I have always followed fashion trends. As a teen, it was thru a voracious reading of glossy newspaper segments and women’s magazines. Later, High Heel Confidential and the likes became my daily diet. I always followed the trends with interest, saw what the celebs sported and most often, called them outrageous. I was able to spot these trends on the streets when they made their way into the girl next door’s wardrobe, but they did not seem for me. For one, trendy clothes were never made for plus sized bodies. I have always been plus sized, even at my slimmest, I was an XL or L in most high street brands. As long as I remember, I have been shopping for jeans and tees in the men’s section and getting Indian wear stitched via darzis. We’ll talk about my frustration with Jeans brands who seemed to think that women with waists larger than 26 inches needed boxy, ill fitting Jeans some other time. The point is, I had very little choice in trends. For another, even when I found brands that offered trendy clothes in my size, I felt drawn to classics. In western wear, I preferred classic cut full sleeved button down shirts, A line dresses and midi skirts. In Indian wear, I have lived on a diet of straight cut Kurtis and leggings for years. When I visit the darzi to get a suit stitched, I invariably select a straight long kameez with pajami or a fitted salwar. For me, the variation came in the form of fabrics, prints or embroidery but the silhouettes themselves remain pretty much the same.
My sartorial awakening came sometime in the last decade, after a lot of experimentation. I was selective about trying trends. The few that I did were short live love affairs. You see, I find clothes expensive. Most retail brands overprice clothes. The cheap, sorry affordable brands sell clothes that do not last. The average life of garments in my wardrobe is 5-6 years. I usually bought pieces that start off as office wear. After 2-3 years of use, they become ghar ke Kapde and I wear them around the house for as long as I can. Thereafter, it goes into the rag pile used for cleaning, dusting, mopping. Stuff that I can no longer fit into, gets shown to all my maids. They pick and choose. The rest goes into a donation box. Every year, I pick out pieces that need to retire to home wear or donation pile and replace them at one go. So during this time of the year, when there are sales galore, I buy my clothes. I used to think this is a good method. I am not buying and discarding clothes every month so I am not a victim of fast fashion. I am endorsing slow fashion.
Over the last year, slow fashion conversations have surfaced very often on my social media feed. I have read textile experts, brand owners and stylists speak about slow fashion and it left me confused.
What exactly is slow fashion?
The anwer to this question led me to ready many blogs, editorial pieces and articles on the net. I thought slow fashion meant buying good quality clothes that last long, not getting swept in the wave of consumerism and re-wearing and repeating your garments. But what I read was quite different. Most talked about slow fashion as a movement, talked about practices in the fashion industry. Not surprisingly, the simplest definition came from Wikipedia.
Principles of the Slow Fashion Movement:
-taking a local approach
-having a transparent production system
-making sustainable and sensorial products
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_fashion
Can you see why this left me confused? There is no role of the consumer here! Sure, I can try and seek out slow fashion brands. But this is a slow and arduous process. I also have no way of confirming if a brand ethic is what it says it is. H&M advocates about ethical fashion practices but we do read reports of them burning unused clothes. Now, I am not trying to single out this large global brand, am just citing an example. How confusing it can be for the consumer. Yes, I want to practice slow fashion. Yes, I want to buy clothes that are not harmful for the environment. But how do I do that?
With my limited time and means, how do I embrace slow fashion?
Honestly, I don’t have the answers yet. I am ready to go on a journey to find the answers and imbibe the principles of fast fashion. I also want to teach these to my kids. At the same time, I don’t want to spend a bomb on clothes or kill their personal style. Whenever I think about slow fashion, I end up feeling more and more confused about what should I do and how should I do it. Then there are always the moments of weakness when I give into the temptation of 85% off banners and buy some fast fashion
The point of this 850 word long monologue is while I nod and agree with the principles, I am short on actions. What I am doing in the name of slow fashion is not enough. I need to do more and don’t know how. It is not easy. If I invest myself into this, it eats into my time. Time, as I have been saying is mu most precious commodity. So, if you have some ideas about imbibing slow fashion that does not involve a heavy time and money investment, please let me know. If you have already invested time, please share your knowledge and research. You can email me, comment on this post of hit me up on twitter or Instagram. I will happily hear you out and stuff I benefit from, I will definitely reshare in my small circle of influence.