Tuesday 17 August 2010

Cull Aftermath

In my last post I outlined the extent to which I had to abruptly reduce the number of garments I own. The current number is approximately one third of the total from a week before. On one hand, this could be viewed as a problem due to my participation in my own brainchild Self-Stitched-September which looms close (sadly my handmade creations were far from immune during the recent cull). A crazy stitch-up session to repopulate my wardrobe before the onset of September is off the cards as my sewing stuffs and I are separated indefinitely until accommodation is found in my new adoptive city. In short, expect a lot of repeated outfits during September!

On the other hand, I believe the situation I have found myself in is actually pretty positive. Not only does it test my commitment to my aims to become as unconnected to mainstream clothing consumerism as possible, but it also sticks a rocket under the implementation of my more considered approach to sewing. Thanks to the interesting and ingenious comments left on my Stuff and Things post in which I asked for peops advice on how they decide what is worth sewing, I think I’ve got a clearer idea of how to avoid making garments that won’t see very much action.

It’s interesting to me that my recent decision to go a year without buying new footwear was shortly followed by my need to give 6 or 7 pairs of shoes away. This has somewhat forced my hand in coming to terms with how many possessions (in this case, footwear) I can actually get by with (or without). There will now be less ‘shopping’ within my own previously excessive shoe collection, which might have somewhat alleviated the symptoms of desire for new shoes. I’m predicting this will make me take better care of the shoes that I already have, keeping them cleaner and adding innersoles to pairs that would benefit from them, and encouraging me to experiment more with introducing them into outfit combos.

I’m hoping the next couple of months with a comparably limited wardrobe will confirm to me that I can dress sufficiently well that I don’t need to need to make clothes like the rabid sewist I was before. When I do get my little sewing factory set up again, I’m determined to slow my output down and spend more of the time I would be producing garments on the aspects I often tend to rush through (thinking about what would be most useful, planning outfits, altering existing garments, perfecting the fit including toiling a style before rushing into ‘best’ fabric etc.). Hopefully the revised approach will result in clothes that follow my style objectives (posts on this subject are due), fit my body well, are constructed to a high level and don’t result in many types of the same garment (eg, heaps of A-line skirts and short-sleeved blouses but no trousers or long-sleeved tops).

And if I need to get that fix from creating a garment super-quick with next to no thought required, I’ll turn to my new toy: origami fashion! A genius going away gift from my friends Lee and Isi, I was able to create a shirt, tie and entire suit whilst travelling through France by train. That or create more pants of course, because I’m not sure you can have too many of them!

9 comments:

Karin said...

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! You poor thing! Two pairs of shorts, no fluffy cardigan and autumn in the UK is coming up? I do hope you have a warm, long skirt? Or that you manage to sew enough really fast!
Should I congratulate you on returning there? If so, congratulations! I envy you of your supermarkets (in case you miss Spanish food: you have the best supermarkets in the UK, the veggies, the bread, yum!).

lenarrd said...

Those origami things are super cute!

I've been thinking a lot about my pledge in light of your recent posts on consumption - the initial plan was to make some leggings and vest tops so that I would have me-made basics to wear... but truth be told, I already have those garments and they fit me pretty well, I have no need for more! So I'm getting the cogs whirring to try and figure something out that isn't a complete cop out.

Carolyn said...

Adorable origami creations! This is a very inspiring post, and I look forward to seeing how you will get by! I'm sure the garments you have kept are the most beautiful, so you will no doubt look gorgeous in Self-Stitched September!

Clare said...

You can never have too many pants! Good luck with your move back, I hope things fall into place quickly. I've recently started doing crochet and like that it's a lighter, more portable hobby that I can pick up / put down when I don't have the time or inclination to sew.

Tilly said...

LOVE the origami clothing - so cute! Good luck settling back in the UK. Ooh Brighton, I'm so jealous! Brunch at Bill's! Fabric shopping! That mammoth antiques shop!

Minnado said...

That orgami is great. I too have been thinking about making less and trying to make more lasting clothes. Somehow it is easy to get swept up in a kind of sewing mania which means replacing one type of consumption with another. Hope you are not too chilly back in the UK. x

Zoe said...

Many thanks peops! Please keep all your thoughts on sewing/consumption coming, I find them all fascinating and feel so pleased that I may have inspired some of this thought through my blog. EXACTLY Minnado! I was getting the new-garment fix from sewing instead of shopping at almost the same speed, and quality items were not the subsequent result!

You'll be pleased to learn that I have a couple of skirts and have found a small quarry of warm-ish tights here at my mum's house! Thinking of investing in some seriously warm wool ones for colder autumn/winter times ahead. xxx

Fourth Daughter said...

Noble goals indeed, and not ones that I could follow... re the shoe care bit, have you tried Shoe Goo? Whenever I get new shoes I spread it on the soles, it's like liquid rubber so it protects the soles. It does unfortunately chip/peel off but you just put more on when it does. I've just bought new shoes for the first time in what seems like zillions of years so I might get around to doing a post about it, although it's not exactly fascinating photogenic stuff!

Ali said...

Zoe, I just wanted to chime in and say how much I'm enjoying your posts about refining both your thoughts on and behavior toward your things -- so inspiring! (I've just been a lazy commenter). I feel I'm a bit of a rabid sewist lately (must. have. capris. for. self-stitched-september ;) so I appreciate the reminders from bloggers like you and Minnado. Slow Sewing, she called it in a recent post. I like that. :)

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