musicians, with huge thanks to the well-connected stylist I was assisting. 

After a bit I realized that you can't fake being a set designer. There's no sort of faking it ‘till you make it because it's the type of job that requires experience and tons of foresight in order to do it well. I stopped doing wardrobe and started to assist an amazing set designer. I worked for two years with him and learned so much. During that time I was doing my own jobs and then slowly started to build up my business. There were many gaps and I definitely used credit cards to survive. Sometimes jobs can take 3 months to pay, which is terrifying for someone living paycheck to paycheck. 

Fast forward four years and I now have a successful business as a set designer.

When do you feel most creative? Be it a time of day, particular season, or after a really great taco.

I feel most creative in the summer and when I've given myself some time out in nature. I love the sunshine, it makes me feel free and happy which encourages my brain to wander and investigate creative questions and urges. Also because it's light until like, 9 pm, it makes me way more productive. In the winter I'm more prone to be in bed early with my Netflix on.

Where is your favorite place to create, and why?

I don't know if I have a favorite place. I like all places, it just depends on what I'm working on. Obviously my studio is where I do a lot of it but sometimes the wild and crazy colors of props from past jobs make my eyes hurt. So I like to be at home where the palette is neutral and warm and it's quiet. A large part of what I do is about collaboration with other artists, the lovely people I get to be on set with. So creating with them on set is always a joy for me. I learn so much and love the spontaneity of it all.

Is there anything special you like to eat, watch, or listen to while you make things?

Music is so important in my life, so I always am playing something either on the record player or if I'm at my desk or studio, from a music app. Something that makes me feel nostalgic, intellectual (I mean this in a joking way, like classical music), trance-like, or upbeat like I'm at the best dance party; this is my go-to. Also water, water, water.

Typically, what does your creative process look like?

Lots of research and time is spent in front of the computer when I begin a project. I pull reference images and design in Sketchup. I don't think I was made for sitting for long periods so sometimes this can be hard for me. But I've learned to deal by taking breaks. Dance and kundalini yoga are great energy recyclers. I'm my best self when I've exerted and moved around my energy. I also find that when I'm focused on my body and breath that my mind and subconscious are working behind the scenes on the creative. 

If I'm prepping I spend a lot of time in my car shopping for props and furniture at the prop houses and retail stores. If I don't have a commissioned project going on I have a whole stack of ideas that I've written down in my notes to investigate. Then I head to the studio to play it out to see if it's still interesting to me to push further.

Who and what are you inspired by?

Without sounding cheesy I really am inspired by all the people in my life. Each with their own unique voice, perspective, and approach to life. Visually I'm inspired by things in nature. Famous and not so famous furniture designers, painters, photographers, movies, architects, creatives, and other set designers. We are all a part of a huge collective of folks who just want to make stuff and share it. I also find inspiration in the materials I use, found objects at thrift stores, wide open spaces, and my own past struggles and the larger human struggle surrounding issues of race, identity, and mental health.

How do you get past creative block?

See creative process answer. Also I think going for a long-ass hike that's so physically exhausting it gets me out of my head and obsessive thoughts. Also, doing something for someone else, and listening to a podcast while on a walk.

How do you deal with perfectionism, self-doubt, and comparison?

Ugh, perfectionism. As Americans and as human beings we have been groomed to put pressure on ourselves to always strive to be perfect or the best. So it's sort of ingrained in our society. Because of this we compare, gauge, and judge ourselves in relation to others and the minute we do that we doubt ourselves. Social media can be hurtful if you're not careful. 

Spending too much time or putting too much emphasis on this stuff can be super detrimental to your own development as your best self and as a creative person. I struggle with this, like we all do, but I remind myself that those are hurts I am putting on myself which I have control over. So I take a deep breath and try to reroute my thinking. Also I feel like a good exercise for this is to name all the things you’re grateful for; it's a good way to ground yourself back in reality. Try doing it while smiling.

Do you have any tips for someone who wants to do what you do (and be really good at it)?  

Reach out to people whose work you find inspiring and ask them to coffee. Don't take a no-response personally if you're reaching out to someone for the first time. I guarantee that person is just super busy with work and the email probably got buried. So try again. Be persistent and intentional with your energy.  Assist, assist, assist...you'll be a better boss. Familiarize yourself with the prop houses around LA and what's in them.

What are you working on now, and what’s coming up next?  

Right now I have an installation up at an event called House of Peroni in NY curated by one of the musicians I work with. The show is also coming to LA later this month. My husband and I just finished co-directing our first project together: a dance film for the launch of a new magazine coming out this winter celebrating women of color. We are doing all the post work on that now. 

I think I've already done double the amount of work I did last year and we still have three months left of it so right now I am also taking some time to focus on my family and hoping to seek more of a balance between work and home life so I can stay grounded, be present for my loved ones, and have some chill time for myself.

CONNECT WITH LAUREN:

Website | Instagram

[emsvisualjournal-blog]

Lately I’ve been on a search for some jeans that fit me properly and look good which has been difficult because I have made the decision to stop buying from fast fashion brands and just buy my clothes second hand. Fast fashion hires people in developing countries and has them work long hours for low pay in dangerous conditions. On top of that, some fibers used in clothing cannot be recycled and just ends up as trash. Blended jeans like the stretch jeans that are popular right now are made from a blend of cotton and elastane and cannot be recycled because the technology to separate the fibers does not currently exist. There are more clothes than people that need them and because of the cheap material used the clothes deteriorate faster and don’t hold up over time and just end up in landfills.

I spent a whole day looking for some dressy black fitted jeans in thrift stores and couldn’t find them so I decided I would tailor some jeans already had instead. It took me hours to figure out how to do it and then more time to actually sew it and make it look presentable, as I am not a trained seamstress. I was thinking of all work I put into just tailoring the jean and imagined how it must be being the person who has to sew the whole jean, working low pay and long hours in sweatshop conditions. I just thought a person working in those conditions should be paid a lot of money, for their skill and for putting up with the bad working environment. Jeans should be worth a lot of money for how much work is put into them. I’m always amazed at how cheap things are and how everything doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars.

I’m just thinking about the cost of labor and globalization. We are so used to fast fashion in America and most people know the human and environmental cost, but still buy. I know sometimes I still do even though I try hard not to, I’m just not in the position to be spending hundreds of dollars on one piece of clothing right now. A large part of the world now has this consumerist mentality, so much focus is put on how to make money and buy instead of how to preserve and fix and I’m unsure if we can ever go back.