Discussion
  • Read More
    ISpeakJiveIsha Aran
    10/15/14 4:57pm

    I agree that a lot of this has to do with the "in season", cheaply made, quick turnover textiles we've been producing. Why hem it if you're only going to be able to wear it one or two more times?

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Can I Retire Yet?ISpeakJive
      10/15/14 5:00pm

      Why are you buying something you're only going to wear once?

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      ISpeakJiveCan I Retire Yet?
      10/15/14 5:02pm

      Personally? I don't. I spend more money on clothes to get years of wear out of them.

      But, not everyone can afford to do that. So they buy cheaply made textiles that are only going to get a "season"s worth of wear out of them. Is this the first time you've heard about this?

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Lisbeth SalamanderIsha Aran
    10/15/14 4:55pm

    I call bullshit. I am 27 and the majority of my friends can put a fucking button on their shirt. I've dated several men who can mend their clothing as well. Is this really a thing? Or do I just make friends with vaguely creative/self sufficient people?

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      WallflowerLisbeth Salamander
      10/15/14 4:58pm

      Also 27 but when I read the headline I thought "yup, that's me." Although I can put a button on, maybe fix a hem, ECT. I recently inherited my mother in laws sewing machine and one of these days I'm gonna pull that sob out and learn a thing or two. My grandma tried to teach me to sew but I just didn't pick it up.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      AnglKatLisbeth Salamander
      10/15/14 5:01pm

      I have never sewn on a button. I have hemmed my pants, but it looked like shit. I'm 31. I attribute it to the fact that by the time my clothes start falling apart, it's time to get a replacement. (Not that I frivolously buy new clothes, but they're just made so shitty).

      I'm self-sufficient in every other way, so I think it's just because I haven't needed that particular skill.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    Blueberry JonesIsha Aran
    10/15/14 5:20pm

    I'm 29. My grandma is an awesome seamstress and taught me a lot growing up like how to repair hems and sew buttons and fix small things. My mom and dad taught me how to do my own laundry when I was eight because my dad shrunk my favorite sweater and I was pissed, haha. A lot of my pals have no idea how to do this shit (watching my 36 year old male roommate do laundry the other day was HORRIFYING) like laundry without using too much detergent or looking at washing instruction labels to see the best method to wash that particular clothing item (they have those labels for a reason). Most of the time they don't know how to do it properly because no one ever taught them how and their parents did it for them for years.

    My friend in college didn't know how to cook. Her mom attempted to try and teach her as a teen, but she refused because of some bullshit "feminist" reason and something about being "expected to cook for a man" when really, uh, pretty sure her mom wanted to teach her how to cook so she could fucking feed herself when she was an adult? ANYWAY, I remember she graduated and got her own apartment. It was the first time she had ever lived on her own in a place that wasn't a dorm room. I remember going to Target with her to get stuff for her place and she admitted she had never bought herself toilet paper and also had no idea that she would have to buy cleaning supplies and shit. It was just... mind boggling. It made me really glad my parents taught me how to take care of myself at an early age.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      BecauseoftheImplicationBlueberry Jones
      10/15/14 6:43pm

      But we have the INTERNET! There is so much stuff I didn't know how to do and then I learned. I commented upthread that I don't remember learning how to sew a button...I was just like, "Well, there are all these little holes, and I can see how other buttons are attached, so..."

      Same thing with cleaning. I know how to basically keep a house clean, but I run across domestic things I don't know how to manage all the time. And then I google it. I have no patience for people who cannot figure stuff like that out.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      Blueberry JonesBecauseoftheImplication
      10/15/14 6:56pm

      You would not believe how completely lazy people are. If you haven't learned something because that thing was done FOR you your entire life, why would you think someone would actually make the effort to learn how to do it by researching it on the internet? People are really fucking lazy. I tried to explain this to my roommate (WHO IS OVER THIRTY) when he complains about not knowing how to do something and how it's expensive to pay for someone to do it for you. I said it was cheaper to do it yourself and if you don't know how, there are tons of tutorials on the internet. He looked at me like I was insane.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    story645Isha Aran
    10/15/14 5:00pm

    Much of this waste is due to clothes being discarded due to minor tears or stains-easily repairable damages if the owners have the skills and knowledge to fix them

    Eh, I have loads of shirts where the fabric is too thin to hold a stitch all that well. Like I'd probably ruin the shirt fixing it. And omg is quality an issue-like I have a jacket type thingy that already has all it's buttons falling off and I've worn a handful of times.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      BasicNamestory645
      10/15/14 5:07pm

      Exactly. I hate the cheapie stuff because you really can't fix it. My mom has tee shirts and rib knit sweaters from the 70's and 80's in good condition. I know how to care for fabric and I can't make a tee shirt last 3 months. Good knit fabric is a unicorn anymore.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      ladyluna21story645
      10/15/14 5:13pm

      I have the same problem with thin fabric. I probably only have a handful of items that I could feasibly repair without it looking weird.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    oldscrumbyIsha Aran
    10/15/14 5:03pm

    Let us also not forget that in the fabric of the future is actually jersey knit and most people don't have a serger to run that damn stuff through to repair it.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      BasicNameoldscrumby
      10/15/14 5:16pm

      Zig zag stitch! And a ball tipped needle!

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      oldscrumbyBasicName
      10/15/14 5:39pm

      is a desperate measure for desperate times because it pretty much always looks shitty and uneven and you have to run a regular interlock over it to secure the zig-zag.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    OvdanyakadIsha Aran
    10/15/14 4:53pm

    I should totally get a sewing room and all the accouterments for that house I can totally afford to buy.

    /s

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      Can I Retire Yet?Ovdanyakad
      10/15/14 4:59pm

      You don't need a sewing room. I just use the dining table and then put it back when I'm done. Fixed pants last week.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      BasicNameCan I Retire Yet?
      10/15/14 5:05pm

      If you saw the size of my collection you would say otherwise! hahaha

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    ASnowdenofYesteryearIsha Aran
    10/15/14 5:21pm

    I'm sure there are a lot of people in my boat — mending super cheap fast fashion because they're broke and have no choice.

    I knit for fun, and the material costs are ridiculous — essentially if you're making a sweater, the material costs if you're using quality stuff (Cascade 220 or better equals the cost of a ready to wear sweater from Marc O'Polo or any of those type of brands. That doesn't even count the labor invested.

    Fabric's the same — I can't justify sewing because I am so bad at it, and there's nothing like Michaels around there to buy cheap stuff to practice on :(

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      BasicNameASnowdenofYesteryear
      10/15/14 5:36pm

      Check thrift stores and garage sales! People get rid of that stuff because it sits for years and they never make anything.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      ASnowdenofYesteryearBasicName
      10/15/14 5:44pm

      I live in Stockholm — all of the deadstock/fabric donations to the largest thrift store chain are diverted to their various charity projects. Which is great! But doesn't help me.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    mocenaIsha Aran
    10/15/14 4:56pm

    Most clothing nowadays is too cheaply made to be worth mending. Rip a hole in a $20 pair of jeans and you can just buy another for only slightly more than your time is worth in fixing it.

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      kinjanonsensemocena
      10/15/14 4:58pm

      Forever 21, H&M... One time I paid $40 to dry clean/mend a blazer that cost...wait for it... $40.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      MoonCat82 is a nomnivoremocena
      10/15/14 5:05pm

      I think that's a big part of it. I can sew and mend but what's the point if it's cheap stuff made of thin fabric that will just rip over and over again?

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    SNancyKatIsha Aran
    10/15/14 5:03pm

    I can't believe how many people don't iron. Don't even own an iron! My mother did it every week. I do it literally a few times a year. I just save up my items until I have a pile. Or if something special needs a quick press, I at least know how to do it and own an iron and a board. Anymore, unless they were in the military, their answer is just "I don't iron. Wrinkles be damned."

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      lawloverSNancyKat
      10/15/14 7:48pm

      I find ironing to be extremely meditative, especially simple things. I have the flattest, smoothest cloth napkins this side of the Mississippi.

      Reply
      <
  • Read More
    BasicNameIsha Aran
    10/15/14 5:04pm

    Well this is good news for me because I have been thinking of offering vintage clothing cleaning and repair services because no one knows wtf they are doing. Finally, my textile fetish pays off!

    Reply
    <
    • Read More
      DawnofArtBasicName
      10/15/14 11:21pm

      What a great idea! I am going to do that myself! You could also teach a class at your local tech school/community college.

      Reply
      <
    • Read More
      BasicNameDawnofArt
      10/16/14 12:05am

      Huh, I never thought of that. I wonder how many people are interested in learning?

      Reply
      <