I made my clothes…

It’s Fashion Revolution Week. A call to arms for shoppers, suppliers, makers and the world at large to think about the way in which fashion has become an industry that is taking its toll on our planet both in environmental and human terms.

Fashion Revolution Week  happens at the time of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, where 1,138 people were killed and many more injured on 24th April 2013.

Up to this point where my clothes were made was a vague far off concept that was so far removed from the shelves of Primarni and stretching my student loan that it was difficult to make the connection. The human cost of fast fashion is real and startlingly bleak and makes poverty in Victorian Britain look cosy.

A life long shopper I never thought that I would proudly be able to claim that I made my own clothes, let alone wore my own clothes every day.

Making my own threads is now embedded into my everyday life, my wardrobe, my identity and my wellbeing. The other day we popped to the beach to take some blog pics, and my instahusband pointed out that I was merely changing into another handmade dress after the shoot. So he kept taking pics…

And that was the point at which I really felt the shift in my wardrobe and my handmade year had changed the way I wore clothes. Although it’s lovely to sew a beautiful show-off dress, as a maker with a handmade wardrobe it’s also important to have all the staple nuts and bolt pieces on the hanger.

All those Hemlocks, Astorias, Safrans, Melilots, Cocos and Mollys that make up my core wardobe, that I can throw on for work, coffee, the school run and blog posts, are a complete sea change in my now 90% handmade wardrobe.

It’s become a lifestyle…

My blogging has given me many wonderful opportunities and as part of Fashion Revolution Week I’m honoured to be a part of Plymouth College of Art Swap Shop event. I will be teaching a Make your Own Recycled Tshirt Necklace Workshop to use up old tees and sewing leftovers. This is a no sew workshop that is so easy even my 5 year old has been having a go!

The Fashion Revolution may not change the whole industry over night, but it is helping a lot of people look at who made their clothes, how they can make their clothes last longer, shop more responsibly or be inspired to make their own hand made wardrobe.

If enough of us take these little baby steps with our wardrobes then the future of fashion could be very different indeed.

If you are in Plymouth on Saturday please drop into the Swap Shop event, there will be donated new and preloved threads that need new homes for bargain prices, workshops and cake to fuel it all.

If you can’t make it please check out http://fashionrevolution.org/

 

 

 

 

 

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