I love things that are worn and loved. I love how things age.
Not all garments and objects age the same, but have you noticed how we tend to go back again and again to that one t-shirt we had since high-school, or that perfect sweater with that tiny stain, or that garment/object/thing that your close friends always tell you to get rid of?
On buying second hand
I know that not everyone likes the idea of shopping pre-owned, but I find it really fun and it makes me proud that I could reuse and even love something that someone else didn’t need anymore. There’s a feeling of rescuing a really pretty/fun/perfect garment from oblivion (=the trash). I like it that I can donate the things I don’t really use for someone else to play the same game.
We bought our bikes from a local charity that accepts bike donations, then rescues, repairs and creates new bicycles. The guys there are great. When we’ll move from here, we’ll donate the bikes back to where they were built. My bicycle is not being made anymore. This is how the gears look like:
It’s a bit cranky and a bit heavier, but I love her just the way she is š
On mending
We don’t mend anymore. We use and throw away. That’s why I am so inspired by the extreme (and beautiful) mending inĀ Japanse boro, where patches are sewn over patches again and again to create garments that travel and are used every day by generations.
Above, an example of Japanse boro technique from the Amuse Musem in Asakusa, Tokio.
I’ve mended and remade things for myself for a long time, but the most satisfying times I’ve mended something was when I did this for someone else, likeĀ when I changed the frayed cuffs of my partner’s favourite jacket – he was amazed that the jacket looked like new. A few months later he was repairing the inner pocket of his coat!
Reusing, refashioning, transforming
Another of my favourite things. There’s a full list, from turning a tank top into a dress, a man’s shirt into a blouse or a shirt to a dress. This week, I’ve done something new, I’ve recycled the wool out of a sweater that had a stubborn stain. It was so rewarding to unravel, make into skeins, wash and dry this wool and I can’t wait toĀ makeĀ something new out of it.
This post is part of Kate’s (Fringe Association) challenge to make October a Slow fashion month. In the past few weeks I’ve also written about the items I love and wear mostĀ and about being mindful when we shop for clothes.