This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1440439
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1440439
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I know I’m out of touch … I never was involved with “fashion” myself, being built wrong and insufficiently wealthy. Is it still predominantly a female preoccupation? And, if so, is there any way to reach the willing participants? How about reducing the profitability for the perps by adding taxes that make this cheap stuff too expensive?
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I would like to see the workers paid properly!
The popular item for males who are fashionistas (fashionistos?) are the designer shoes. Those are really expensive (for the purchaser). But I guess the production is still based on cheap labor.
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I have learned a new word today, “drippy.” And I have learned that I’m an outfit repeater.
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There’s an ellipse here, which is mention that fast fashion is nothing new, which makes the whole piece seem breathlessly somewhat inward looking and irrelevant.
Fast fashion has long been with us, esp. for women’s clothing. Numerous chains sold cheap knock-offs of popular fashions that lasted as long as the fashions themselves. This peaked during the boomer era because teens and young women represented such a huge market for this stuff and malls were filled with stores that sold it. Once these young women got older they wanted something else—things that were better quality, less about rapidly changing styles. They also were entering the workforce and needed to dress a little better. Chains like Petries (which owned a ton of these cheap fashion stores under various names) went into decline and more expensive stores with better quality replaced them. Styles also became more conservative—clothing you could wear to work. Jeans stores, often selling cheap knockoffs also prospered in this era until people had all then jeans they wanted—Gap, which now struggles, was the one survivor of that era. Traditional menswear was somewhat different—white collar workers needed a jacket and tie if not a suit and there were lots of stores like Richman Brothers that sold cheap suits–as workplace dress codes changes, these places vanished. So, fast forward to the boomers’ kids—lots of them grew-up at the same time and needed cheap stylish clothes–so we got H&M and all the rest. And now, these people are getting older and recognizing they need something different and the whole fast fashion thing is cratering, again. Nothing new here. The only real difference is that malls have died and many of the places to get better clothes are online. Also, there is a whole ecosystem of off-price retail that gets some of the better stuff (or cheaper versions as in Nordstrom Rack and there has been a resurgence of interest in second hand stores. The smart money would have known that when fast fashion was surging, it was time to think about what happens when its customers get older and it crashes.
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I’m like the outfit repeater of all time. I hate shopping and almost nothing fits me so when I find something that does, I buy 4 of it. I can’t even imaging being shamed out of that, but anyone’s welcome to try.
Also: spot on article. Since Gen Z will live with the impacts of pollution and global warming, fashion frenzy is just soiling their own bedsheets
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As retired military and a Security Guard my work clothes uniform was/is always predetermined. When not working I dress for comfort, not style.
Ms. Ogg prefers shopping in the used clothing shops, because she knows how much the workers who make those clothes in Vietnam and Bangladesh get paid. She can not stop the exploitation, but she will be d*mned if she contributes to it.
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I have learned today that I can survive what I thought might be a terminal case of eye roll after reading the article.
They keep telling the boomers that they are different.
Even a guy has trouble shopping. Because of these sort of influences, if you are even a bit outside of the imposed norm, sizes and cuts become difficult. And now, quality in general also suffers.
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This is a hype-y article that can be written in every decade since the 90s. After agricultural workers, garment workers are the poorest paid and most exploited industry.
I love style, but have hated shopping since my 40s. I wear the same 7 dresses or skirts every day and shop in thrift stores first. I feel the article unfairly targets brick and mortar retailers, because online ‘stores’ are just as bad if not even more sketchy when it comes to quality and where the garment is made. Both men and women’s fashions exploit labor, you think the workers who made the $220 Adidas get paid more than the person who sews and glues Keds all day?
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I find it weird, something everybody actually does, now is considered an issue. I certainly do not remember the work place grinding to the halt because someone wore the same clothes twice in the same week. No trauma incurred because someone had a limited closet and a more uniform approach to what they wore. No hisses of outfit repeater during the lunch break. The only thing I remember being a show stopper is when that one co-worker would show up first thing in the morning with her little black dress. Then the whispers would begin.
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I’m an old guy and I solve that by wearing a lot of Carhartt “work” clothing. Fairly immune to fashion, and the people who actually wear the brand at work won’t put up with poor quality. It’s still made in China but it’s not bad.
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Thrilled to see this topic dealt with here and thrilled with all the outfit repeater replies. There are companies and organizations dealing with this issue and making a difference.
Fibershed in CA comes to mind. It begins with sustainable materials-yes we must do away with polyester and other oil based fabrics, pay more for our clothing and hold onto them longer.
Eileen Fisher uses natural sustainable fabrics and has begun reselling used items returned to them to be resold.
https://fibershed.org/
https://www.eileenfisherrenew.com/
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Pretty much my uniform now. Jeans are the biggest problem lately. Sizes are frequently an issue, with wild divergence from what was stated. Denim quality is a problem. And one big name ships a lot of damaged goods. LLBean had several styles that were comfortable but those have been dropped. I am pretty much down to Levis and that is not exactly perfect either.
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Carhartt is good quality. I thought it was made in the USA.
denim quality significantly deteriorated in the 90s when China opened up for business
even in the aughts there was a hot denim market for vintage jeans made in the 60s and 70s because the fabric and cut were so much better
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The last time I worried about “repeating” an outfit too often was back in the mid 60’s when I was in high school. I’m amazed that anyone would still worry about that or that they thought this was a new trend. Message to the author: stop worrying about the perfect outfit. And before you go out and buy a whole new wardrobe of “slow” fashion, wear what you already have until it wears out. To do that, learn to use a needle and thread so you can re-attach buttons and sew up a seam that is unwinding. Fast fashion or slow fashion: either way, it will take you years to actually wear out even the cheapest clothing.
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GEN ZERS or whatever they are called, have to be the most gullible’generation’ to have existed, in spite of their bragging about their ‘independance’ they are simply a bunch of pathetic ,gullible people. they all look alike[hair. clothes etc.], . Jeans haven;t changed since time began…the jeans their parents wore are now called’mom’ & 'dad JEANS@@ and sold at a premuim price.and i’m not even going to mention those awful torn jeans… i actually saw a pair of torn jeans priced at $ 225.00., and some people ar dumb enough to buy them!!!
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All textiles deteriorated when they ceased to be manufactured in US and companies moved manufacturing to China where workers are exploited. Polyester, derived from petroleum, replaced natural fibers-cotton, linen, rayon, silk and wool.
Denim contains latex, once a product derived from rubber, now mostly derived from petroleum. Real denim, san# latex, has a natural light stretch and is very durable because of its unique weave.
Because polyester clothing is cheaper it became a throwaway product.
Buy natural, more expensive but far more comfortable and durable, in addition to its aesthetic value.
Artful mending, becoming popular, can be done on natural fibers.
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I live by the WWII maxim:
Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do
Or do without
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