For francophone people, the brand Loom is interesting to look at. They ostensibly want to create more sustainable pieces of clothing, and have detailed notes on their design choices.
For francophone people, the brand Loom is interesting to look at. They ostensibly want to create more sustainable pieces of clothing, and have detailed notes on their design choices.
Watched this one yesterday, and as someone who was up at 1 Saturday morning discussing with a friend that it's ridiculous how quickly garments fall apart nowadays after a realizing we both had...
Watched this one yesterday, and as someone who was up at 1 Saturday morning discussing with a friend that it's ridiculous how quickly garments fall apart nowadays after a realizing we both had sub-US$20 t-shirts from ~2013 that are still wearable (if not exactly presentable), the rant was deeply satisfying. Some of those pieces were so poorly made that it comes across as parody.
I can't vouch for the effectiveness of the core message, just because I knew as much going in, but it was great to see someone with real expertise and presentation skills demonstrate the basis for what surely comes off as lazy nostalgia from someone less knowledgeable.
A note or two:
There are non-viscose rayons available all over the market these days. The fiber itself still has some of the drawbacks that Bernadette laid out, but in a looser textile, or if treated like silk by the wearer, it's a very valid and durable material for clothing, and the newer production methods appear to be as sustainable as any synthetic might hope to be. We mustn't forget the water used in growing cotton. As it's molecularly "just" cellulose, microplastics are not a concern, either.
The video might get a tad precious about traditional methods and styles for some, but the underlying principles are valid. Sure, if you value comfort and variety in your wardrobe, the price for structured and lined traditional method pieces plus tailoring may not be worthwhile. That has nothing to do with the quality of the stitching, textiles, or the compromised longevity from certain design elements of a garment.
In case this video startled anybody who hadn't examined these aspects of clothing, and you're hankering for more dread, consider footwear from a quality lens. It's shocking how many respected brands are selling shoes for over $100 on clearance which are all-but-guaranteed to fall apart within a year or two.
Really good advice. Spooky to think people will throw away a piece of clothing because of a loose button. And so many brands charge a pretty penny but are as cheaply made as H&M etc. Stitch...
Really good advice. Spooky to think people will throw away a piece of clothing because of a loose button.
And so many brands charge a pretty penny but are as cheaply made as H&M etc.
Surged together instead of stitches together -- this is interesting, because it's so common that I thought ALL clothing are put together with surged seams until I really compared the quality pieces to the rest. Some pieces don't even do that anymore, just a live raw fraying edge sold on a shelf. Or a new kind of thing where they I guess hot press two pieces together.
I do have a gripe against materials..... They should last but natural fibres get eaten by moths -..- anybody got recommendations for nice smelling moth.... solutions?
Have you actually had moth issues? It's never been an issue for me and I love natural fibers. Also, cedar chests for storing those pieces. Natural way to keep moths at bay.
Have you actually had moth issues? It's never been an issue for me and I love natural fibers.
Also, cedar chests for storing those pieces. Natural way to keep moths at bay.
Cedar planks work, and there are also ones that are essentially a plank on a coat hanger for including in closets. It's not as complete as having a cedar chest, but is a little something for coats...
Cedar planks work, and there are also ones that are essentially a plank on a coat hanger for including in closets. It's not as complete as having a cedar chest, but is a little something for coats and other garments that need to be hung. You can also use those plus a plastic sealable garment bag to isolate treasured items from the environment around them.
For a brief moment I thought yours was a reply in the Do Carrots Kill Vampires thread where Members are talking about different types of wood and their various effectiveness lol (link I'll have to...
For a brief moment I thought yours was a reply in the Do Carrots Kill Vampires thread where Members are talking about different types of wood and their various effectiveness lol (link
I'll have to look for this cedar product then :) my scant remaining wool shirts and my silk kimonos thank you
I picked up cedar blocks to wrap in acid-free paper for my wool sweaters. When I was looking for info on the same thing, cedar can also damage wool over time, but paper or a fabric bag is enough...
I picked up cedar blocks to wrap in acid-free paper for my wool sweaters. When I was looking for info on the same thing, cedar can also damage wool over time, but paper or a fabric bag is enough to prevent it. I have some cedar hangers in my closet too. No moths yet and hoping it stays that way.
If cedar chests are out of reach, you can use any cedar. You do want to make sure it's real cedar, the cheap blocks are something else with cedar scent sprayed on them. I bought a100% wool blanket...
If cedar chests are out of reach, you can use any cedar. You do want to make sure it's real cedar, the cheap blocks are something else with cedar scent sprayed on them.
I bought a100% wool blanket last winter and was pretty worried it'd get destroyed, months sometimes get into the house when someone walks in. I used cedar blocks and had no problem.
A branch, log, or chunk of cedar would work just as well cut up. If you have some in your yard you could cut off a small branch and put a piece or two in your drawer or closet, just make sure it isn't smothered in cloth.
I actually watched this yesterday and wondered if I should post it. Nebula members should watch here: https://nebula.tv/videos/bernadettebanner-how-to-identify-quality-in-clothing-a-rant I will...
I actually watched this yesterday and wondered if I should post it.
I will say that after watching this I realized that I was somewhat fortunate to have spent so many years being fat. The quality of some of the clothing she looks at are atroceous. But one of the things about fast fashion is that one of the money-saving things they do is avoid making extended sizes, so I've been exempt from the ultra-crappy stuff.
Which is not to say that everything made for bigger people is high quality, of course, or that big clothing is exempt from the overall sliding quality of clothing in general. I've bought and thrown away a lot of crap clothes, especially when it came to jeans. It also kind of sucks when you're so big that the only stores that have clothes that fit you are relatively upmarket and simple shirts there start at $30.
I also want to add on one more warning sign that she doesn't explicitly mention, and that is the visibility of fusible interface. Washer/dryer cycles can detach and even disintegrate them. Interfacing should be completely enclosed to prevent or at least delay that from happening. For those who are unfamilliar with them, they are very thin pieces of material that is lightly adhered to one side of fabric to make it more stiff. You'll most often find them sewn inside cuffs and collars for dress shirts. They don't create the dimensionality that she demonstrates with her coat example, and fused fabrics can be ironed down flat, which is how they are applied to the fabric in the first place (it's why it's "fusable").
I have two such garments with exposed fusable interface and while they aren't destroyed, they notably do not hold their shape quite the same.
Years ago I spent a lot of time learning to sew in order to tailor what I bought and later make my own clothes. The most complicated garments I made were (men's) dress shirts. Based on that...
Years ago I spent a lot of time learning to sew in order to tailor what I bought and later make my own clothes. The most complicated garments I made were (men's) dress shirts.
Based on that experience I disagree with many of the implications of this video. Disclaimer is that I know nothing about women's clothing and I think the situation there is slightly worse, if only because women's clothes tend to be form fitting and possibly quite tight more often.
What I do not disagree with: clothes used to be made in much higher quality in the first half of the last century and earlier (but they were also much more expensive), low-quality materials are a problem, and fast fashion is pure greed with social and ecological problems.
Basically the reason why I started to sew was that before the rise of the skinny jeans and skinny fashion in general it was very difficult to buy clothes for a very skinny guy. Then the situation changed and the reason why I stopped sewing was that for an amateur it takes a ton of time and the quality for fast fashion was good enough that most clothes I bought lasted about a decade, 5 years of regular wear was a minimum. And the only ones I threw out were those that became too small for me when I stopped being sickly skinny, pants that were slightly tight and from a light fabric, which ripped around the knees after several years of regular wear and pants made of very sheer linen fabric that stretches out and forms tiny holes around the seams - for which maybe high quality fashion offers a solution, but I don't really see it (reinforcing the seams would be visible because the fabric is so light).
Since then I've bought almost all of my clothes at H&M, Zara, C&A (a European low-cost fast fashion store) and F&F (Tesco's brand, clothes sold in a large supermarket). They did have loose threads and sometimes bad stitching, the quality control was obviously bad. But they did not fall apart, they did not stretch or twist noticeably (supposedly this is often a problem with form-fitting women's t-shirts), when they lost buttons it was after 5+ years of use. A few weeks ago I had to repair a buttonhole and re-stitch a button on a winter coat that I bought for about 70€ in 2012 I think, I wear it every year almost all winter and it was the first problem I had to fix. Many of the pieces had flaws described in the video, it just rarely caused real problems.
Now I would never purchase clothes from Shein and in general I think buying a jacket without trying it on is insane. I did buy stuff from Asos online a few times because it has a decent return policy and the quality is often okay, but I never go below the basic fast fashion stuff like H&M and Zara.
The materials problem is real, mostly. For example with men's suit jackets and suit pants it's really difficult to get anything but polyester mix at best, most of it is pure polyester, and that is terrible and nobody should buy it because it is impractical and often bad looking - but not always, sometimes it's almost impossible to tell if a fabric is synthetic or not without doing a burn test (not recommended in-store). I do own cotton and linen jackets and blazers from fast fashion stores that are pretty good quality, but it took patience. Getting 100% wool clothes is also difficult in fast fashion, but that's because for good quality wool you usually have to pay out of your ass unless you buy second hand, which I recommend.
Viscose is not a polymer fabric with a microplastic problem and it can actually be pretty nice. It does not deserve to be mentioned alongside polyester. IIRC this is true with acetate as well, but I've never encountered acetate in the wild.
In general my issue with this video is that at least with the clothes that I buy and wear (and buying those involves being selective, but not necessarily very knowledgeable) I'd have to pay about 4x more a piece to get noticeably better quality and that's simply not good enough because despite the shortcomings the cheap clothes look and perform good enough.
The one exception is underwear. I'm unhappy with the fabric pilling constantly and ripping around the waist attachment earlier than I would have expected and I'm seeking better quality brands. But right now that's it.
For francophone people, the brand Loom is interesting to look at. They ostensibly want to create more sustainable pieces of clothing, and have detailed notes on their design choices.
Watched this one yesterday, and as someone who was up at 1 Saturday morning discussing with a friend that it's ridiculous how quickly garments fall apart nowadays after a realizing we both had sub-US$20 t-shirts from ~2013 that are still wearable (if not exactly presentable), the rant was deeply satisfying. Some of those pieces were so poorly made that it comes across as parody.
I can't vouch for the effectiveness of the core message, just because I knew as much going in, but it was great to see someone with real expertise and presentation skills demonstrate the basis for what surely comes off as lazy nostalgia from someone less knowledgeable.
A note or two:
In case this video startled anybody who hadn't examined these aspects of clothing, and you're hankering for more dread, consider footwear from a quality lens. It's shocking how many respected brands are selling shoes for over $100 on clearance which are all-but-guaranteed to fall apart within a year or two.
Really good advice. Spooky to think people will throw away a piece of clothing because of a loose button.
And so many brands charge a pretty penny but are as cheaply made as H&M etc.
Stitch length; invisible zippers; loose threads; material; weave (lining); seam allowances;
Surged together instead of stitches together -- this is interesting, because it's so common that I thought ALL clothing are put together with surged seams until I really compared the quality pieces to the rest. Some pieces don't even do that anymore, just a live raw fraying edge sold on a shelf. Or a new kind of thing where they I guess hot press two pieces together.
I do have a gripe against materials..... They should last but natural fibres get eaten by moths -..- anybody got recommendations for nice smelling moth.... solutions?
Have you actually had moth issues? It's never been an issue for me and I love natural fibers.
Also, cedar chests for storing those pieces. Natural way to keep moths at bay.
I have :/ wonder if I can stick cedar planks into a drawer or something. Not sure how I picked up moths but they ate my wool shirts
Cedar planks work, and there are also ones that are essentially a plank on a coat hanger for including in closets. It's not as complete as having a cedar chest, but is a little something for coats and other garments that need to be hung. You can also use those plus a plastic sealable garment bag to isolate treasured items from the environment around them.
For a brief moment I thought yours was a reply in the Do Carrots Kill Vampires thread where Members are talking about different types of wood and their various effectiveness lol (link
I'll have to look for this cedar product then :) my scant remaining wool shirts and my silk kimonos thank you
I picked up cedar blocks to wrap in acid-free paper for my wool sweaters. When I was looking for info on the same thing, cedar can also damage wool over time, but paper or a fabric bag is enough to prevent it. I have some cedar hangers in my closet too. No moths yet and hoping it stays that way.
If cedar chests are out of reach, you can use any cedar. You do want to make sure it's real cedar, the cheap blocks are something else with cedar scent sprayed on them.
I bought a100% wool blanket last winter and was pretty worried it'd get destroyed, months sometimes get into the house when someone walks in. I used cedar blocks and had no problem.
A branch, log, or chunk of cedar would work just as well cut up. If you have some in your yard you could cut off a small branch and put a piece or two in your drawer or closet, just make sure it isn't smothered in cloth.
I actually watched this yesterday and wondered if I should post it.
Nebula members should watch here: https://nebula.tv/videos/bernadettebanner-how-to-identify-quality-in-clothing-a-rant
I will say that after watching this I realized that I was somewhat fortunate to have spent so many years being fat. The quality of some of the clothing she looks at are atroceous. But one of the things about fast fashion is that one of the money-saving things they do is avoid making extended sizes, so I've been exempt from the ultra-crappy stuff.
Which is not to say that everything made for bigger people is high quality, of course, or that big clothing is exempt from the overall sliding quality of clothing in general. I've bought and thrown away a lot of crap clothes, especially when it came to jeans. It also kind of sucks when you're so big that the only stores that have clothes that fit you are relatively upmarket and simple shirts there start at $30.
I also want to add on one more warning sign that she doesn't explicitly mention, and that is the visibility of fusible interface. Washer/dryer cycles can detach and even disintegrate them. Interfacing should be completely enclosed to prevent or at least delay that from happening. For those who are unfamilliar with them, they are very thin pieces of material that is lightly adhered to one side of fabric to make it more stiff. You'll most often find them sewn inside cuffs and collars for dress shirts. They don't create the dimensionality that she demonstrates with her coat example, and fused fabrics can be ironed down flat, which is how they are applied to the fabric in the first place (it's why it's "fusable").
I have two such garments with exposed fusable interface and while they aren't destroyed, they notably do not hold their shape quite the same.
Years ago I spent a lot of time learning to sew in order to tailor what I bought and later make my own clothes. The most complicated garments I made were (men's) dress shirts.
Based on that experience I disagree with many of the implications of this video. Disclaimer is that I know nothing about women's clothing and I think the situation there is slightly worse, if only because women's clothes tend to be form fitting and possibly quite tight more often.
What I do not disagree with: clothes used to be made in much higher quality in the first half of the last century and earlier (but they were also much more expensive), low-quality materials are a problem, and fast fashion is pure greed with social and ecological problems.
Basically the reason why I started to sew was that before the rise of the skinny jeans and skinny fashion in general it was very difficult to buy clothes for a very skinny guy. Then the situation changed and the reason why I stopped sewing was that for an amateur it takes a ton of time and the quality for fast fashion was good enough that most clothes I bought lasted about a decade, 5 years of regular wear was a minimum. And the only ones I threw out were those that became too small for me when I stopped being sickly skinny, pants that were slightly tight and from a light fabric, which ripped around the knees after several years of regular wear and pants made of very sheer linen fabric that stretches out and forms tiny holes around the seams - for which maybe high quality fashion offers a solution, but I don't really see it (reinforcing the seams would be visible because the fabric is so light).
Since then I've bought almost all of my clothes at H&M, Zara, C&A (a European low-cost fast fashion store) and F&F (Tesco's brand, clothes sold in a large supermarket). They did have loose threads and sometimes bad stitching, the quality control was obviously bad. But they did not fall apart, they did not stretch or twist noticeably (supposedly this is often a problem with form-fitting women's t-shirts), when they lost buttons it was after 5+ years of use. A few weeks ago I had to repair a buttonhole and re-stitch a button on a winter coat that I bought for about 70€ in 2012 I think, I wear it every year almost all winter and it was the first problem I had to fix. Many of the pieces had flaws described in the video, it just rarely caused real problems.
Now I would never purchase clothes from Shein and in general I think buying a jacket without trying it on is insane. I did buy stuff from Asos online a few times because it has a decent return policy and the quality is often okay, but I never go below the basic fast fashion stuff like H&M and Zara.
The materials problem is real, mostly. For example with men's suit jackets and suit pants it's really difficult to get anything but polyester mix at best, most of it is pure polyester, and that is terrible and nobody should buy it because it is impractical and often bad looking - but not always, sometimes it's almost impossible to tell if a fabric is synthetic or not without doing a burn test (not recommended in-store). I do own cotton and linen jackets and blazers from fast fashion stores that are pretty good quality, but it took patience. Getting 100% wool clothes is also difficult in fast fashion, but that's because for good quality wool you usually have to pay out of your ass unless you buy second hand, which I recommend.
Viscose is not a polymer fabric with a microplastic problem and it can actually be pretty nice. It does not deserve to be mentioned alongside polyester. IIRC this is true with acetate as well, but I've never encountered acetate in the wild.
In general my issue with this video is that at least with the clothes that I buy and wear (and buying those involves being selective, but not necessarily very knowledgeable) I'd have to pay about 4x more a piece to get noticeably better quality and that's simply not good enough because despite the shortcomings the cheap clothes look and perform good enough.
The one exception is underwear. I'm unhappy with the fabric pilling constantly and ripping around the waist attachment earlier than I would have expected and I'm seeking better quality brands. But right now that's it.