Which Came First?

March 29, 2024

So I saw this article the other day, and it got me to thinking. 
 

So let's think about this for a minute...this is for clothing in France, that will charge the extra $5 or €5 (not sure which, cause France is on the Euro), for clothing to 1.) punish the fast-fashion clothing sorta like a tariff, and 2.) to pay for the disposal of the clothing.  

You have to wonder what came first?

• The idea to tack on extra fee for disposal of clothes, or
• The idea that clothing is so woefully underpriced, to just rip off the bandage and

I'm not one to split hairs here, but one of the things that I think about while we're flirting with a new trend in clothing, is that this long-lasting clothing will be way more expensive than anything from the cheap stores.  As a result it will be a huge bar for the marketing departments to sell this clothing that consumers have been accustomed to purchasing for pennies on the dollar, if not half-pennies on the one-hundred dollar.  

This is where this leads me.  In 1989 I bought an Yves St. Laurent RTW (which was made much better than couture today) for $189.  I still have it in my closet because the workmanship is so excellent.  I haven't worn it in many years, but I did wear it for ten years.  That means that top cost me $18.90/year.  That's a bargain, no matter how you figure it.  

But here's the really hard part of all of this.  That blouse, if I were to purchase it today would cost about $725.  Compared to the rise in the cost of groceries and basic necessities like gasoline, our clothing has not kept up with the rest of the expense of a loaf of bread or the cost of living.  It's actually been artificially kept low.  

As a result, the consumer has come to think of clothing as something to throw away, when it cost $25 or even $35.  It's so warped that to go from $35 to $725 is way out of proportion to anything that we would even consider worthy of paying for.  

Here's a very scary example of that.  This is a nice blouse made of 100% silk (stretch infused - whatever that means), but would you pay $1,290 for this blouse?  Is this blouse really worth $1,290?
 

Here's another example - of a designer not quite as well known as Ralph Lauren, but selling at a lot less in a polyester, burn-out fabric.  And at a more reasonable price.  So again - would you pay $710 for this shirt?  Would this shirt be worth $710 for you?

Of course what enters into this as much as the price is the use.  

• Would you have use for this garment?
• Do you have a place to wear this garment?
• Would this be a garment to wear once and then probably never again?
• Would this garment fit into your lifestyle?

All of those matter, but let's say that yes, this would fit into your lifestyle, that you could wear either of these shirts to an art opening or an awards ceremony for one of your children.  Would this price point work for you?

The truth is that we sewists know how much the components of these garments cost, and as a result we know what the cost of making these garments.  

Let's just say we want to make a silk taffeta shirt - this is from Mood Fabrics and will cost $55/yard w/o shipping and tax.  Two and one-half yards is about $137.50.  Then notions, buttons, interfacing, say about $175 - yeah, I know, it's high, but go with me on this.  From $175 to $710 for the poly version or $1,290 for the silk charmeuse version is a pretty strong ask.  That's four times the poly version and seven times the silk version.  That means there would have to be some remarkable, and very strong sewing techniques used to cover that gap.

So why even go through all this exercise?  Who cares what RTW is doing anyway?  And most of all who cares about the poor slobs who don't know how to sew and don't know what a well-made garment looks like even if it introduced itself to the consumer?  

Because this is the benchmark that we and everyone we see compares our sewing too.  Whether we like it or not, that's the truth.  And here's the other half of this terrible story - comparing our sewing most often to the sloppy work of RTW, is at best like comparing apples to oranges, and probably more like comparing a bread crumb to a banquet - with the banquet being the personally-sewn garment.  

So what makes most of the difference.  Pressing.  Most of those RTW garments have been pressed to within the very limits of what the garment can stand without showing burn marks.  We sewists, either forget or don't put that much emphasis on pressing.  On the commercial floor  it is the presser who is paid more than the seamstress (who is the person who operates the sewing machine - it is the dressmaker who knows how to make a pattern, alter it, cut it out, and sews up the garment).  There is a reason the presser is paid more.  Because she can often iron out any mistakes, preventing losing time and money on the production of a job.  

And here's a point I like to drive home every chance I get.  If clothes cost more, then folks would appreciate them more. If clothes cost more then folks would appreciate the process of making clothes more.  If clothes cost more, then folks would appreciate those who make their clothes for them more.

It seems like a much simpler direction to make better-made clothing, than to charge extra for the disposal of more cheap clothing so that the price of more expensive clothing would compare with the cheap clothing with the disposal price added to it.  So that means that the cheap clothing + disposal cost = $40 and that's supposed to compare to the $710 in poly and the $1290 in silk? Umm, not so much!

When I was mentoring under my fabulous teacher, clothes cost a lot.  I was spending about 10% of what my friends were spending at the local designer boutique in town, and I was dressing every bit as elegantly and fashionably as they were.  This was part of the value of sewing.  But what really drew me to sewing was that I could individualize my clothes to such an extent that RTW couldn't even compare on a great day.  

I was at a volunteer meeting when the hipster thing was all the rage with the boot cut or yoga cut.  I had designed a pair of pants with this boot cut, and it had an interesting detail in the back of the legs at the bottom.  I was complimented several times, but when I raised my top and said, "...and it comes to my waist,"  Well that's when the Oooo's and Aaaaah's started.  We were all part of the 60's when hip-huggers were in fashion and they were a pain to wear then and the hipsters weren't any better.  But the fashion became so prevalent, that's all you could get in pants
...unless you sewed!

I look forward to the day when our gift and knowledge is as much respected and admired as it should be.  Making clothes is an honorable, valuable and extremely sustainable way to dress oneself.  To think of it any other way, is really lying and fooling ourselves.  I really believe that a huge shock is coming to the consumer in the form of better clothing, but it will be at a shocking price, that will cause a huge uproar.  

No wonder they called in the fashion shrink to help them with their dilemma, but the shrink, in the linked article above, only deals with whether or not the consumer will put up with the disposal fee, not the deeper question - when will well-made clothing be available for the regular Jane on the street?

In the meantime, we sewists can watch with a little twinkle in our eye as we glean yet another idea here and there for another variation to our collection of beautiful clothing.  It's something that only the consumer can dream of, and honestly really doesn't understand, as the consumer is all about more, whereas with the sewist, it's all about how.  

The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style.  Check it out. 

Look for future classes coming in 2024
The Core Pattern Shirt, (one of my favorites for woven core pattern that you can make into a myriad of different garments), 
Basic Knit Top (core pattern class for knit basic tops, shells, tees, dresses, and tunics)
 

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