I’ve got an ugly and itchy sweater at the back of my closet that one of my relatives knitted and gifted me years ago.
Unfortunately, it’s sweaters like this that lead many people to reject the idea of making and mending their own clothes at home.
Folk Fashion: Understanding Homemade Clothes by Amy Twigger Holroyd aims to change that perception.
Our Store Culture
It begins by looking at the “store bought” culture in which we currently operate and asks hard questions as to how this came about and why, perhaps, this change in our fashion habits when compared to only a few decades ago, might be best resisted.
Then Amy crafts a metaphor showing “fashion as common land”, that is, it is the cultural landscape which defines who and what we are to enable the central platform of her thesis.
Making Is Good For Us And It’s Good For The Planet
Amy stresses that it’s not a burden to make and create your fashion. Far from it!
In fact, it’s a spiritually enriching creative process that allows us to feel joy and delight in the world that we live in and the clothes that we wear. (On a practical level you can head over to a site like AllFreeSewing to access hundreds of tutorials)
She even asks as to whether this joy can be radicalized to help others appreciate the benefits of self-created fashion.
She also points out the obvious benefits to the planet of creating our own clothes and not relying on dubious “value chains” which exploit people and the planet at every turn.
Folk Fashion is an excellent book which gives us the opportunity to truly think about fashion. Highly recommended.
You can find Folk Fashion: Understanding Homemade Clothes online here.
Interested in living more naturally? Don’t miss our guide to natural living here.
PRO-TIP: If making your own clothing from scratch seems daunting then try upcycling some inexpensive, secondhand vintage clothing you can find in a thrift store.